Stephens-Howling, Palko lead offense in 52-7 victory

Pitt did not necessarily go to Orlando to hang at amusement parks, but Central Florida did… Pitt did not necessarily go to Orlando to hang at amusement parks, but Central Florida did attempt to turn Friday’s game into a rollercoaster. Pitt’s Tommie Campbell wasn’t interested.

With the Golden Knights at the Pitt 9-yard line and looking to cut the Panthers’ 14-0 lead in half, Campbell intercepted Steven Moffett’s pass just in front of the goal line and returned it 61 yards into UCF territory.

Two plays later, LaRod Stephens-Howling raced 26 yards for his second score of the game, giving Pitt a safe 21-0 lead that would translate into a 52-7 victory. The Panthers are now averaging 37.5 points over their first seven games.

“There has not been one game where we have come out of the tunnel flat,” Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt said. “We’ve come out smoking, and to come here and to get out like that on the road with this crowd was key.

“We are coming out emotional, and you can’t play this game if you are not emotionally ready.”

This win leaves Pitt at 6-1 (2-0 Big East), its best start since 1982, as the Panthers make the transition from the Golden Knights (2-4) to the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers, who are ranked 24th, this coming Saturday at Heinz Field.

Though the Panthers were not ranked in the top 25 entering Friday’s match, they came to the Citrus Bowl to make a statement, which they did at the start. Lowell Robinson opened the game by taking Nick Beucher’s kickoff down the sideline for a 97-yard score.

As Moffett tried to get UCF in favorable field position, Clint Session converged on the quarterback, poking the ball loose, and Rashaad Duncan recovered for the Panthers.

Quarterback Tyler Palko kept the Pitt drive alive on third down with a 13-yard pass to Steve Buches, who tiptoed for the first. After the next pass to Buches was incomplete, Stephens-Howling picked up where he left off last week, following Mike McGlynn and Darrell Strong’s blocks for a 23-yard touchdown.

Central Florida tried to make things happen on special teams themselves when Curtis Francis returned Adam Graessle’s kickoff 59 yards, being pushed out of bounds at the Pitt 38 by Graessle. Receiver Willie Thornton gained 13 yards on a reverse, and tailback Kevin Smith ran for the other 17 yards, putting the ball at the Pitt 9-yard line, before Moffett threw the interception to Campbell.

On the first play of the second quarter, Palko broke free of a sack and turned a third-and-11 into a 14-yard pickup.

Two plays later, Palko did a play-action fake and threw it deep to Oderick Turner down the middle, who ran through daylight for a 54-yard score that ensured the Panthers’ clinic at 28-0.

The Golden Knights had all of one run by Jason Peters, who was pummeled by H.B. Blades, knocking the ball loose for a Pitt recovery. Though Pitt was only able to get a field goal out of Conor Lee from the drive, UCF coach George O’Leary had had enough.

O’Leary experimented with the other half of his quarterback tandem, putting Kyle Israel in the game. But Israel couldn’t get the Knights anywhere closer to the end zone than Moffett did.

Even with a 38-0 lead, the Panthers were not satisfied. With 41 seconds left in the half, Israel was sacked by Joe Clermond and fumbled, with defensive lineman Vernon Botts recovering.

It was the Knights’ fourth turnover of the half out of six possessions. Pitt tried to get a 27-yard field goal from Lee, but his kick was wide right.

In the second half, the Panthers were able to get a third touchdown, a six-yard scamper from Stephens-Howling that made the score 45-0.

UCF got on the board with a 1-yard run near the end of the third quarter, erasing a shutout by Pitt’s defense.

With backup Bill Stull in the game for Pitt, the offense didn’t let up. Stull took advantage of his playing time by throwing a 29-yard touchdown to Marcelo Pestano that closed the scoring at 52-7 with 10:13 remaining in the game.

“I do not know one area that we played even average in,” O’Leary said. “It is very disappointing from an execution standpoint on offense, defense and in the kicking game.

“We turned it over and they took advantage. The game plan changes when you’re losing 31-0.”

Despite the rout, Palko wasn’t celebrating for long in Orlando, as he now turns his attention to Rutgers. “It’s fun to win games like this,” Palko said. “The hard part is you only get to enjoy it for a little bit.”

The matchup between Pitt and Rutgers has the implications of a Big East heavyweight match, so much that the game will be televised to a national audience by ESPN2. Kickoff has been moved to 5:45 p.m.