USF blown out, Fiesta time

Tyler Palko and Greg Lee were named to the Big East’s second team last week. Against South… Tyler Palko and Greg Lee were named to the Big East’s second team last week. Against South Florida on Saturday, they showed why they were worthy of a first-team selection.

Palko threw for 411 yards and five touchdowns in the 43-14 blowout win. Lee was on the receiving end of 153 of those yards.

The duo was hooking up so much that Palko compared it to a basketball game.

“I thought I was playing hoops with him,” he said following the game.

Palko also talked about how he stayed calm throughout the game, unlike last week against West Virginia, where he claimed to be too wired-up.

“I play so much better when I’m even-keeled,” Palko said.

He and the Panthers knew going into this game that they would need a win to secure their trip to the Fiesta Bowl.

Pitt (8-3 overall, 4-2 Big East) battled through an early block party by South Florida. The Bulls (4-7) blocked a field goal and two extra points in the first half, but there were no hands getting in the way of the other 29 points that were scored in the half.

The Panthers jumped out to an early 16-0 lead, with a touchdown drive on their first possession and two turnovers on the Bulls’ first couple drives.

Head coach Walt Harris was stuck with a tough decision early, facing fourth and one in the Bulls’ territory. Instead of sending Josh Cummings out to kick a field goal, Harris opted to put the ball in the hands of Palko.

Palko took the snap, faked a handoff to his fullback, then followed him though a hole on the left side.

The conversion set up Lee’s first touchdown of the day. With the ball spotted on the 18-yard line, Palko dropped back and quickly lobbed a pass to the front corner of the end zone. Timing it perfectly, Lee ran under the ball and pulled it in with ease.

On the ensuing South Florida drive, the offense was placed in a hole early, looking at first and 21 after a false start and a holding call.

Quarterback Pat Julmiste, on first down, threw the ball out to his left to S.J. Green. The ball went in and out of the hands of Green as he was hit by cornerback Josh Lay. Linebacker Malcolm Postell pulled down the loose ball for an interception and returned it 12 yards to the end zone, quickly giving Pitt a 13-0 lead.

On the very next South Florida drive, Pitt would again cause the Bulls to turn the ball over. This time it was a fumble by Jackie Chambers. After catching a pass, Chambers began to run toward the first down, but was pulled down short of it. As he was being pulled down, the ball popped out and into the hands of Pitt’s Joe Clermond.

Pitt would convert the turnover into a Cummings field goal.

Palko went on to throw all over the Bulls’ secondary. Eighty of his yards came on one single play.

In the fourth quarter, Pitt leading 36-14, Palko threw a strike down the middle of the field to tight end Erik Gill. Gill had snuck past all of the Bulls’ secondary. When he caught the ball, there was only one player who could stop him, but the defender took himself out of the play by diving to deflect the pass, instead of going for the receiver.

Palko has finished the regular season with 2,816 yards passing and 23 touchdowns. He only threw seven interceptions, five coming in the first four games of the season.

“He epitomizes western Pennsylvania football,” head coach Walt Harris said following the game.

Lee’s big day in Florida has placed him third on Pitt’s all-time single-season receiving list with 1,204 yards. He sits just behinds Larry Fitzgerald (1,672) and Antonio Bryant (1,457).

The turnaround is complete. Pitt went from 2-2 to BCS.

“They kept believing in each other,” Harris said, reiterating what he’s said all year. “We just had to get older. We had 10 new starters. That’s hard.”

Palko also spoke on Pitt’s unthinkable turnaround.

“It’s just one of those things where you set a goal and sometimes you have to knock over some road blocks and go through some tough times to get there,” he said.

“It’s just one of those things; like coach said, you have to go through the growing pains. This is a prime example.”

“Like I’ve always said, back to national prominence,” he said.

He was right. Pitt will be back in the national spotlight in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. The last time Pitt was in a major bowl was 1984. Coincidently, it was also the Fiesta Bowl.