Palko leads Pitt to miracle comeback

Pitt was down 24-14 at the half, and quarterback Tyler Palko remained calm.

After halftime,… Pitt was down 24-14 at the half, and quarterback Tyler Palko remained calm.

After halftime, he watched from the sidelines as Furman increased its lead to 31-14, but he still kept his cool.

Even after he led the team down the field twice, helping Pitt to a field goal and a touchdown, and again watched his defense allow seven points, he did not flinch.

Palko just casually led Pitt to one of its best comebacks in recent years.

Palko’s three touchdown tosses and 380 yards passing were crucial in Pitt’s 41-38 come-from-behind win.

He started on a roll, completing his first 11 pass attempts. He spread the ball around to nine different receivers. But most importantly, he did not throw an interception.

For the most part, the Furman defensive line was unable to put pressure on Palko, and, as a result, he connected with receivers easily, completing 30 of 36 passes.

“It’s a lot easier to pick apart a defense when you’re sitting back there, rather than running around all the time,” wideout Joe DelSardo explained after the game.

Time was the key. On most plays, Palko received sufficient time to find the open man, throw him the ball, and move the first-down chains.

DelSardo explained that the receivers were able to find holes in the Furman zone, and Palko did the rest, he said.

With the win, a new, yet familiar, light is shed upon Palko — a light that was on him throughout the preseason, but faded as soon as he started scrambling around aimlessly in the pocket against Ohio and Nebraska.

However, Palko does not care about the statistics. It’s all about the win.

“I would have given up all [380] yards and have the 49 passing yards like we did against Ohio to win,” Palko said. “Most important thing is that we got the win.”

With the win, Pitt moves on to its Big East schedule, kicking off in UConn Thursday night.

Palko will again look for the success he had against Furman, but he doesn’t promise anything.

“I think I’m still not as comfortable as I’d like to be,” Palko said after the game. “It’s a growing process [and a] learning process. This stuff is not going to happen all the time.”

DelSardo views Palko’s future a little differently.

“I think that Tyler just [had] a break out game,” he said. “He’s going to keep rolling from here on.”

If DelSardo is correct, Palko could very well lead his team to another bowl game. The confidence is there. It’s just a question of execution.

“He’s a leader, and he’s our guy,” Petitti said of Palko.