Last second pass falls short for Pitt

The Pitt offense had no timeouts as it took the field on its own 24-yard line, trailing by a… The Pitt offense had no timeouts as it took the field on its own 24-yard line, trailing by a touchdown with little more than a minute left in regulation.

A comeback seemed unlikely, given the way the offense had struggled against the Nebraska defense all game.

But thanks to a few timely completions, the Panthers were able to put together a drive and found themselves on the doorstep of upsetting the Cornhuskers.

Hope seemed to fade, however, when the Panthers were faced with a fourth-and-10 at midfield, with only seconds left on the clock.

Tyler Palko lined up in the shotgun and received the snap. It didn’t take him long to make his decision. As he let the ball fly toward the right sideline, it was freshman Darrell Strong who fought his way through heavy coverage to make what head coach Walt Harris described as a “spectacular” catch.

The 31-yard completion moved Pitt all the way down to Nebraska’s 14-yard line, but left time for just one final play.

After a substitution infraction that sent Pitt back 5 yards, Palko dropped back to attempt the pass that would decide the outcome of the game. As protection broke down, Palko scrambled to his left and threw a high-spiraling pass.

“Everybody was in the end zone, so I made a desperation throw and hoped that someone could grab it,” Palko said.

As the ball drifted downward, tight end Erik Gill and wideout Joe DelSardo both looked to be in good position. But it was Nebraska defensive back Titus Brothers who was able to knock the ball, and the Panthers’ comeback hopes, down to the turf.

“It was a tough game to lose,” Harris said.

The loss was especially tough for Pitt’s defense. Nebraska’s offense had been averaging 528.5 yards per game, yet Pitt’s defense gave up only 265 total yards and pitched a shutout in the second half.

“Our defense, especially early, played tremendous,” Harris said. “The defense gave the offense a chance to come back to win the game. And we were just a little short.”

The Panthers’ offensive woes in the passing game continued as Palko committed three turnovers in the first half. Harris believes in the correlation between turnover margin and victory. Palko says that his poor decision-making was to blame for Saturday’s turnovers.

“I can’t make decisions like that,” Palko said. “We can have young receivers, and you can run wrong routes, but I’m the guy who pulls the trigger. So when you pull the trigger and you make bad decisions, it’s all on me.”

Things got off to a rocky start for the young quarterback. Pitt (1-1) started its first possession backed up on its own 3-yard line. After burning a timeout only two offensive plays into the game, Pitt was flagged once for illegal motion, then again for delay of game, setting up a third-and-13.

Palko was looking for DelSardo, but instead found Nebraska’s Fabian Washington, who returned the ball inside the Pitt 5-yard line.

Pitt’s defense was able to hold Nebraska to a field goal, but did not fare as well two possessions later when Palko threw another interception that left the Pitt defense on its heels, backed up against their own goal line for the third time in the first quarter.

Trailing 10-0, Marcus Furman returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown to bring the Panthers within three.

“The 10 guys in front of me did a great job of picking up their blocks,” Furman said. “And it was basically just me and the kicker, and you don’t get tackled by the kicker.”

Pitt’s defense forced Nebraska to punt, but was forced to come out and defend its goal line once again after Allen Richardson fumbled a fair catch attempt that was recovered by the Cornhuskers just outside the 5-yard line.

Richardson seemed to have a difficult time all day, allowing punts to roll and electing to return some punts in heavy traffic. Furman, who is currently second on the depth chart behind Richardson, can sympathize.

“It’s not easy,” Furman said. “You have to look at the ball. You have to make sure there aren’t six guys unblocked waiting to hit you. It’s definitely hard.”

Pitt’s defense has been more aggressive so far this season. The Panthers have been able to force turnovers and limit the amount of rushing yards given up. Defensive end Thomas Smith said that the early success is partly because of a new mentality.

“We just knuckled up and stood in there tall,” Smith said. “Last year, we were getting beat up. This year, that’s not the way we want it. We’ve changed the whole mentality. Everybody’s attacking, and we don’t expect anybody to get any yards on us.”

Palko was able to lead the Panthers to a last-minute field goal just before halftime, but was pulled in favor of Joe Flacco in the third quarter. Harris said that sitting Palko for a series was beneficial to both quarterbacks.

“I just felt like it would help Tyler and it would help Joe, so we just changed for one drive.” Harris said. “I think the sidelines give you a perspective that you can’t get from the field. [Palko’s] just got to continue to mature.”

The switch seemed to aid Palko, who was 22 of 45 for 228 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. After sitting out, Palko threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Greg Lee that made the score 24-17 with just less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Despite a questionable pass interference call, the defense was able to come up with a key stop that gave the Pitt offense one final possession that came up just short. Sophomore linebacker H.B. Blades, who came up with the interception that led to Lee’s touchdown reception, said that the team learned a lot on the field Saturday.

“We grow up more everyday,” Blades said. “Everyday that we’re together, we grow together. We’re not growing apart. This team’s only going to get stronger. This is just the beginning. We’ve got the whole Big East conference schedule to go.”

Pitt will welcome Division I-AA Furman to Heinz Field next Saturday. The kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.