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Notebook: Palko takes hits, keeps going
"Part of the job," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
It's that type of attitude that enabled Palko to recover from a disastrous debut a week earlier against Ohio University and progress significantly in his second career start.
Things were rocky at the outset against the Huskers -- three first-half interceptions, two of which led to 10 points -- but the West Allegheny grad settled in as the game went on.
With his team trailing 24-7, he completed 6 of 10 passes in leading a 67-yard drive that led to a Josh Cummings field goal. The Panthers still trailed by 10, but Palko gained confidence.
"You could see it picked him up," senior left tackle Rob Petitti said.
Palko went on to complete 22 of 45 passes for 228 yards with a touchdown and the three interceptions. In the fourth quarter, he was 11 of 22 for 152 yards and a touchdown.
His 34-yard scoring strike to wideout Greg Lee with 4:45 remaining cut the margin to 24-17, then he drove the Panthers 62 yards -- completing passes of 17, 21 and 31 yards -- before his final attempt in the end zone was batted away with no time remaining.
FLACCO TIME: Freshman backup quarterback Joe Flacco was inserted into the game with two minutes left in the third quarter. He did not attempt a pass, but took off on a three-yard run for a first down. Palko was struggling at that point.
"We're young on offense and we haven't been functioning," he said. "I felt like it would help Tyler. So, we changed for a drive."
Flacco quick-kicked on a third-down (the second time Pitt used the play yesterday) but the punt went only 25 yards. The call was somewhat surprising because Pitt was not extremely deep in its territory, the 20-yard line.
"Joe was completely surprised when the ball was snapped, so it looked bad," Harris said.
THE INJURED: The Panthers lost fullback Tim Murphy early in the game with what appeared to be an aggravation of his hamstring injury. Defensive end Azzie Beagnyam also hobbled off in the second half with a leg problem. Neither returned and their status for next week is not known, according to Harris.
FOR KICKS: The Panthers kicking game looked good, with Cummings hitting all three of his attempts -- a field goal and two extra points -- and punter Adam Graessle averaging 47.8 yards on five attempts. Three of those punts landed inside the 20, including one at the Nebraska one, and he had a long of 55 yards.
WATER WORLD: The scene outside of Heinz Field was eye-catching. The Allegheny River spilled over onto the North Shore, flooding the extended walkway that leads to the open end of the stadium. The Gateway Clipper fleet cancelled service from Station Square because it could not drop passengers off due to the flooding. As the game went on, unoccupied boats aimlessly floated down the river, some halfway in the water. Despite the high waters, Heinz Field held up considerably well, save for some slipping.
