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Palko recalls first showdown with Nebraska
TV/radio: WTAE-4/WPGB-FM (104.7), WBGG-AM (970) and the Pittsburgh ISP Sports Network
Biertempfel's pick: Nebraska wins, 17-14
Rob Biertempfel is the Pirates beat writer. He can be reached via e-mail. Also check out Biertempfel's blog, Pirates Q&A or follow him on Twitter.
"You can say it," Palko said, "I was (awful)."
Taken at face value, Palko's performance, especially in the first half, that day in 2004 was not very inspiring. His stats (22 for 45, 228 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions) gave no indication of the type of player he would be by season's end.
Yet, if you ask Palko to identify the moment he became a Division I quarterback, he will point to the 24-17 loss against the Cornhuskers.
At halftime, Palko sat off by himself in the locker room at Heinz Field. The game was moving too fast, the mistakes piling up in a blur.
"I had scraped rock bottom," he said. "The (fans) had been chanting my name. Now, all of the sudden, they were booing."
Palko closed his eyes and suddenly was struck by the memory of the PIAA title game his senior year at West Allegheny High, when every play he ran was golden and every pass he threw was effortless.
"I remembered the feeling of going out and just making plays like I knew what was going to happen," he said. "I said to myself, 'Man, how are you going to get to that point again if you can't focus on it now?' "
When he took his first snap of the third quarter against Nebraska, something in Palko had changed for the better.
"I went out and I just played," he said. "It was getting back to basics and trusting that things were going to work out.
"That second half of the Nebraska game was when I knew I could play this game. It was, take a five-step drop, bam, complete a pass. It was like, 'Hell, yeah, I can play! It's good now.' So, that was it."
The second half -- when Palko went 13 for 27 for 158 yards and a score -- was a springboard to success. Palko threw three picks in the first half against the 'Huskers. He would throw only three more over the next 10 games.
"I like the fact that he gets disappointed in himself and knows the only way out of it is to work harder the next week," Panthers offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh said.
This afternoon, Pitt (0-2) faces Nebraska (2-0) on the road, and Palko again is seeking redemption. A week ago against Ohio, he misfired on three passes -- interceptions that led to a 16-10 overtime defeat.
Nebraska coach Bill Callahan is not expecting to see another first-half flop today from Palko.
"We look back at last year and what he did in the second half of our game -- how he came on, how he produced and how he almost led his team to a victory against us," Callahan said. "He has our full attention. He's capable of lighting it up at any time."
The ability to improvise a big play out of a seemingly hopeless situation was one of Palko's strengths last season. But Cavnaugh said it also can lead to the types of poor decisions that were evident in the Ohio debacle.
"Tyler shouldn't feel like he's got to make a play every snap," Cavanaugh said. "He needs to understand that it's not just him that's going to make us win games. He's got a good supporting cast. He's got to use those people. When they're open, get them the ball. When they're not, pull it down and throw it away."
