BIG EAST Fitzgerald and Rutherford spark win

Despite a sloppy second half against Rutgers, the Panthers won, 42-32.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) -- All Pittsburgh needed to get back on track was a spectacular first half from Larry Fitzgerald and Rod Rutherford.
The second half was one coach Walt Harris would like to forget.
Fitzgerald caught eight passes for a career-best 207 yards and two touchdowns and Rutherford threw for three scores and ran for another in a spectacular first half that led the Panthers to a 42-32 victory over Rutgers on Saturday.
"We're thankful we won," Harris said after Pittsburgh (4-2, 1-0 Big East) had to hold on after building a 42-7 halftime lead. "We played awfully well in the first half and for some reason we didn't play as an offense in the second half. It went south. It was rough."
Two more TD receptions
Fitzgerald, the sophomore who came into the game leading the nation with a 132.7-yard receiving average, caught scoring passes of 43 and 26 yards to extend his streak of catching a touchdown pass to 12 games.
"Larry Fitzgerald has not been stopped by anyone," coach Greg Schiano said after Rutgers (3-4, 0-3) lost its 25th consecutive conference game. "We had him double covered and he still caught passes. It's tough when a guy beats you and you have him double covered."
Rutherford was just as good. He threw for a career-high 382 yards, hitting 20 of 28 passes in the first half for 347 yards.
While happy the Panthers rebounded from a disappointing loss to Notre Dame a week ago, Rutherford wasn't thrilled with the second half. Pitt was limited to 67 yards and Fitzgerald did not catch a pass.
"We just went flat," Rutherford said. "I don't think it was anything we couldn't do. Physically we just went dead in the second half."
Conference record
The touchdowns gave Fitzgerald 13 this season, tying the conference record set by Pitt's Terry Murphy in 1997.
"They had a few plays designed for me," said Fitzgerald, who had 201 receiving yards against Toledo earlier this season. "I was able to get open and catch a few passes and get some early scores on the board."
Jawan Walker scored on runs of 6 and 55 yards for the Panthers.
Brian Leonard caught two short touchdown passes and ran for two other scores for Rutgers. His 1-yard run with 4:27 to play cut the lead to 10 points, but Ryan Hart, who threw for a career-best 384 yards, was sacked on the ensuing 2-point conversion.
Tez Morris and William Ferguson iced the game with interceptions in the final 1:34.
Freshman Justise Hairston also ran for a touchdown for the Scarlet Knights, who have lost three straight after getting off to their best start in a decade.
The Panthers, who were knocked out of the Top 25 after losing to Notre Dame last weekend, gained 427 yards and averaged 9.7 yards per play in taking the big lead. They scored touchdowns on six of nine first-half possessions.
Walker scored on a 6-yard run to cap a game-opening drive and Rutherford stretched the lead to 14-0 with an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kris Wilson, who set career marks with nine catches for 110 yards.