HEINZ FIELD Rutherford throws 4 TD passes in Pitt's rout

The No. 10 Panthers cruised past Kent State.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Rod Rutherford, benched at the start for disciplinary reasons, threw four touchdown passes in the second quarter Saturday and No. 10 Pittsburgh breezed to a 43-3 victory over Kent State.
Larry Fitzgerald, far too quick and athletic to be contained by Kent State's undersized secondary, caught scoring passes of 7, 11 and 54 yards in less than 10 minutes as Pitt turned a 3-0 deficit into a 28-3 halftime lead.
Rutherford, charged Friday over a parking lot dispute with a 19-year-old woman last weekend, came on following a blocked punt and immediately threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Princell Brockenbrough. It was the first throw and play of the season for Rutherford and the first career catch for Brockenbrough, a junior college transfer who sat out last season with a knee injury.
Pittsburgh (1-0) looked like a totally different team once Rutherford came on after punting on its first three possessions with redshirt freshman Luke Getsy at quarterback.
Rutherford also looked like a totally different quarterback than he did in Pitt's opener last season. Then, in his first career start, he was intercepted three times in an unimpressive 27-14 victory over Ohio University.
Rough week
Despite a disconcerting week filled with police interviews and attorney's meetings, Rutherford didn't look distracted or unprepared when he came on with Pitt trailing 3-0.
Rutherford, nearly as big as some of Pitt's linebackers at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, hit Brockenbrough in the numbers with a line drive of a pass on his first throw, and went on to complete 17 of 25 passes for 288 yards and no interceptions in only two quarters.
Fitzgerald took advantage of frequent one-on-one coverage to make six catches for 123 yards. He also caught a touchdown pass for a school-record seventh consecutive game.
His first touchdown catch, a leaping 7-yarder in the end zone, came just 2:12 after Brockenbrough's touchdown and finished off an 80-yard, six-play drive.
Fitzgerald's next two scores also ended quick drives, with Rutherford's 23-yard throw to Brockenbrough setting up Fitzgerald's 11-yard touchdown on a two-play drive.
Inside move
Pitt needed just three plays to travel 76 yards on its next possession, with Rutherford again finding Fitzgerald in solo coverage down the sideline. Cornerback Ray Coley of Kent State (1-1) was in position to make the tackle at about the 30, but Fitzgerald used an inside-out move to dodge him and ran untouched into the end zone.
Brandon Miree added a 2-yard scoring run in the third quarter during a 113-yard night, his fourth consecutive 100-yard game.
Pittsburgh, which opens with three consecutive games against Mid-American Conference teams before playing at Texas A & amp;M on Sept. 27, is 7-0 in season openers under coach Walt Harris. The Panthers are starting a season in the Top 10 for the first time since 1984.