PITT Tyler Palko improved

The Panthers have yet to play a ranked team.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- No Pitt quarterback ever worries about not getting enough personal attention from coach Walt Harris.
Because Harris is his own quarterbacks coach, he spends an inordinate amount of time with the players at that position. Sometimes, he can be seen talking at length with them between series, ignoring what's going on with his defense so he can clean up any problems occurring on offense.
So perhaps it's no surprise that with Pitt playing much better than it did earlier in the season, even if it's against suspect opposition, the Panthers' most improved player might be sophomore quarterback Tyler Palko.
First game
Palko looked lost during Pitt's unimpressive 24-3 victory over Ohio in its opener, not even throwing for 50 yards. But he has improved so much since then that Rutgers coach Greg Schiano says he is one of the Big East's best quarterbacks, even if it is a watered-down conference now that former powers Miami and Virginia Tech are playing in the ACC.
So is Harris surprised at how quickly Palko has improved in leading Pitt (5-2, 3-1 in Big East) to three consecutive victories and four in five games heading into its Nov. 6 game at Syracuse?
Well, no.
"I think Tyler is coming along like I hoped," Harris said. "Honestly, you never know how quickly they (quarterbacks) will pick it up because it's such a different thing from high school to being on the scout team to scrimmaging to actually playing in a game. But he's made some tremendous plays. He's a mighty fine quarterback, and we love the things he's done to put us in a better position."
Pace of progress
Palko has shaken off his turnover-riddled play against Ohio and Nebraska in Pitt's first two games to throw for 1,564 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He's not on pace to have an Alex Van Pelt- or Rod Rutherford-type season, but he has substantially upgraded his play in only a few weeks, twice throwing for more than 300 yards.
As a result, the same Pitt team that looked terrible at times in losing to Nebraska and Connecticut and even worse in tight victories against Temple and Division I-AA Furman is one victory away from a winning season.
The Panthers have yet to play a ranked team, but could wind up in a BCS bowl -- possibly, the Sugar -- should they beat Syracuse (3-4, 1-1) next week and upset No. 17 West Virginia (6-1, 2-0) on Thanksgiving night.
"We want to win the Big East and we want to win the rest of our games," said Palko, who threw for 318 yards Saturday against Rutgers. "If we take care of business, we'll play (West Virginia) for the Big East championship."
Hurdles remain
Still, for all the improvement the Panthers showed in upsetting Boston College 20-17 in overtime and manhandling Rutgers 41-17 the last two weeks, Harris understands there is considerable work left to do.
"We've had to overcome some youthfulness and some injuries, and it's a slow process for guys to learn how to play at this level," Harris said.