PITTSBURGH Famous roomates get time in the sun

Today's game is the Panthers latest season opener since 1980.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Not long ago, Tyler Palko was Larry Fitzgerald's roommate at Pitt and Ryan Hawk was Ben Roethlisberger's roommate at Miami (Ohio).
If nothing else, the opposing quarterbacks in tonight's Ohio-Pittsburgh game can chat at midfield about their famous friends who made roughly $29 million in NFL signing bonuses this season.
Given a choice, the two probably would rather talk about playing -- something each had waited years to do. It's why Hawk, the brother of Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk, tired of being Roethlisberger's backup and transferred to Ohio. It's why Palko patiently put in time at Pitt, waiting for Rod Rutherford to use up his eligibility.
Itching
"I've waited three years to play, so I am itching to play and I know everyone here is itching to play," said Palko, a former standout at West Allegheny.
Of course, Palko didn't know he would have to wait this long; Pitt's scheduled opener Monday at South Florida was postponed until December because of Hurricane Frances.
That created a five-day delay for what now becomes Pitt's latest season opener since 1980, but it means the Panthers don't have to play the Bobcats (1-0) following an unusually short turnaround.
Pitt also gets a far less challenging opponent than it would have had in South Florida, which joins the Big East Conference next season.
Still, there are no assured wins on this Pitt schedule, not with so many key players gone from a team that began last season in the Top 25 with its biggest buildup since the early 1980s, only to finish a disappointing 8-5.
Huge void
Fitzgerald, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, then took off for the NFL after only two college seasons, and to say the Panthers have a large void to fill is an understatement.
"You don't replace Larry Fitzgerald," coach Walt Harris said.
What Harris doesn't know yet is if he can replace Rutherford or tight end Kris Wilson or running back Brandon Miree, either. This is his least-experienced team since he took over in 1997 and, perhaps, his least-talented; there are eight new starters just on offense.
What Harris wants in the opener is to get Palko settled in, establish a rhythm between the quarterback and his inexperienced receivers -- Joe DelSardo is a former walk-on -- and rediscover the running game that was largely missing last season. Raymond Kirkley, a starter in 2001 but buried deep on the depth chart ever since, returns at running back following Miree's injury-filled 2003 season.