Palko blasts teammates' efforts

The struggling Panthers need two wins to salvage a winning season.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt wishes Tyler Palko hadn't publicly criticized some teammates for a perceived lack of a strong work ethic, but defends his quarterback's competitiveness and refusal to accept a disappointing season.
After Pitt's 42-20 loss Thursday at No. 23 Louisville, Palko said high expectations demand a strong commitment to get better and that some players need to "work harder." He also pointed out how some players decline to talk to reporters after a poor performance, leaving it to others to answer for them.
Pitt (4-5, 3-2 in Big East), No. 23 in the AP preseason poll, must beat Connecticut (4-4, 1-3) Saturday and upset No. 18 West Virginia (7-1, 4-0) Nov. 24 to dodge its first losing season since 1999. The Panthers also must win both games for any chance to appear in a sixth consecutive bowl game.
Two months ago, the last thing the Panthers thought they would be talking about in early November was a possible losing season.
Had great expectations
With a new coach, a decided upswing in recruiting and 16 returning starters from last season's Fiesta Bowl team, Pitt went into September with greater expectations than in any season since the early 1980s. But the Panthers were blown out at home by underdog Notre Dame in their opener and have since lost to teams such as Ohio and Rutgers, beating only three of eight Division I-A opponents.
Wannstedt thinks Palko's postgame remarks reflect the disappointment good players feel when a season goes bad. Palko said that despite the worse-than-expected season, Pitt is not going to "lower expectations."
"Tyler's very emotional, and nobody works harder than Tyler," Wannstedt said Monday. "There's probably nobody on our team, in his mind, that works hard enough. That's him. That's what you have to love about him. He's constantly not going to challenge guys by what he says, but he'll challenge them just by example.
"I don't mind that attitude. I think you keep that stuff in-house, but I don't think he was really taking a shot at anybody. I'm sure it was just a little bit of emotion and a little bit of frustration we all had."
Blades agrees
Middle linebacker H.B. Blades doesn't have a problem with what Palko said.
"You have to push people, but some people won't take it," Blades said. "I can talk and talk until I can't talk any more, but if they don't want to do it then they won't do it. And those are the people, we all know, who won't be around."
The Panthers' final home game Saturday -- they are 4-1 at Heinz Field this season -- is a rematch of one of their most disappointing losses of last season under former coach Walt Harris, a 29-17 defeat at UConn on Sept. 30, 2004. The victory was UConn's first in a Big East game.
UConn owns only one Big East victory this season, against Syracuse, and is coming off consecutive losses to Cincinnati, Rutgers and West Virginia.
"We need every bit of attention on this week," Wannstedt said of Pitt needing to win its final two to salvage the season. "We know we've got two games left, and let's worry about next week, next week. That's kind of the theme right now."
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