Palko's scoring attack propels Pitt win

The Panthers quarterback passed for 203 yards.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pitt's Tyler Palko threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, and still didn't play as well against South Florida as he did last season.
Palko, finally looking comfortable in an offense redesigned by new coach Dave Wannstedt to emphasize the run, played well as Pittsburgh overcame a slow start and two early mistakes to beat South Florida 31-17 Saturday in the Bulls' first Big East road game.
Palko, whose statistics have dropped off appreciably following the changeover from former coach Walt Harris' quarterback-friendly West Coast offense to Wannstedt's more traditional, run-heavy system, finished 15-of-21 for 203 yards and no interceptions.
He came into the game with 1,366 yards passing -- barely one-third the 3,067 yards he finished with last season.
Less emotional
For now, the transition in systems remains a work in progress for Palko, though he is looking more relaxed and, at times, less emotional than he did while leading Pitt to the Fiesta Bowl last season following a 2-2 start.
"I can't do both," Palko said, referring to being the excitable leader he was a year ago and running the offense. "We're still in the process of learning the offense. You have to be patient and let it come to you."
Pitt (3-4, 2-1 in Big East), winning consecutive games for the first time under Wannstedt, fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter following a blocked punt and a Palko fumble, only to surge back with three touchdowns in a six-minute span in the second quarter as the Bulls (3-3, 1-1) again couldn't contain Palko.
"We had a 10-point lead and we just rolled over," South Florida's Andre Hall said.
Palko, who threw for 411 yards and five touchdowns in a 43-14 rout of South Florida in Tampa last season, found Greg Lee on a 69-yard scoring pass play on the opening play of the second quarter, then hit Lee again for 41 yards to the Bulls' 3 following a Darrelle Revis fumble recovery.
Panthers go ahead
Palko then threw a 3-yard scoring pass to fullback Tim Murphy to make it 14-10.
Lee settled for three catches for 106 yards after making eight receptions for 153 yards against South Florida last season.
Another South Florida fumble, this one by quarterback Pat Julmiste, was recovered by J.J. Horne and returned to the Bulls 12, and Palko later ran it in from a yard out to put the Panthers up 21-10 with nearly nine minutes remaining in the second quarter.
"We were able to get touchdowns off turnovers and that's always critical," Wannstedt said. "That's what got us back in the game. Our team did not come apart, did not come unglued and we made plays that overcame that."
South Florida got back to 21-17 on a Jumiste-to-Hall scoring pass play of 76 yards, but another fumble by a Bulls quarterback -- backup Courtney Denson -- was returned by Bernard "Josh" Lay to the Bulls 8.
Palko then found tight end Darrell Strong on an 8-yard TD pass late in the third quarter.
Josh Cummings also kicked a 27-yard field goal, giving him four field goals in two games after missing two games to have knee surgery.
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