Palko leads Pitt to rout of Toledo for fourth win

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The Panthers capitalized on the Rockets' mistakes and dealt them their third loss.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh needed less than five minutes to turn a pair of pivotal mistakes by Toledo into a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter, and Tyler Palko threw for two scores that led the Panthers to a 45-3 victory Saturday.

Pitt, off to a 4-1 start after being 1-4 a year ago under coach Dave Wannstedt, never gave the Rockets (2-3) a chance.

Palko threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Derek Kinder shortly after Toledo couldn't convert on fourth-and-1 from its own 42. One play later, defensive lineman Gus Mustakas returned a Brandon Summers-thrown interception 9 yards to make it 14-0 before Pitt got the ball for a second time.

Palko, tied for the national lead in TD passes going into the weekend, sat out the fourth quarter but still threw his 13th and 14th touchdown passes while going 12-of-15 for 172 yards.

Dorin Dickerson, a highly recruited freshman wide receiver and running back, also scored on a 14-yard reverse on his first carry from scrimmage as a college player following another Toledo turnover late in the third quarter.

Dickerson was injured during training camp, and there was speculation Pitt might hold him out to preserve a year of eligibility.

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Kevin Collier, another freshman, added a 5-yard run following another Davis fumble, this one in the third quarter, not long after fullback Conredge Collins scored from the 13 to end Pitt's opening possession of the second half.

Toledo's first major mistake came when Richard Davis lost 10 yards on a fumble on fourth-and-1 from the Rockets' 42, and Palko needed only three plays to get Pitt into the end zone on Kinder's sixth touchdown catch this season.

Summers was intercepted by Mustakas on Toledo's next play, and it didn't get much better after that on offense for the Rocket. Neither Aaron Opelt (15-of-30, 92 yards, 1 interception) nor Summers (3-of-5, 14 yards, 1 interception) was all that effective, though Opelt also was the Rockets' top rusher with 56 yards.

Sunday, October 1, 2006