The Big East Offensive Player of the Week may have turned in the most offensive quote of the year as well.

Pittsburgh quarterback Tyler Palko went into South Bend, Ind., on Saturday afternoon and played a career game. A week after the Pittsburgh football team lost to Syracuse, Palko, who has been an emerging star all season, decided to have his coming-out party – not only with his arm, but also with his mouth.

The junior had his best game as a Panther, completing 26 of 42 passes for 334 yards, along with five touchdown passes. The five scores marked the first time anyone had ever tossed five touchdowns against a Fighting Irish defensive unit. Pitt kicker Josh Cummings capped an emotional win with a 32-yard field goal with one second left to give Pitt a 41-38 victory. It was Pittsburgh’s first win in Notre Dame Stadium since 1986.

As the Panthers celebrated on the field, NBC pulled Palko aside for a live post game interview.

‘I’m so (expletive) proud of this team,’ Palko said on national television.

Later, Palko apologized for slipping the swear word past the censors.

‘I lost my composure on the field and said something in the heat of the moment,’ Palko told the Washington Post after the game. ‘That’s not me. That’s not Tyler. It was just a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing. I apologize to my teammates, my family and anybody that was watching.’

When the interview concluded, NBC’s Tom Hammond apologized three times for the language. Pittsburgh made itself bowl eligible (6-3, 3-2 Big East) with two games remaining. Palko won’t be suspended for his action.

‘As far as we’re concerned, it’s a done deal,’ said E.J. Borghetti, Pitt’s assistant athletic director for media relations.

With the upsets of Pitt over Notre Dame and Boston College over West Virginia (36-17) in Morgantown, W.Va., the Big East race just got a little tighter.

BC (7-2, 3-1 Big East) would be the Big East representative in the Bowl Championship Series if the season ended today. The Eagles still have to face Temple and Syracuse in their final two games. Pitt, WVU and Syracuse – the other three teams that could finish for a tie atop the league – have just one conference game left.

Pitt will host WVU on Thanksgiving night in the annual ‘Backyard Brawl’ and Syracuse will travel to BC that Saturday. If Pitt and Syracuse win, it is still possible that four teams could all end up with a 4-2 conference record and a first-place tie.

And if that were to happen, WVU and BC would be snubbed and Pitt would go to a BCS bowl game. The Eagles control their own path to the BCS, meaning if they win their final two games, the Eagles can assure themselves a spot in the BCS.

‘You can’t spend too much time thinking and worrying about the past,’ BC head coach Tom O’Brien said. ‘We are focused on what we need to do this week and that is prepare for Temple.’

Pitt head coach Walt Harris also downplayed the possible BCS berth.

‘I learned a long time ago,’ Harris said, ‘not to worry about the things you can’t control.’

Will Blackmon, Boston College’s cornerback and return specialist, had 132 total return yards in the Eagles’ victory. The junior returned two kickoffs for a total of 61 yards and returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The performance earned Blackmon Big East Special Teams Player of the Week.

‘Our guys in the secondary are experienced,’ O’Brien said. ‘They have been back there and know what we are trying to accomplish.’

Connecticut lost consecutive games for the first time since October 2002. … West Virginia wide receiver Chris Henry has caught 12 touchdown passes, twice as many as any other Big East wide receiver. … After leading the Big East in all-purpose yards for the first month of the season, WVU’s Kay-Jay Harris has dropped to seventh (923). … If Rutgers can win either of its two remaining games against Navy and Connecticut, the Scarlet Knights would match their win total of last year with five wins, the most since 1992. … Pitt leads the league with a +8 turnover margin.

Published on November 16, 2004 at 12:00 pm