Turnover is a common scenario in college football, and Pittsburgh knew it would be suffering a loss when senior quarterback Tyler Palko graduated. As Palko departed, it was time to usher in a new era, but who would fill the void was undecided.

Throughout training camp, Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt found himself watching two young quarterbacks compete for the starting job. Junior quarterback Bill Stull waited two years for his chance to lead the Panther offense. Not guaranteed the job, Stull battled redshirt freshman Kevan Smith for the right to start the season opener.

What Wannstedt could not foresee was less than two weeks after handing the team over to a starter, he was destined to repeat the process all over again. Only the second time around, the circumstances would not be so predictable.

Stull could not even stay on the field the entire game against Eastern Michigan last Saturday. A torn ligament in his throwing thumb caused him to retire in the third quarter of his first collegiate start, leaving Wannstedt to scramble yet again for a new starting quarterback.

The injury is described as something that can not be patched up quickly. Stull underwent surgery Sunday to have the ligament repaired, and he will be sidelined indefinitely. Stull will be monitored for progress week to week, but Wannstedt has set no timetable for a return.

‘The only report I got from the doctors was it was as good as good can be when you’re having surgery,’ Wannstedt said. ‘There was no additional stuff they had to do or anything they found.’

When Stull won the starting job in late August, he had big shoes to fill. Throughout Palko’s three years as starting quarterback, he played consistently in 35 games. Palko finished with 8,343 career passing yards, which ranks third all time at Pitt behind Alex Van Pelt and Hall of Famer Dan Marino.

After those three long years of watching from the sidelines, Stull finally took the field against Eastern Michigan. Having only thrown 10 passes as a Panther lack of experience did not show early, as he connected on his first seven consecutive throws. Stull completed 14 of 21 pass attempts for 177 yards in the game when disaster struck.

This is not the first major injury the Panthers have suffered this season. Senior wide receiver Derek Kinder is out for the season with a torn ACL that occurred in camp. The injury bug made it necessary for Pitt to improvise with young players in its opener.

Stull’s early departure forced the Panthers to turn to a less experienced player at the most important position. Smith took over his duties and threw only five passes, the first of his collegiate career. Despite this fact, the job will not be handed over to the backup. He has to earn it, just like Stull did.

Smith now finds himself competing with true freshman Pat Bostick for the start against Grambling State this Saturday. The battle for backup during the summer is now resurrected, yet this time for the highest spot on the depth chart.

Although both quarterbacks are capable of running the offense, Smith got the early jump on Bostick in the summer. Smith quickly sprung into the backup role while Bostick missed time to take care of an undisclosed personal issue. Bostick was heavily recruited coming out of Manheim Township (Pa.) High School and was nationally ranked as the sixth-best quarterback in the class of 2007 by Scout.com.

The two Pennsylvanians may be waiting a while for the announcement. There is no rush to choose a starter, and he could even be chosen as late as Saturday afternoon, Wannstedt said. The decision is not a matter of experience; it lies in which player gives the Panthers the best opportunity to come out with the win, the head coach said.

For now, the only thing certain about the quarterback position is uncertainty. The question that was supposed to be solved weeks earlier may now be a season-long lingerer.

‘I’m going to make a decision on how these kids practice, how they prepare and how they handle themselves in the huddle,’ Wannstedt said. ‘It started (Sunday) night. We practiced and both of them split time and the process for who’s going to start began last night and will continue throughout the week.’

Underwood breaks receiving record

Rutgers junior running back Ray Rice ripped off 184 yards against the Buffalo defense in the Scarlet Knights’ home opener. Yet another teammate tried to steal the show as the team received help from a source other than the ground game.

With the third largest crowd in school history looking on, junior wide receiver Tiquan Underwood caught 10 passes for 248 yards. Last season, Underwood posted 290 yards for the entire year. Underwood’s performance broke Jack Emmer’s 41-year-old school record of 237 yards and earned him Big East Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Rutgers junior quarterback Mike Teel connected with Underwood for 65- and 66-yard touchdown strikes. This was Underwood’s first game back since sustaining a leg injury late last season against West Virginia. The injury prevented him from playing in the Texas Bowl, which was the team’s first-ever bowl game win.

‘Tiquan had a great game, really a super performance,’ Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano said. ‘A record-setting performance here at Rutgers, it’s great for him. After getting injured at the end of the season, for him to come back that way was really big for our ball club’

Around the conference

The teams in the Big East Conference got off to a quick start this week, winning seven of the eight opening games. Syracuse accrued the conference’s sole loss in its 42-12 blowout to Washington. … Rutgers Heisman hopeful junior running back Ray Rice will attempt to reach another milestone Friday night against Navy. After passing the 3,000 yard mark against Buffalo, Rice is currently 16 yards short of pulling even with the school’s career rushing record. Terrell Willis, who played at Rutgers from 1993-1995, holds the record with 3,114 yards. … Connecticut’s road opener at Duke made it the only Big East team to play away from home this week. After falling behind at the 14-11 at the half, the Huskies emerged from the locker room with renewed confidence. They outscored Duke, 34-0, as junior quarterback Tyler Lorenzen turned in 365 yards of offense in his debut.

Published on September 4, 2007 at 12:00 pm