ATHENS, Ohio -- Arguments may commence as to whether the Dave Wannstedt Era at Pitt looks suspiciously like the Dave Wannstedt error, but there is no argument that Pitt's 16-10 loss to poor little Ohio University last night at Peden Stadium was one of the sorriest chapters in the university's athletic history.

Tyler Palko's third interception, returned 81 yards for a winning touchdown in overtime by Dion Byrum, means that Pitt starts 0-2 for the first time since 1984, or, if you prefer, since the most recent time Pitt was coached by a Pitt man, Foge Fazio.

Given the inescapable conclusion that college athletic directors will gladly agree to play a football game at 3 a.m. in the basement of an abandoned Siberian underwear factory if ESPN wants it that way, you can't blame ESPN exclusively for moving the Pitt-Ohio game to Friday night.

Regardless of the various motivations for this little fiasco, it was left to the Panthers and the Bobcats to give the whole thing an ironic little twist: They played it like a bad high school game. So if you stayed home from a bad high school game to watch this, hey, ESPN2 at your service.

Tyler Palko had the kind of first half he probably never had at West Allegheny, were the offensive line was probably better than the fast-splintering unit Wannstedt is putting out there. He completed one of his seven passes in the game's first 30 minutes, unless you count the two he threw to Ohio, one in the Bobcats end zone and another carried 38 yards to the Pitt end zone by Byrum.

Gotta tell you, at least inside the press box, Heisman Trophy buzz was minimal.

That Byrum pick-and-go erased a 7-0 lead Pitt erected in the game's first 13 seconds, in which freshman kick returner LaRod Stephens-Howling fled 96 yards for a touchdown that falsely signaled another in a Pitt-Ohio series typified by routs. In seven previous meetings, Pitt outscored Ohio, 272-36, not that anyone was counting.

Palko, who had spent part of this week explaining that the Pitt offense should not be concerned that its defense had just allowed most of a 1,000 yards to Notre Dame, because his unit's primary objective was to outscore the opposition "even if it means scoring 100."

Yes, but what if it meant scoring, uh, 6?

For its part, Pitt's much-mocked defense was content to enjoy the benefits of being on the same field with an Ohio offense that failed on the season's first 14 third-down conversion attempts. But when the magic moment came for the Bobcats -- they finally got an 11-yard run on third-and-3 from Voncarie Owens with 7:21 left in the season's sixth quarter -- they celebrated by ripping off three conversions in a row on a 76-yard drive they still might not have turned into the go-ahead field goal without help from Pitt sophomore Mike Phillips. He got whistled for an unnecessary roughness penalty for belting an out-of-bounds Bobcats player at the Ohio 26, resulting in a first down at the Pitt 13. How sophomoric? Three plays later, Pitt trailed, 10-7.

The instant rush to blame Palko for everything the offense didn't do last night won't be as relentless as the rush he faced on the lawn at sold-out Peden Stadium. Palko rarely had time to set himself let alone make his reads, and that was even before starting right tackle Mike McGlynn and starting left guard Dominic Williams were both injured on the same play as Palko scrambled unsuccessfully on third-and-12 in the first quarter. Later, starting right guard John Simonitis spent time on the sideline as well.

Whatever adjustments Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh came up with at halftime, there was no evident letup in his quarterback's misery as the third quarter started drifting toward an unthinkable result. When Palko's critics get their story straight, they likely will focus on the final two plays of Pitt's final possession of the third quarter.

The Panthers had a second-and-1 at Ohio's 47 and the first semblance of rhythm since the first quarter of the Notre Dame debacle. It was there Pitt decided it would take a shot deep, and Palko dropped back and had a shot of Jameson. That was Ohio freshman Jameson Hartke, who was in his face almost instantly, but not so fast that Palko could not have gotten rid of the ball and saved a sack. Instead, he danced with Hartke all the way back his own 37, a 16-yard samba that turned a second-and-1 into a third-and-17. For that predicament, Palko threw deep down the middle into an area absent any Panthers, and it was nearly his third interception.