PITTSBURGH - He won a game at Notre Dame that appeared lost in the fourth quarter. He won a game against rival West Virginia that appeared lost in the fourth quarter. With every game, Tyler Palko keeps taking the Pitt Panthers further than they ever expected to go.

Now, after yet another comeback, Palko seems ready to take the Panthers (7-3, 4-2 Big East) where haven't gone in 22 seasons: a New Year's Day bowl game.

"This is a huge step for us," offensive tackle Rob Petitti said of Pittsburgh's 16-13 Backyard Brawl upset of No. 21 West Virginia Thursday night.

"We're sick of people saying we're not good ... of saying we can't win big games. I remember when the season started, and we were like No. 70 in the country. Nobody thought we could do this."

Tyler Palko did.

He convinced the Panthers they could win at Notre Dame for the first time in 18 years, and he led two scoring drives in the final 3 minutes of the 41-38 upset victory on Nov. 13. He convinced the Panthers they could win Thursday, even when they hadn't scored a touchdown all night and needed to drive nearly 75 yards in the closing minutes to do so.

"That's what I kept hearing when they gave me the keys to this bus: We need a quarterback who can win big games," the sophomore said, referring to Pitt's recent history of failing against its big rivals and ranked opponents. "I expect to win big games."

Because Pitt suddenly can win such games, the team that barely beat Division I-AA Furman and Big East weakling Temple appears headed to the Gator Bowl Jan. 1, possibly against Florida State.

And if Syracuse should upset Big East leader Boston College Saturday, the Panthers would likely wind up with the conference's guaranteed BCS bowl bid and a Fiesta Bowl date against Utah.

Last year, the Panthers went only 8-5 and lost to West Virginia and Notre Dame despite having Heisman Trophy runner-up Larry Fitzgerald. Maybe Fitzgerald needed Tyler Palko, who has thrown for 1,159 yards and 11 touchdowns in his last four games.

"Ever since I've been here, it seems we come up short (in the fourth quarter)," Petitti said. "Tyler Palko won't let us do that. He expects us to win, and he's just great to have in the huddle. He's a great leader."

Palko, the son of one of Pittsburgh's top high school coaches, was only 14-of-38 for 165 yards and an interception but was nearly perfect while leading the decisive 73-yard drive. He completed four consecutive passes on third downs before scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 2-yard rollout with 4:06 remaining.

The Mountaineers (8-3, 4-2) had a chance to win it until quarterback Rasheed Marshall - who ran for 104 yards and passed for 145 - threw incomplete on fourth-and-6 from the Pitt 33 with 42 seconds remaining. The play before, wide receiver Dwayne Thompson just missed completing a flea flicker pass into the end zone to Marshall that H.B. Blades might have tipped.

"It was a play we put in this week," said Marshall, who was without his top receiver, the suspended Chris Henry. "I had my hands on it and I felt it should have been a score."

The Mountaineers also felt it should have been a win, but special teams mistakes doomed them just as they did when Boston College returned two punts for touchdowns in a 36-17 upset in Morgantown on Nov. 13.

Brad Cooper missed two of four field-goal tries, Phil Brady averaged only 29.3 yards on four punts and the Mountaineers twice drew penalties for running into Pitt punter Adam Graessle among their 89 penalty yards.

"They didn't play well enough to beat us. Every time we got an advantage, we hurt ourselves," West Virginia cornerback Adam "Pac-Man" Jones said. "This one hurts really bad."

West Virginia also caught a bad break when Lee appeared to trap one of his three third-down receptions on the decisive drive, only to be awarded the catch.

Now, instead of the Fiesta or Gator Bowl, the Mountaineers might have to settle for the Insight Bowl.

"This season is not a total loss," coach Rich Rodriguez said. "We've won eight games this year, but it's very disappointing because we felt we had opportunities to win had we played better."