PITTSBURGH -Saturday was supposed to be easy for Pitt. Instead, the Panthers wound up needing overtime to win a home game against a team from a lower classification.

Josh Cummings kicked a 37-yard field goal in overtime and Pitt, which scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, beat Furman 41-38.

"Whether people think it's a good victory or not doesn't matter," Pitt coach Walt Harris said. "It goes down as a win."

Harris said during the week that Furman would view the matchup as its bowl game, a prediction that turned out to be accurate.

"They're a representative football team," Harris said. "They're number two in the country in Division 1-AA and they showed why."

Furman (3-1) had the first possession of overtime but Scott Beckler missed a 37-yard field goal attempt. Cummings made his kick after the Panthers gained six yards on three running plays.

"We had a great start but we couldn't maintain it through the last couple of series," Furman coach Bobby Lamb said. "We just ran out of juice. Our kids gave tremendous effort. We threw everything at them. They just made one more play than we did at the end."

Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko, a first-year starter, completed 30 of 36 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns. Raymond Kirkley rushed for 108 yards on 26 carries for the Panthers.

"Tyler has learned some things and he's still learning some things," Harris said. "He has a better feel for what it takes at this level. He's very competitive."

Division 1-AA Furman has now lost 13 of its last 14 games against Division 1-A opponents.

"We couldn't get any heat on their quarterback," Lamb said. "Their offensive line is gigantic."

Pitt (2-1) forced overtime with three touchdowns in the last 11:33 of the fourth quarter. The Panthers had fallen behind 31-14 in the third quarter.

"We obviously have to start playing better sooner," Harris said. "As the game went on, I think we wore them down a little bit."

The Panthers were trailing 31-17 when Steve Buches caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Palko.

"You could tell late in the game that we were prepared," Palko said. "That's what you practice for all summer, to stay strong in the fourth quarter."

Palko said the Panthers were confident that they could come back.

"I know it's not always going to be like that but I felt like they couldn't stop us," he said. "There isn't a better feeling for an offensive player."

After Pitt drew within a touchdown at 31-24, Furman used a gimmick play to score. Isaac West took a handoff on an end-around and threw a pass to wide-open Brian Bratton for a 43-yard touchdown.

The Panthers used a flea flicker to complete a 40-yard pass that took the ball to Furman's 1. Marcus Furman pitched the ball back to Palko, who threw to Greg Lee. Kirkley scored on a 1-yard plunge to get Pitt within seven at 38-31.

The tying touchdown was a 38-yard pass from Palko to Buches with 3:44 left in the quarter and capped an 83-yard drive.

Furman scored 24 consecutive points after falling behind 14-7 in the first quarter.

The comeback started after Pitt's Malcolm Postell returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown. Postell stepped in front of West to pick off Ingle Martin's pass for his second touchdown return this season.

Furman had an 80-yard touchdown drive on the next series. Daric Carter gained a step on Pitt linebacker J.J. Horne along the right sideline and caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from Martin to tie the score at 14.

The Paladins took a 21-14 lead on West's 75-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. He caught a short pass from Martin and outran the Panthers, who were caught in a blitz. That drive came after Pitt failed to score on three plays from the Furman 1-yard line. Palko fumbled the snap on fourth down and the Paladins took over at the 9.

Beckler made a 42-yard field goal just before halftime for a 24-14 lead.

Furman opened the second half with an 80-yard touchdown drive, 30 of the yards coming on two personal foul penalties against the Panthers. Linebacker H.B. Blades was flagged for roughing the passer after Martin threw an incomplete pass on third-and-11. Safety Tyrone Gilliard was penalized for hitting Carter out of bounds. Jerome Felton scored on a 1-yard run.

Pitt settled for a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter after driving to the Furman 9.

Pitt's first possession of the game ended in a turnover when Buches snapped the ball over punter Adam Graessle's head and Furman got the ball at the Panthers' 19. Two plays later, Martin hit Bratton with a 17-yard touchdown pass.

Pitt answered with an 86-yard drive that ended with Palko's 30-yard touchdown pass to Joe DelSardo. Palko completed his first 11 pass attempts.

Furman lost both starting safeties on the first series. Free safety Cam Newton injured an ankle on the first play from scrimmage and strong safety Shelton Riley left three plays later with a knee injury.

"We have to go back to the training room and see who we can patch together for next week," Lamb said.

Entering the game, Palko had completed just 43.8 percent of his passes in Pitt's first two games.