PITTSBURGH - If Pittsburgh wondered how much it would miss Larry Fitzgerald, now the Panthers know: very badly.

Pittsburgh's first game in the post-Fitzgerald era was a near-flop, as a rebuilt offense did little against underdog Ohio, and the Panthers' key touchdowns in a 24-3 victory Saturday night resulted from a blocked punt and an interception.

Tyler Palko looked nervous in his debut as Pitt's quarterback replacement for Rod Rutherford, completing only six passes in an offense that effectively generated only 10 points against one of Division I-A's weakest teams.

Walt Harris, Pitt's eighth-year coach, runs the offense, and he certainly couldn't like what he saw of it - which, after Josh Cummings' 35-yard field goal in the second quarter, wasn't much. Until Palko's 43-yard run late in the game led to his 7-yard scoring pass to Greg Lee, Palko's combined rushing and passing was close to minus yardage.

"Let's just say it was his first game," Harris said. "That's all you need to say."

Palko, a sophomore, finished 6 of 19 for 49 yards and an interception as Pitt (1-0) was outgained 290-217. Raymond Kirkley's 100 yards rushing represented much of the Panthers' production.

"I don't think I ever calmed down," Palko said. "I know I didn't run or throw for that many yards, but it doesn't really matter. When you win, mistakes are correctable."

Illustrating Palko's rough night was the underhanded shovel pass he unwisely tried to throw while scrambling out of bounds during the Cummings field goal drive. Palko said, "I know coach wanted to wring my neck on that one; luckily, it wasn't intercepted. I won't do that again. Coach will make sure I won't do that again."

Pitt's two biggest plays were generated by special teams and the defense. Keith Malley blocked Matthew Miller's punt late in the second quarter, with Brian Bennett returning it 37 yards to the Bobcats' 2. Tim Murphy scored from the 1 a play later to make it 10-3.

Palko, Fitzgerald's former roommate, was intercepted early in the third quarter, but Malcolm Postell stepped in front of Ohio quarterback Ryan Hawk's pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. After that, two desultory offenses were occasionally booed by the crowd of 46,401.

"But the longer I'm in coaching, the more you realize how precarious a win is," Harris said. "The bottom line is we got the win."

Hawk, who was Steelers first-round draft pick Ben Roethlisberger's roommate at Miami (Ohio) before transferring to Ohio, was lifted after going 19 of 41 for 169 yards and two interceptions.

Ohio tried to get back in it when Dennis Cukwuemeka fooled the Panthers by alertly fielding a punt the Panthers were trying to down and apparently returning it 85 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter. But the play was negated by Chip Cox's block to the back penalty, and Ohio didn't threaten again.

Ohio (1-1), coming off a 1-10 season, outgained Pittsburgh 195-90 in the first half, a sign of how much work the rebuilding Panthers (1-0) must do following Fitzgerald's departure. The Heisman Trophy runner-up caught 34 touchdown passes in two seasons, at least one in a record 18 consecutive games, before becoming the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft.

Harris likes to refer to Pitt as Wide Receiver U., but until Lee's catch with less than three minutes left, no receiver had more than one reception. Pitt has produced two of the last four Biletnikoff award winners as college football's top receiver, Fitzgerald and Antonio Bryant.

It was Pitt's second uninspiring performance in a season opener against Ohio in three seasons. In 2002, Rod Rutherford threw three interceptions in his first start, an unimpressive 27-14 victory in which Pitt threw for only 97 yards - until Saturday, Pitt's lowest passing total by a Harris-coached team.

Pitt was supposed to open Monday at South Florida, but the game was postponed by Hurricane Frances. The Panthers play host to Nebraska on Saturday.