Pittsburgh ? Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko found himself down late in the game against a favored opponent for the second game in a row. Just as he got it done against Notre Dame, he got it done against West Virginia.

Palko, frustrated nearly all night by West Virginia’s defense, completed four third-down passes on Pittsburgh’s only sustained drive before scoring from the two late to lead a stunning 16-13 victory over the No. 21 Mountaineers on Thursday night.

Until Palko turned Darrelle Revis’ interception of Rasheed Marshall’s pass into Pitt’s only touchdown, the sophomore quarterback had followed up a five-touchdown effort against Notre Dame with a mostly miserable game. He finished 14-of-38 for 165 yards and an interception.

But Palko was nearly perfect on the deciding 73-yard drive, hitting top receiver Greg Lee three times for 38 yards on third-down passes and tight end Erik Gill on a fourth. An eight-yard interference penalty on linebacker Adam Lehnortt in the end zone against Lee gave Pitt a first down at the West Virginia two, and Palko scored on a rollout with 4:06 remaining to give Pitt its first lead.

It was a similar ending to Pitt’s 41-38 victory over Notre Dame on Nov. 13, when Palko rallied the Panthers from a 35-31 deficit by leading two scoring drives in the final three minutes.

“That’s what I kept hearing when they gave me the keys to this bus — we need a quarterback who can win big games,” Palko said, referring to Pitt’s recent history of failing against its big rivals and ranked opponents. “I expect to win big games.”

Until the late drive, the Pittsburgh-raised Marshall had outplayed a Pitt quarterback for the third straight season by directing a virtual one-man offense depleted by the suspension of top receiver Chris Henry and an injury to top rusher Kay-Jay Harris. Harris was held to five yards on three carries.

Pittsburgh quarterback Tyler Palko (3) drags West Virginia linebacker Adam Lehnortt into the end zone as Palko scores the game-winning touchdown. Pitt won, 16-13, Thursday in Pittsburgh.

No doubt it will be a tough loss to West Virginia to accept, especially because Lee appeared to trap the ball on one of his third-down catches.

“It was a very disappointing night,” West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. “It’s frustrating. It starts with the coaching, it starts with me. There were too many mistakes, too many penalties (89 yards to Pitt’s 10). You can’t beat yourself.”

Pitt’s first victory over its biggest rival since 2001 effectively assured the Panthers (7-3, 4-2 in Big East) of a bowl bid — possibly to the Gator — and muddied West Virginia’s bowl plans. The Mountaineers (8-3, 4-2) now might settle for the Insight Bowl after being the front-runner for the Big East’s guaranteed BCS bowl bid before its 36-17 loss to Boston College two weeks ago.

“It’s three losses for us,” Marshall said. “It feels like eight.”