Pitt Take 5: Panthers’ road to ACC championship game runs through Dallas
A couple of years have passed since Pitt played a game with the significance of its confrontation Saturday with SMU in Dallas. It’s a prime-time 8 p.m. matchup between ranked schools (No. 18 Pitt and No. 20 SMU) and the Panthers’ first as a Top 25 team versus a Top...
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi says his players don’t feel disrespected, are singularly focused on SMU
Pat Narduzzi doesn’t remember the Kent State/Rutgers game played Oct. 27, 2012, in Piscataway, N.J. Nor did the game register in his consciousness that day. He was too busy in Madison, Wisc., preparing Michigan State’s defense for its 16-13 overtime upset of No. 25 Wisconsin. But what happened to Rutgers...
Pat Narduzzi says Eli Holstein will start for Pitt against SMU
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi told reporters to “wait and see” when he was asked how quarterback Eli Holstein was feeling after leaving the Syracuse game in the fourth quarter with an injury Thursday night and not returning. The wait turned out to be less than three days. Narduzzi announced on...
Pitt’s offensive stats fall off while No. 18 Panthers remain undefeated
No one — fan, coach, player or Associated Press Top 25 voter — expected Pitt to keep up the offensive pace it set over the season’s first five games. The Panthers averaged more than five touchdowns (total: 26) and 522.2 yards per game (7.5 per play). The schedule wasn’t particularly...
On Sports: Steelers’ path to AFC North title gets a little more challengingVideo
Today’s “On Sports” features a familiar face returning to the AFC North, a familiar face getting cheers at PPG Paints Arena and some recognition for the unbeaten Pitt Panthers football team. Remember him? Diontae Johnson has found his way back to the AFC North. The Carolina Panthers traded the former...
Pitt defensive coordinator Randy Bates praises ‘good day’ vs. Syracuse while looking for more
Pitt’s defense toyed with Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord last week, and Randy Bates called it “a good day.” Five interceptions. Three pick-6s. Four sacks. Holding the opponent under 25 points for the fourth consecutive game. Good, but … “I think we had a lot more in us, quite frankly,” said...
Pitt No. 1 in volleyball poll for 8th week in row; Penn State holds at No. 3 riding 12-match winning streakVideo
For the eighth week in a row, the Pitt volleyball team took the top spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. The Panthers (19-1, 9-1 ACC) received 51 of the 61 first-place votes. Pitt scored a big win over No. 4 Louisville, 3-2, this past Friday at Petersen Events...
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi says ‘wait and see’ on subject of Eli Holstein’s injury situation
When the subject of Eli Holstein’s health first was presented to Pat Narduzzi on Monday at his weekly news conference, it was half of a two-part question. Guess which half Pitt’s coach conveniently ignored. Right. The one with Holstein’s name in it. A few minutes later, he was reminded he...
Pitt volleyball team follows up big Louisville win with 4-set victory over Notre DameVideo
No post-big game hangover for the Pitt women’s volleyball team. The No. 1-ranked Panthers followed up Friday’s five-set victory over ACC rival Louisville by defeating Notre Dame, 3-1 (25-14, 25-20, 22-25, 25-19), on Sunday at Fitzgerald Field House. The win moved Pitt to 19-1 overall and 9-1 in the ACC....
Pitt moves up 1 spot to No. 18 in AP poll, awaits SMU showdown in Dallas
A month ago, one of the most iconic players in SMU history was speaking to coach Rhett Lashlee. Craig James said Lashlee’s Mustangs reminded him of another SMU team he knew well. He was referring to SMU of the 1980s when James teamed with Eric Dickerson to form the Pony...
In light of NIL, Pat Narduzzi tells national audience Pitt will ‘take care’ of Eli Holstein
In college athletics’ new age of NIL and immediate eligibility for transfers, success can work both ways. No one knows that better than Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi, whose team is 7-0 and a serious contender for its second ACC championship in four years. Interviewed on CBS Sports Radio and Sirius...
Looking back at another 7-0 Pitt team and how its star-crossed season ended on a cold, rainy day in Texas
New Year’s Day morning, 1983, dawned cold and rainy in Dallas, but Tom Flynn had seen worse. He grew up in Western Pennsylvania and had played in similar conditions at Penn Hills High School and Pitt. Later, he played in snowstorms with the Green Bay Packers. Truth be told, the...
Top-ranked Pitt women’s volleyball scores 3-2 win over No. 4 Louisville
Facing a top-five opponent for the second consecutive match, the No. 1-ranked Pitt women’s volleyball team had a near-capacity home crowd on the edge of its seats when it was forced to a fifth set. That’s become commonplace for the Panthers against No. 4 Louisville, as their rivalry has extended...
Focused on the hold, his left toe, the football, Pitt’s Ben Sauls gets kick from perfection
Ben Sauls has a confession to make. Despite the enthusiasm and energy inside Acrisure Stadium, the high hopes surrounding the undefeated Pitt team and what can be called one of the best vantage points in the house, he doesn’t watch the games. At least half the time, anyway. It’s all...
Mark Madden: Penn State’s James Franklin acted, so who cares if he doesn’t say anything?
Knickers got twisted when Penn State football coach James Franklin did the hokey-pokey on and off the podium at his weekly news conference by way of declining to comment on two ex-Nittany Lions players charged with rape. A PR flack exchanged places with Franklin and recited a prepared statement. The...
Pitt defense picks off Syracuse on its way to 41-13 victory and 7-0 start
Not only do Pitt’s linebackers harass quarterbacks with their athleticism, step boldly into passing lanes and attack like sharks (which is what they want to be called), but now they’re also starting to take personally what they perceive as nationwide disrespect. Everything came together in what turned into one fine...
Larry Fitzgerald returns to Pitt turf as a Hall of Famer
Larry Fitzgerald was always in control as a Pitt football player. Yet his emotions nearly got the best of him Thursday night when he was honored on the Acrisure Stadium turf where two decades ago he exhibited such impressive body control. He played in only 26 games over two seasons...
Tim Benz: Pitt, Syracuse personify trend of transfer QB success in ACC
Some fans grumble about the NCAA transfer portal and about how NIL is negatively changing the landscape of college sports. That’s a tough sell when it comes to ACC football this year. There are plenty of teams in the conference that have improved thanks to play from transfer quarterbacks. Two...
New Pitt athletic director Allen Greene understands reality of college athletics: Money matters
Pitt introduced Allen Greene as its next athletic director Wednesday morning, and the theme was as clear as a bank statement. Money. Blunt, honest and to the point, Jeff Capel said as much when asked what he might ask of Greene if the two men sat down to discuss what...
Pitt, Louisville volleyball teams set to add next chapter to growing rivalryVideo
A curious thing, this burgeoning volleyball rivalry between Pitt and Louisville. It’s isn’t a product of geography like Pitt-West Virginia or Duke-North Carolina. Nor is it steeped in history, such as Yale-Princeton football, which dates to 1873. It isn’t even a result of bad blood. “We don’t even, like, hate...
Pitt Take 5: With Larry Fitzgerald and college football world watching, Panthers put unbeaten record at risk
Pitt’s game against Syracuse on Thursday night marks the Panthers’ last game before the crucial month of November, and everyone knows this is the time of year when the best teams emerge to claim their place among the sport’s elite. Is Pitt among them? The College Football Playoff committee, which...
Pitt opens basketball season with 93-62 exhibition victory against Point Park
Pitt’s game against Point Park on Tuesday night was only an exhibition. There were more empty seats inside Petersen Events Center than those that were filled, the arena lacked most of the energy it has generated for ACC games the past two seasons and the decision — a 93-62 Pitt...
Transfer quarterbacks Eli Holstein, Kyle McCord give different look to Pitt-Syracuse matchup
Pitt hasn’t played a game since Oct. 12, which means Pat Narduzzi, his staff and players have had nearly two weeks to prepare for the Syracuse game coming up Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium. Part of the prep was spent watching Pitt turn the football over four times and Syracuse...
No need for a crowbar to pry the truth from Pitt tight end Gavin Bartholomew … he enjoys blocking, receiving equally
The life of a tight end often can be cloaked in anonymity, with true celebrity difficult to attain. Travis Kelce excluded, of course. Pitt tight ends coach Jacob Bronowski did nothing to dispel that notion when he decided to put crowbars on players’ desks before a meeting Sunday. The idea,...
Back from injury, defensive tackles Sean FitzSimmons, Nick James give No. 19 Pitt options against Syracuse
Syracuse’s Kyle McCord gains yards through the air better than most quarterbacks, and his 19 touchdown passes are proof that he can move an offense forward. He’s second in the nation in yards per game (360) — only 2.6 behind the leader, Miami’s Cameron Ward — and fourth in completions...
