Questionable, subjective spotting of the ball hurts Pitt, helps Steelers over wild weekendVideo
As football fans, we live in era during which seemingly everything can be instantly calculated and analyzed to painstaking accuracy. We know that the Cleveland Browns’ Jerome Ford, for example, achieved a top speed of 21.13 mph during his 69-yard touchdown run against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. We watched...
Analysis: Long list of issues leads to Pitt’s 2-5 record
Over his nine years at Pitt, Pat Narduzzi has run through a variety of emotions, from frustration and anger to happiness and pride. After his latest defeat — 21-17 on Saturday night to a Wake Forest team that had lost three in a row and was employing a third-string quarterback...
Mistakes cost Pitt in heartbreaking loss to Wake Forest
Pat Narduzzi said there were tears in his locker room after what he called “as hard a loss as I’ve been a part of, maybe ever.” It’s one that will stick with anyone associated with Pitt football — maybe forever. Quarterback Christian Veilleux was the centerpiece of the pivotal play...
Friday Football Footnotes: Aaron Donald quells talk of a Pittsburgh return; Steelers look for a 1st in L.A.
This week’s “Friday Football Footnotes” takes a look at the prospect of Aaron Donald ever playing in Pittsburgh again. Steelers fans are hoping to witness a first in Los Angeles. Plus, we check out the rest of the landscape in local college action and the AFC North. No story here...
Pitt’s Dayon Hayes leads Tackle Cancer initiative for Panthers defense
For Pitt defensive lineman Dayon Hayes, it was a simple community outreach trip. Going to a hospital with a few posters to sign. Hand out a few tickets to the patients. Thank a few of the nurses on duty. As a person who mashes their body at top speed against...
Pitt Take 5: Panthers, Demon Deacons try to salvage disappointing seasons
Maybe those outside of Pittsburgh and Winston-Salem, N.C., won’t pay much attention, but Pitt (2-4, 1-2) and Wake Forest (3-3. 0-3) will line up Saturday for a game carrying major importance for both underperforming ACC programs. After meeting for the ACC championship two years ago, neither team is even close...
Pitt notebook: Pat Narduzzi calls sign-stealing in college football ‘crappy sportsmanship’
Pat Narduzzi said sign-stealing “happens all the time” in college football, specifically pointing to his time at the University of Cincinnati from 2004-2006 when he heard reports of a Big East opponent filming during games. Narduzzi declined to identify the Big East school in question, but he said it wasn’t...
After the change under center, Pitt’s aerial game still seeks further improvement
On the three days each week that Pitt conducts full-blown morning practices, Konata Mumpfield’s routine never changes. “I make sure I get up an hour early,” the junior wide receiver said. “I go to the hot tub, make sure I stretch, get my hamstrings rolled out.” Then, he gathers up...
Bulked-up Diaz Graham twins ready to attack sophomore season at Pitt
Although they might bicker over who is supposed to do the dishes and if Messi or Ronaldo is the world’s best soccer player, Jorge and Guillermo Diaz Graham carry with them the love of family, team and their homeland while preparing for their sophomore basketball season at Pitt. When the...
Inside Pitt’s roster decisions, and not just at quarterback
Pat Narduzzi rocked Pitt’s status quo recently when quarterback Phil Jurkovec was sent to the bench. Quarterbacks get the most attention, but the coach said those decisions are made every day throughout the roster. And, believe it or not, what happens in games and practice are only part of the...
Everyone’s happy after Pitt victory, but there are issues Pat Narduzzi says he will address
Pitt’s victory against Louisville was a relief for a team that had lost four in a row. It also put the first blemish on the Cardinals’ ledger and, perhaps, will help determine what two teams reach the ACC championship game. “It’s been a while since we had a good, positive,...
Analysis: Did Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi wait too long to change quarterbacks?
The question that was not asked of Pat Narduzzi as Saturday night turned into Sunday morning was the one on the minds of many social media denizens: What took so long, Pat? Narduzzi’s dramatic upheaval at Pitt’s quarterback position preceded a 38-21 upset victory against now-No. 21 and previously undefeated...
Pitt notebook: Is Christian Veilleux the answer to the Panthers’ quarterback quandary?
On a night when Christian Veilleux’s completion percentage was worse than his benched predecessor’s, two pretty touchdown passes trumped everything else. Veilleux made his first collegiate start Saturday night, leading Pitt (2-4, 1-2 ACC) to a 38-21 victory against previously undefeated Louisville (6-1, 3-1), which fell from its No. 14...
M.J. Devonshire’s pick-6 leads Pitt to upset of undefeated Louisville
At one point Saturday night during Pitt’s 38-21 victory against Louisville, Pitt greats Kenny Pickett and Tony Dorsett were pictured on the scoreboard seated side-by-side in the upper reaches of Acrisure Stadium. Earlier in the game, Pitt (2-4, 1-2 ACC) honored another of its own, Pro Football Hall of Fame...
Family inspired love of the Pitt Panthers for this ultimate fan
Pitt is definitely it for Luciana “Miss Lu” Bair. She claims to be the biggest Panthers fan, and she’s got a pretty solid case. Let’s start with the vehicle she drives. It’s a 2023 Dodge Durango with custom seating in the school’s colors of blue and gold. Her tires have...
Pitt basketball has scorers, leaders, but Jeff Capel seeks rebounders as preseason continues
Jeff Capel believes there are players on his team who can score. Freshman guards Bub Carrington and Jaland Lowe and transfer Ismael Leggett are among that group. And, of course, 2022-2023 ACC second-team selection Blake Hinson, who has a newly slimmed-down body and his signature pumped-up confidence, still is making...
Pitt Take 5: Is there any satisfaction in being a spoiler?
By the time a college football team starts 1-4, its goals of winning a championship and earning a bowl bid are all but gone. There aren’t enough games in a season to attain a complete reversal of fortune. Pitt football doesn’t have the same luxury as its basketball colleagues, who...
Classroom champions, players from Pitt’s 1963 team hold no bitterness over bowl snub
Over the years, whenever Ernie Borghetti runs across someone bragging about his football team, he always has the same answer. Sixty years later, it still makes him laugh out loud. “Match us in the classroom,” he says. “Not on the field.” Academics or athletics, it didn’t matter. Pitt’s 1963 team...
3 new faces in Pitt’s backcourt hope to meet high standard set by departed guards
There is no mystery to what forward Blake Hinson can bring to Pitt’s basketball team. He led the team in scoring, rebounding and successful 3-point shots last season. He also is shouldering a leadership role now. Expectations are high, as they should be. Big men Federiko Federiko and the Diaz...
Pitt’s new starting QB Christian Veilleux sounds like he’s ready to lead
If you’re wondering how Pitt’s quarterbacks prepare for a game, let new starter Christian Veilleux take you behind the curtain. First of all (and of least importance as it relates to Pitt’s game Saturday against undefeated No. 14 Louisville), the Canadian-born Veilleux prefers the pronunciation of his name to be...
Pitt’s Randy Bates deals with youth, tackling issues on his defense
Randy Bates doesn’t hide from reality. He understands the problems confronting the Pitt defense that he coordinates, and he doesn’t make excuses for a 1-4 record, a sudden inability to stop the other team’s ground attack or allowing 72 points (minus one punt return) in the past two games. It...
Analysis: Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi might need to reach back into transfer portal for QB help
The list of transfer quarterbacks Pitt has lured on campus is a long one, just as long as Pat Narduzzi’s nine-year tenure as head coach. Yet only two of the nine — Nathan Peterman and Kedon Slovis — made significant, positive contributions as starters. And Slovis quickly transferred out last...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi said he demoted Phil Jurkovec to No. 2 quarterback because ‘we needed a spark’
Kenny Pickett took his last snap as a Pitt quarterback Dec. 4, 2021. Quarterbacks — good ones, the kind you win with — are difficult to find, and developing them to a coach’s satisfaction is a complicated process. Pickett arrived in 2017, and he didn’t become a star until 2021....
Deer Lakes grad Michael Sullivan, Pitt men’s soccer looking for return trip to College Cup
Winning isn’t always everything, but once you taste it, you can’t help but want more. It’s what drives people to go the extra mile. It’s what pushes athletes to make sacrifices. It’s what motivates a group toward one common goal. For last year’s Pitt men’s soccer team, the Panthers fell...
Unbeaten No. 14 Louisville savors another comeback win while striving for a complete performance this week at Pitt
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville’s quick start is ironic considering it hasn’t always started quickly. Three second-half comebacks have helped the No. 14 Cardinals (6-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) achieve their best start in 10 years, with Saturday night’s 33-20 victory over then-No. 10 Notre Dame being the latest rally. Granted,...
