With QB Nick Patti injured, Pitt stung by Michigan State comeback in Peach Bowl
ATLANTA — Senior linebackers John Petrishen and Phil Campbell III put aside the tears that were shed in the Pitt locker room. They tried to make sense of a season that was full of joy and triumph most of the time, but ended Thursday night with a painful gut punch....
The show must go on: Pitt, Michigan State sidestep covid complications at the Peach Bowl
ATLANTA — The 60-year-old man hustled past Pitt fans congregated in large numbers in the lobby of the Omni Hotel on Thursday morning. No time for anything but his appointed destination. With his signature long strides, a quick wave and an I’m-in-a-hurry look, it was easy to identify Pitt’s interim...
Year in Review: Pitt’s run to ACC championship among top Pittsburgh sports stories
A look back at the 2021 Pitt football season is put in its best perspective by comparing it to 2020. A year ago, Pitt football was plagued by a preseason All-American who opted out, another who quit in mid-season, a quarterback who missed two important games with an ankle injury,...
Charges dismissed against Pitt basketball player Ithiel Horton, could be refiled
Criminal charges accusing Pitt basketball player Ithiel Horton of punching a city police officer were dismissed Thursday but are likely to be refiled, officials said. Magisterial District Randy Martini dismissed the charges after the prosecution attempted to postpone the case for a second time when witnesses failed to appear. Mike...
Pitt’s basketball game at Virginia Tech postponed amid Hokies’ covid complications
Pitt men’s basketball joined the growing list of teams affected by the recent covid-19 surge when the Panthers’ game scheduled for Saturday at Virginia Tech was postponed because of complications within the Hokies’ program. The ACC will attempt to reschedule the game. It’s the second postponement this week for Virginia...
First Call: Ex-Pitt kicker now on Browns practice squad; Steelers’ playoff odds may be longer than you thought
Thursday’s “First Call” shows how long the odds are against the Pittsburgh Steelers making the playoffs. A Pitt product may be kicking for the Cleveland Browns against the Steelers on Monday. And familiar names dot the scoresheets in some NHL games that were actually able to be played on Wednesday....
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi believes it’s time to name a college football commissioner
ATLANTA — Pat Narduzzi isn’t lobbying for the job of commissioner of college football (a job that doesn’t exist at the moment). But he clearly believes it’s time one is appointed. “For sure,” he said Wednesday on a Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl conference call. “That’s not a slam on anybody who’s...
Pitt Take 5: After the Peach Bowl, how long does Pat Narduzzi want to coach?
ATLANTA — Nearly a month after the fact, Pat Narduzzi has not allowed himself the pleasure to reflect on the significance of Pitt winning the ACC championship. “I think that happens when you retire as a coach,” he said. OK, so what about it? How long do you want to...
After another 1-point loss, Jeff Capel challenges Pitt to have ‘confidence that we can win’
If Jeff Capel sounded frustrated by Pitt’s late lapses that allowed Notre Dame to rally from an eight-point, second-half deficit for a 68-67 win Tuesday night at Petersen Events Center, it was nothing compared to his exasperation over John Hugley’s postgame comments. Capel was lamenting the lessons his Panthers could...
Notre Dame sinks shot in final seconds as Pitt drops ACC home opener
Looking to find an open Notre Dame teammate, Prentiss Hubb dribbled through the lane and into the left corner only to find himself all alone. As the shot clock ticked, the senior guard realized he was out of options. So Hubb launched a turnaround jumper over the outstretched arm of...
When Pat Narduzzi called, Randy Bates saw nothing ‘vanilla’ about Pitt’s attacking defense
ATLANTA — At the end of the 2017 season, Randy Bates had a secure job coaching linebackers at Northwestern. He’d been there 12 years, hired in 2006 by coach Pat Fitzgerald, who has been a fixture at Northwestern for all but the first year of this century. The 2017 Northwestern...
Opportunity knocks for replacements Tim Salem, Nick Patti in Pitt’s Peach Bowl venture
Two jokes made by Tim Salem and quarterback Nick Patti during a conference call Monday morning were thoughts that randomly jumped into their heads and will mean nothing to the outcome of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Most likely, the Pitt men who carry the most responsibility into the game were...
‘Hot topics’ emerge around Pitt as team arrives in Atlanta for Peach Bowl
Pat Narduzzi called it a “hot topic.” But it was no surprise Sunday when Narduzzi named Pitt tight ends coach Tim Salem the play-caller and interim offensive coordinator, replacing Mark Whipple, for Thursday’s Peach Bowl. Salem is one of only two on-field assistants who have been with Narduzzi through all...
How does this Pitt team compare to the best in program history?
When old friends and former University of Pittsburgh football standouts Dan Marino, Jimbo Covert and John Pelusi get together to recall their playing days — perhaps rattling ice cubes in a glass or enjoying an after-dinner cigar — an argument often arises. Pelusi was the center on Pitt’s undefeated 1976...
Pitt linebacker Phil Campbell will miss confronting Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker in Peach Bowl
Phil Campbell III holds a bachelor’s degree in communications while pursuing another in sociology. Given his academic background, Pitt’s senior outside linebacker understands what makes people tick. So, when former Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III announced his plans to opt out of the Peach Bowl, avoiding a date...
Peach Bowl matters to Pitt, new starting quarterback Nick Patti
For those who believe bowl games are meaningless TV fodder for those with nothing better to do over the holidays, Pitt center Owen Drexel doesn’t buy it. The Peach Bowl offers Pitt a chance to win its 12th game of the season, tying a school record set by the 1976...
Where’s the beef? Find it on Pitt’s offensive line, with all 5 starters returning
They marched into the room Wednesday morning – four of them, weighing a total of nearly 1,300 pounds – wearing wry smiles like someone carrying a secret no one else knew. Trouble was, Twitter already ruined the surprise minutes earlier: Pitt’s starting offensive linemen had decided en masse to return...
Pitt defeats Jacksonville for 2nd win in row, wraps nonconference schedule
When Pitt players get together with their coaches in the days after a game, they invariably turn on the video machine and live it again. Doesn’t matter how much it hurts. Sophomore point guard Femi Odukale took his misery to new heights after he missed 11 of 12 shots and...
Luke DeCock: ACC needs to revisit covid forfeit policy before it skews the standings
With two ACC teams already on covid pauses, it’s starting to feel like last season all over again. It’s also time to dial back some of the ACC’s covid policies to what they were last season — and revise others to adapt to our new reality. Because with Florida State...
Pitt signs USC transfer quarterback Kedon Slovis
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi made what could be the most important move of the offseason Tuesday when he signed USC transfer quarterback Kedon Slovis to a letter of intent. Panther Nation let’s welcome @Kedonslovis to Pittsburgh! #H2P pic.twitter.com/kcO63rc7xE— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) December 21, 2021 Slovis, 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, gives Narduzzi...
Pitt aims to pursue bigger prizes after surviving bright lights of New York City
For a basketball team trying to find sure footing in a season of rough roads, the bright lights of Madison Square Garden can be daunting. But Pitt (4-7, 0-1 ACC) found a way to win a close game there Saturday, pushing past St. John’s, 59-57, after leading for only 4...
Pitt gets past St. John’s on Jamarius Burton’s buzzer-beater
NEW YORK — Jamarius Burton’s runner with 0.4 seconds left lifted Pitt over St. John’s, 59-57, in the showcase game of the Gotham Classic on Saturday. After St. John’s (8-3) tied the score on two Dylan Addae-Wusu free throws, Burton took the inbounds pass and stormed down the court before...
Loss in NCAA semifinal brings down curtain on stellar careers of Pitt volleyball players Kayla Lund, Chinaza Ndee
Kayla Lund rose up — as she had so many times during her Pitt volleyball career — and swung her arm in its signature windmill motion. She took aim at yet another kill, one she hoped would extend the Panthers’ stay in their first Final Four just a bit longer....
Pitt cornerback Damarri Mathis plans to skip Peach Bowl
Pitt lost another starter for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Friday when senior cornerback Damarri Mathis announced on Twitter his plans to skip the game and focus on preparing for the NFL Draft. Mathis has been invited to the Senior Bowl next month, but he is not listed among ESPN...
Pitt volleyball falls short in national semifinals, losing 3-1 to Nebraska
When asked about his plan of attack for the national semifinals, Pitt volleyball coach Dan Fisher kept it simple: Hit it as hard as we can as many times as we can. That’s how Fisher has built the Panthers into a prominent program. There isn’t much finesse about the way...
