Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 10
Clemson stuns Pitt on QB Cade Klubnik’s late 50-yard touchdown run
So much of what happened to Pitt in its 24-20 loss to Clemson on Saturday was bad that it’s difficult to believe the Panthers actually fooled everyone and looked like winners in the game’s final 90 seconds. • Start with the dagger that stretched Pitt’s losing streak to three, the...
Nate Yarnell replaces Eli Holstein as Pitt’s starting quarterback against Clemson
After two head injuries in the past three games, Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein didn’t start Saturday when the Panthers met Clemson at Acrisure Stadium. Nate Yarnell made his fourth career start — and first this season — in a make-or-break game for Pitt (7-2, 3-2 ACC) against the Tigers (7-2,...
Pitt roughs up West Virginia in Backyard Brawl
The Pitt/West Virginia rivalry is called the Backyard Brawl, and Pitt’s Guillermo Diaz Graham was ready to take that label literally only 34 seconds into the Panthers’ 86-62 victory Friday night at Petersen Events Center. Diaz Graham was hit in the mouth while trying to block a shot by West...
Pitt Take 5: Panthers get chance to keep alive streak of beating ranked teams
In the midst of Pitt’s two-week stretch of misery, a streak of positivity could emerge Saturday at Acrisure Stadium when the Panthers meet No. 20 Clemson. Every year from 2016-23, Pitt has defeated at least one nationally ranked opponent, ranging from second-ranked Clemson and Miami in 2016 and 2017 to...
Pitt signs 6-foot-4 guard Omari Witherspoon to letter of intent
Jeff Capel ventured into a fertile area for basketball talent and was rewarded when Omari Witherspoon signed a letter of intent to play for Pitt. Witherspoon, a 6-foot-4, guard, plays at St. John’s College Prep in Washington D.C. “That’s an area that we want to try and recruit,” Capel said...
‘Basketball Brawl’ at The Pete provides charged atmosphere that will test Pitt, WVU
When Jeff Capel accepted the Pitt coaching job in 2018, he turned to some trusted friends in the Pittsburgh professional sports scene to get a sense of what to expect. “People … would tell me when (Pitt basketball) had it going (under former coaches Ben Howland and Jamie Dixon), this...
Eli Holstein not cleared medically while Pat Narduzzi prepares for ‘a game-time’ decision on Pitt quarterback’s availability
Pat Narduzzi walked inside the big conference room adjacent to his office Thursday afternoon and correctly read the minds of the assembled reporters. “Probably the big question is how is Eli doing, right?” Pitt’s coach said of quarterback Eli Holstein, who has left two of the past three games with...
It’s the seniors’ day Saturday at Pitt, but they haven’t forgotten about Clemson
The day football programs set aside to honor their seniors is almost always a special time, often the last home game — such as it will be at Pitt on Saturday — and an event coaches might use to motivate their players. “I talked to our team just about playing...
Pitt’s Kade Bell has many issues to overcome while trying to fix the offense
You need both hands to count the number of issues Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein and offensive coordinator Kade Bell must overcome. • Some that are of the team’s own doing: poor throws, problems running the ball, too many penalties and meager gains on first down. • Some that are unavoidable:...
How VCU’s Jesse Pellot-Rosa became an example for any team coached by Jeff Capel
When Jeff Capel called his VCU players together for the 2003-04 season, he didn’t pay much attention to the walk-ons. But if Capel didn’t notice walk-on Jesse Pellot-Rosa at the time, he surely got to know him later. Ever perceptive, Pellot-Rosa noticed Capel not noticing. “He didn’t play me in...
Pitt defeats Gardner-Webb, stretches season-opening victory streak to 3
Pitt’s 83-64 victory Monday night against Gardner-Webb was not unexpected, and the outcome never was in doubt. Yet it might have been one of the most important nonconference games of the season. It showed coach Jeff Capel a facet of his players’ game they need to master when the competition...
Burdened by injuries, 2-game losing streak, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi running out of options
Pat Narduzzi has juggled his offensive line. He’s turned to a backup quarterback. He had seven different pass catchers targeted at least three times Saturday. Injuries have been among the reasons for Pitt’s coach turning to so many options, but he’s running out of players and running out of time....
Analysis: Issues abound as Pitt tries to figure out a season suddenly gone wrong
No, the sun didn’t come up Sunday morning when Pitt coaches and players began gathering to pick through the trash of penalties, dropped balls and interceptions during their second loss of the season. It was cloudy and rainy outside, while inside Pitt headquarters on the South Side, Pat Narduzzi and...
Pitt falls apart against Virginia, suffers 2nd straight loss
Let’s call Pitt’s complicated 24-19 loss to Virginia on Saturday night a missed opportunity by a team with lofty expectations, a letdown with the season on the line and a mix of penalties, injuries, dropped passes, general offensive malfunction and even officials adding to the confusion. Pat Narduzzi was unhappy...
Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein must navigate remainder of season with target on his back
The problem with winning most of the time is that those teams are forced to take the other guy’s best punch week after week. It’s like going into the woods to bag that 10-point buck no one can track down. If you’re successful, it’s a prize you’ll talk about until...
Pitt survives scare from Murray State, pulls away to 83-68 victory
Pitt coach Jeff Capel believes his team has the ability to score at a high level, and not just in nonconference games against mid-majors. The Panthers have totaled 179 points in their first two games — both victories — including 83-68 Friday night against Murray State and 96-56 in the...
Pitt Take 5: Loss to SMU doesn’t end hope for Panthers to finish season strong
Simple math tells you Pitt can lose Saturday to Virginia and still maintain hope for getting to the ACC championship game. Reality, however, tells you that’s not the case. Yes, conference co-leaders Miami and SMU could stumble, creating opportunity for Pitt or Clemson, but that’s not happening. The Hurricanes and...
Whether he’s speaking English or Spanish, Pitt’s Guillermo Diaz Graham happy to embrace leadership role
Guillermo Diaz Graham is 21 years old now, no longer a newcomer to the rigors of ACC basketball like he was in 2022. He’s a Pitt junior, entrusted by coach Jeff Capel to shoot 3s, rebound and launch his 7-foot frame off the dribble and toward the basket. Diaz Graham...
Pitt’s 7-1 record, No. 18 CFP ranking increase the urgency to win
Compared to other sports, college football seasons are short — 12 games and three months for a team to state its case amidst the pressure of often-unreasonable expectations. For Pitt, they became great expectations after the Panthers started the season 7-0. There is a school of thought, however, that the...
Pitt players believe it’s their turn to punch someone ‘in the mouth’
The difference between the two acts of force in question is obvious, but perhaps the end result is the same. At least, that’s the way Pitt hopes matters turn out after the decisive loss to SMU: • Either you get punched in the mouth, • Or you do the punching....
Pitt positioned at No. 18 in 1st College Football Playoff rankings
Despite a 48-25 loss to SMU, Pitt remains relevant nationally, listed No. 18 in the first College Football Playoff top 25 rankings released Tuesday night. Selection committee chairman Warde Manuel, the athletic director at Michigan, said members valued Pitt’s seven-game winning streak to start the season. Pitt is 7-1 for...
Pitt WR Konata Mumpfield says players-only meeting after SMU loss was ‘helpful’
Players can lift weights until their joints ache, crash into each other for two hours, three days a week, and study video until it’s time to get some sleep. But football is also a game of relationships and pulling together, and sometimes talk helps. That’s what Pitt players turned to...
Pitt puts offense on display in 96-56 victory against Radford in season opener
There were plenty of numbers on the stat sheet that pleased Pitt coach Jeff Capel after the Panthers opened the 2024-25 season Monday night with a 96-56 victory against Radford at Petersen Events Center. He believes his team can score, so nothing about the career-high 21 points from sophomore guard...
Pitt gets back to work after a fall from the nation’s undefeated teams
Pat Narduzzi couldn’t hide from his family. Even after Mass, his demeanor was miserable Sunday morning. “My kids said I was miserable in the morning before I left (for the office), after church,” he said Monday, less than 48 hours after Pitt’s first loss of the season. But he said...
In wake of season’s 1st loss, Pitt senior Brandon George questions team’s practice habits
Perhaps too easily, collegiate athletes are called kids by those who observe them and analyze the games they play. No doubt, some of them are, especially in this time of prospects skipping half of their senior year in high school to enroll six months before graduation. But Brandon George is...
