No. 20 Michigan dominates Pitt in Legends Classic
Perhaps Pitt’s coaching staff could accept an early season loss to a top-20 team. But not the way the Panthers’ 91-60 loss to Michigan unraveled Wednesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Preparing to face the No. 20 team in the nation was difficult for Pitt’s rebuilt roster...
Pitt’s Calijah Kancey remembers those who recognize, boost his impact on college football
The people who have impacted Pitt All-American candidate Calijah Kancey’s life can be found in many corners of the U.S. Some teach football. Others offer motivational words of encouragement. One even sells candy and bags of snacks. • Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge is one of them, drilling his...
Pitt’s the pick for Riverview scoring sensation Lola Abraham
Riverview junior Lola Abraham has put together an impressive resume of on-field soccer results the past several years with her Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy club and with her high school teammates. She now hopes that she can do the same thing at Pitt. Abraham has concluded her recruiting process with a...
For now, Pitt’s SirVocea Dennis focused on sacks more than plans for future
Middle linebacker SirVocea Dennis is nearing the end of his fourth season at Pitt, but he said Tuesday he remains undecided about his future. Does he return next season or declare for the 2023 NFL Draft? Sorry, he’s not ready to discuss those plans. “I’m just focused on this year,”...
Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis ‘not sure’ about his plans for 2023
Nearing the end of a season complete with more frustration and defeat than anyone expected, Kedon Slovis said he’s not ready for a serious discussion about his future as Pitt’s quarterback. “We gloss over it, really just the decision-making process,” he said of talks with coach Pat Narduzzi about next...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel prepares to face rival, friend Juwan Howard of Michigan
Jeff Capel has been around basketball long enough that it’s inevitable he‘ll often compete against friends and rivals. That will be the case Wednesday, when Pitt (1-1) meets Michigan (2-0) in the first round of the Legends Classic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The relationship between Capel and Michigan...
Pat Narduzzi loses quarterback Kenny Minchey from Pitt’s 2023 recruiting class
Pitt’s 2023 recruiting class took a significant step in the wrong direction Monday when quarterback Kenny Minchey decommitted from the Panthers. Minchey had been committed to Pitt for the past seven months, and his departure leaves coach Pat Narduzzi without a quarterback in his recruiting class. The first signing day...
Pitt’s John Hugley close to returning as Panthers prepare to face No. 20 Michigan in Brooklyn
When Jeff Capel became Pitt’s basketball coach in 2018, he set many goals he hoped would impact his players at the time. An outsider with a keen eye for his new neighborhood, he also made sure not to ignore the program’s rich history. And Pitt history means Big East, bright...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi emotionally shaken by University of Virginia shootings
Pat Narduzzi loves to talk football, but Pitt’s coach had a difficult time at his weekly news conference Monday thinking about anything other than the three members of the University of Virginia team who were fatally shot Sunday night in Charlottesville, Va. A little more than a day before the...
Pitt hopes passing game hasn’t reached its zenith
The thought probably crossed the minds of Pitt fans weeks ago. Maybe even Pat Narduzzi considered it, though he never would admit it. After 10 games, Pitt’s offense might have crafted its identity and reached as high as it can go. Good, sometimes very good, just not great. Three games...
Pitt women defeat Buffalo, 1-0, advance in 1st NCAA Tournament
The Pitt women’s soccer team’s first venture into the NCAA Tournament will continue after a 1-0 victory Saturday night against visiting Buffalo at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Leah Pais’ header goal in the 85th minute — five minutes from the end of the game — vaulted No. 19 Pitt into the...
Pitt strikes quickly, rolls to 37-7 victory at Virginia
Bowl invitations for teams with six victories are almost like participation trophies handed out to kids for showing up for all the Little League games. No wonder Pat Narduzzi shrugged off Pitt (6-4, 3-3 ACC) reaching bowl eligibility by defeating Virginia, 37-7, on Saturday in Charlottesville, Va. No big deal....
West Virginia rolls to 81-56 victory against Pitt in Backyard Brawl
Before the basketball version of the Backyard Brawl tipped off Friday night, rival fan bases from Pitt and West Virginia tried shouting over top of each other. It was reminiscent of the noisy venue Petersen Events Center became years ago when the Panthers were a formidable force in the old...
Prior to WVU game, Pitt’s Jeff Capel signs 3 high school seniors to letters of intent
Pitt coach Jeff Capel opened the 2022-2023 season with a victory Monday and — prior to Friday’s game against West Virginia — he procured three signatures from high school seniors on their letters of intent. Marlon Barnes, Jr., Carlton Carrington and Jaland Lowe comprise the No. 21 recruiting class in...
Pitt Take 5: Season reaches critical point on the road to Virginia
Fans wrapped up in the College Football Playoff rankings might not remember the final score of the Pitt-Virginia game Saturday in Charlottesville, Va. But the game against the Cavaliers finds Pitt’s season at a crossroads. If the Panthers win each of their remaining games against Virginia, Duke and Miami —...
WVU’s Bob Huggins recalls colorful history of the Backyard Brawl with Pitt
The subject of the zoom conference call Thursday morning was the Backyard Brawl, basketball style, but West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said he didn’t want to get into the history of the game. Even though his footprints are all over it, whether he was wearing sneakers as a WVU player...
Despite long days, nights of game-planning, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi knows how to avoid burnout
When Saturday night football away from home doesn’t interfere — as it’s done three times this season — Pat Narduzzi likes to attend Mass on Sunday mornings. Perhaps it’s a calming respite from the stress of the previous day’s Pitt game and the long work days ahead preparing for the...
Pitt unveils plans for $240M athletic center in Oakland
The University of Pittsburgh has approved plans for a $240 million athletic center called Victory Heights that will include a 3,000-seat arena, as well as space for training and sports performance and sports medicine facilities for many of Pitt’s student-athletes. Pitt’s Property and Facilities Committee OK’d the project Thursday, according...
U mad, bro?: Steelers fans pop off about Matt Canada, the Chase Claypool trade, criticism of Najee Harris
The Steelers took a week off for their bye. Steelers fans did not. My Twitter feed and inbox are proof of that. At 2-6, I didn’t expect that they would. Here’s this week’s “U mad, bro?” A guy named Tim did not appreciate us posting the comments ex-Bengals cornerback Adam...
Pitt represents clear example of changes gripping college basketball
If you need any more confirmation of how dramatically college basketball in general and Pitt’s program in particular have changed, you need look no further than the box score from the 2021 West Virginia game. Pitt coach Jeff Capel used nine players in the 74-59 loss to the Mountaineers on...
Pitt shows respect for struggling Virginia, quarterback Brennan Armstrong
For the past several days, Pitt coaches and players have been talking about Virginia’s offense as if it isn’t ranked next-to-last in the ACC in average points per game (18.1). For all the praise heaped upon Cavaliers quarterback Brennan Armstrong, not one person associated with Pitt mentioned that he leads...
ACC in danger of being excluded from 2nd straight playoff
ATLANTA — Clemson’s loss at Notre Dame was a severe blow to the ACC’s hopes of landing a team in the College Football Playoff. Last weekend’s 35-14 setback at three-loss Notre Dame dropped Clemson (8-1, 6-0) from the list of the nation’s unbeaten teams. The Tigers moved from No. 5...
Ben Sauls finds success as Pitt’s kicker after realizing ‘it’s you against you’
Anyone wondering what makes a kicker great — or what might put his head and toe slightly off center — should spend some time with Andre Powell. He has been instructing, counseling and offering his shoulder to kickers since 2004, when he was on the coaching staff at North Carolina....
Former Pitt guard Parker Stewart’s return to The Pete ends in ejection, defeat
Not only did Parker Stewart fail to reach 1,000 career points when he returned to Petersen Events Center on Monday night, but the former Pitt guard didn’t even finish the game. Less than halfway through the second half of Pitt’s season opening 80-58 win against Tennessee Martin, Stewart got tangled...
Pitt opens basketball season with easy victory against UT Martin
No one can guarantee how the rebuilt Pitt basketball team will look 30 games from now. But the 80-58 opening-night victory against Tennessee Martin on Monday at Petersen Events Center beats where the program was almost a year ago to the day: down and out after a 78-63 loss to...
