Justin Jefferson strives to get back in ‘savage mode’ to give lagging Vikings offense a boostVideo
EAGAN, Minn. — Justin Jefferson still draws constant double coverage. He’s made plenty of clutch catches this year. The Minnesota Vikings continue to keep him as the heart of their entire offensive scheme. Over the first half of the season, though, Jefferson hasn’t been the same high-impact player. His averages...
Kaytron Allen, Devonte Ross each score twice in Penn State win
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Ethan Grunkemeyer threw two touchdown passes to Devonte Ross, Kaytron Allen ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns and Penn State defeated Michigan State, 28-10, on Saturday to snap a six-game losing streak. Grunkemeyer completed 8 of 13 passes for 127 yards for the Nittany Lions...
Melih Tunca’s near-perfect shooting leads Penn State to win
PHILADELPHIA — Freshman Melih Tunca scored a career-best 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, reserve Freddie Dilione V added 16 and Penn State beat La Salle, 83-69, on Saturday. Kayden Mingo scored 14 points, and reserve Ivan Juric had 11 for the Nittany Lions (4-0), whose bench scored 40 points. The...
Brian Trobel runs for 150 yards, 2 TDs as Mercyhurst beats Robert Morris
ERIE — Brian Trobel ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns, Adam Urena threw for 206 yards and a touchdown and Mercyhurst beat Robert Morris, 27-13, on Saturday. Mercyhurst (5-6, 4-2) has a chance to share the regular season Northeast Conference title with Central Connecticut (7-4, 5-1) with a win...
Taj Butts runs 254 yards as Duquesne wins shootout with Central Connecticut State
Taj Butts rushed for a career-high 254 yards and scored three touchdowns, Antonio Epps intercepted a deflected pass in the end zone with less than 30 seconds to go and Duquesne defeated Central Connecticut State, 38-33, on Saturday. Brady Olson, who threw for 423 yards and four touchdowns, gave the...
District college football roundup: Kutztown beats IUP for PSAC title
Judd Novak threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 4 Kutztown to a 28-23 victory over IUP in the PSAC championship game Saturday afternoon. Steven Burkhardt led Kutztown (11-0) on the ground, rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown. Brayden Pohlman, who was named the game’s MVP,...
West Virginia scores 2 TDs in 4th quarter, gives up lead in defeat
TEMPE, Ariz. — Jeff Sims accounted for 288 yards and three touchdowns, Jesus Gomez kicked a 49-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and Arizona State kept its Big 12 title hopes alive with a 25-23 win over West Virginia on Saturday. The Sun Devils (7-3, 5-2 Big 12) returned...
No. 3 Texas A&M pulls off biggest comeback in school history to beat South CarolinaVideo
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Marcel Reed threw for a career-high 439 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 3 Texas A&M rallied from a 27-point deficit to remain undefeated with a 31-30 victory over South Carolina on Saturday. It was the biggest comeback in school history, eclipsing a 21-point rally by...
Aliquippa takes down No. 1 McKeesport to win 21st WPIAL football championshipVideo
“Never doubt a Quip.” Mike Warfield said people left this year’s Aliquippa football team at the local funeral home but that being a Quip means never giving up and being the team that fights longer. Fight the longest the Quips did in Saturday’s Class 4A championship game, as No. 7...
Run defense adjustments will be put to the test for Steelers in rematch against high-scoring Bengals
When they met the Cincinnati Bengals a month ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a 10-point lead in the second quarter and appeared poised to add to their 4-1 start to the season. Then, Chase Brown broke off a 27-yard run on the first play of the ensuing drive, and the...
Pitt unable to keep pace with No. 9 Notre Dame, as 5-game winning streak is snapped
All the momentum Pitt established over the last six weeks, going 5-0 in the process, paved the way to Saturday’s showdown at Acrisure Stadium against No. 9 Notre Dame. But how would the No. 23 Panthers, after dispatching five straight conference foes, handle a national championship contender and last year’s...
Pirates hire bench coach, 3rd-base coach to Don Kelly’s staff
The Pittsburgh Pirates hired Kristopher Negron as bench coach and Tony Beasley as third-base coach, according to a league source, rounding out the two key positions remaining on Don Kelly’s staff. Negron, 39, comes to the Pirates from the Seattle Mariners, where he was third-base coach last season after three...
Norwin alum Jake Bazala drafted by Savannah Bananas
Pitcher Jake Bazala’s phone was going bananas Friday night. “I have been getting hammered with messages,” Bazala said. The Norwin grad took the next step in his baseball career when he was drafted by the Savannah Bananas, the high-energy barnstorming team that sold out two games last summer in Pittsburgh....
Pitt retires Aaron Donald’s No. 97 jersey, recognizing a giant on the gridiron, in the communityVideo
The relationship between Pitt and one of the most accomplished football players in program history is built on mutual respect and admiration. Aaron Donald achieved great things at Pitt, etched his name into the NFL history books with a storied 10-year career and all the while, never lost contact with...
Buffalo Bills cut ties with former big-booted Steelers punter
The Buffalo Bills released former Pittsburgh Steelers punter Cameron Johnston from injured reserve. He suffered a lower leg injury earlier this season that forced him to go on IR and now will exit the organization. The Steelers cut Johnston after he lost the punting battle in training camp to Corliss...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Penguins are misusing Ben Kindel, Ville Koivunen
Ben Kindel, 18, is a center. That’s where he should play. Ville Koivunen, 22, is a top-six winger. That’s how he should be deployed. The Pittsburgh Penguins got caught up in their hot start, and who can blame them? (That’s disintegrated, by the way. They’ve lost five of their last...
Penguins rookies Joel Blomqvist, Rutger McGroarty activated, assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Two of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top prospects, rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist and forward Rutger McGroarty, were activated from the team’s injured non-roster list and assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Saturday. Both players entered the regular season with undisclosed ailments. Blomqvist appeared in the team’s preseason...
Report: Former Penn State coach James Franklin in ‘talks’ with Virginia Tech about opening
Former Penn State football coach James Franklin may be closing in on his next job. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on “College GameDay” on Saturday morning there is interest between Franklin and Virginia Tech regarding its open coaching position. “Former Penn State coach James Franklin and Virginia Tech are engaged in...
ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ brings buzz to Pitt–Notre Dame showdown
The “good times” Pitt fans sing about in the third quarter’s iconic “Sweet Caroline” rendition weren’t so good Saturday. The Pitt-Notre Dame showdown at Acrisure Stadium ended in a lopsided loss for the Panthers, 37-15. What was still good, though, according to fans, were the vibes. Fans packed into Pittsburgh’s...
Steelers 4 Downs: Jaylen Warren among NFL’s toughest to tackle
1. Tough to tackle The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Jaylen Warren ranks only 21st in the NFL in rushing yards. But there are some metrics that suggest he’s among one of the best running backs in the NFL. Warren’s 2.7 yards after contact per attempt ranks fourth in the league according to...
Scouting the Bengals: Steelers opponent has won 3 of its past 4 in Pittsburgh
SCOUTING THE BENGALS Last meeting Bengals beat Steelers, 33-31, on Oct. 16, in Cincinnati Key matchup Steelers secondary vs. Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase It was only four weeks ago that Ja’Marr Chase was targeted a ridiculous 23 times and had 16 receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown. According to...
Big-school rivals Central Catholic, North Allegheny clash in WPIAL finals for 4th consecutive year
As Central Catholic tries to defend its WPIAL title, the Vikings lineup taking the field Saturday night will be notably different than last year’s. There’s a new starting quarterback, a different leading rusher and the team’s top three receivers have changed. In those areas and some others, it’s a new-look...
Relentless Peters Township defense shuts down Upper St. Clair, earns 5A finals rematch
Reston Lehman maybe felt sick as a dog earlier this week, but the Peters Township senior found the strength Friday night to make Upper St. Clair feel terrible. A Pitt-bound linebacker, Lehman accounted for three of his team’s nine sacks, forced a fumble and caught a touchdown pass in a...
Hempfield grad Jasmine Jones joins list of former track athletes competing in bobsled, eyes 2026 Winter Games
A bathtub going down a roller coaster. Getting inside a trash can and rolling down a hill. Those are just a couple of metaphors Hempfield grad Jasmine Jones uses to describe riding in a bobsled. This winter, Jones has her sights set on riding at the 2026 Winter Olympics in...
Penguins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon finds value as Erik Karlsson’s partner
Generally speaking, there is little value in tracking line combinations and defensive duos during the early days of NHL training camp. It is a completely nugatory endeavor. Remember the line of Josh Archibald, Radim Zohorna and Jason Zucker that offered a potentially sophomoric — but wonderfully risible — nickname based...
