Take 5: There’s a game Saturday, but the real Pitt season starts next week
Painfully proven by the 44-41 loss to Western Michigan, Pitt (and most teams) can’t win without singular focus on that week’s opponent. The beauty of sports, however, is there is almost always an opportunity for redemption, and Pitt can grab it Saturday at Heinz Field against New Hampshire. But what’s...
Pitt scores quickly, but falls short in time of possession
Football teams constantly seek improved efficiency in everything they do. Defenses are asked to hold the opposition to three downs and a punt. Offenses are asked to score as quickly and as often as possible. Makes sense, right? But Western Michigan last week accepted a trade that appeared to be...
U mad, bro?: Steelers and Pitt fans viciously vent after dreadful weekend at Heinz Field
The Steelers lost their home opener to the Las Vegas Raiders, and Pitt lost at home to Western Michigan. A weekend like that leads to a “U mad, bro?” edition like this. The messages I received from readers were venomous. Vindictive. Vicious. And, occasionally, vapid. I didn’t even include any...
Pitt’s issues may extend beyond just the focus, energy Pat Narduzzi has mentioned
During his postgame media Q&A Saturday, Pitt football coach Pat Narduzzi admitted that his team wasn’t in a properly energized or focused state of mind during a disappointing home loss to Western Michigan. That certainly got my attention. It did again on Monday when Narduzzi reiterated those complaints during his...
Pitt defensive coordinator Randy Bates says he wasn’t ‘quick enough’ with adjustmentsVideo
At age 61, Randy Bates has seen the world. Or, as much as the retired Naval Lieutenant can see in 40 years while traversing half the nation, working for nine different bosses and coaching from Annapolis, Md., to Ruston, La. So, when Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi suggested he would have...
UNH’s Sean McDonnell, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi learned to clean up messes long before coaching
Pat Narduzzi and Sean McDonnell will be standing on opposite sidelines Saturday at Heinz Field, working against each other as head coaches of Pitt and New Hampshire. But in the summer of 1989, they put their heads — and paint brushes — together as young guys trying to make an...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi dissects decisions made by himself, coaches, players during loss to Western Michigan
The feeling you get listening to Pat Narduzzi discuss the Western Michigan game is this: Those around him in the days after Pitt’s 44-41 loss didn’t have a great weekend, and that appears to include his assistants and the coach himself. During his weekly news conference Monday, the head coach...
Analysis: Wasted opportunity leads to questions about Pitt’s defense
Pitt football coach Pat Narduzzi made a point Saturday afternoon aimed at keeping hope alive after the 44-41 loss to Western Michigan. “It’s one game. It’s not an ACC game,” he said. “All our goals are still ahead of us.” That’s one way to look at it, and that’s probably...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi references ‘MAC officials’ after unsportsmanlike conduct penalty
Not only did Pat Narduzzi admit he and his staff were “outcoached” in Pitt’s 44-41 loss to Western Michigan on Saturday, he also received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second quarter. Asked about it after the game, he said, “It was so long ago I don’t remember. It was...
Pitt bumbles way to loss against Western Michigan
Pat Narduzzi and Kenny Pickett offered the obligatory praise for Western Michigan, and it was undeniably well deserved. Yet, on this day, it was not the point. Not even close. After Pitt (2-1) stumbled to a 44-41 loss Saturday before an announced crowd of 40,581 at Heinz Field, some of...
Former Pitt coach, Steelers assistant Carl DePasqua dies at 93
Carl A. DePasqua, who scouted Joe Greene for the Pittsburgh Steelers, recruited Dave Wannstedt to Pitt and coached the Panthers for four years before the arrival of Johnny Majors, died Wednesday in Mt. Lebanon. He was 93. Born in Williamsport, DePasqua was a three-sport athlete at Williamsport High School (football,...
Pitt Take 5: Panthers hold a pair of 8s as they prepare for Western Michigan
Western Michigan coach Tim Lester wants to know what’s up with the No. 8 in Pittsburgh. Every time he flipped on the video machine to prepare for his team’s game against Pitt on Saturday at Heinz Field, No. 8 jerseys were going in both directions — quarterback Kenny Pickett throwing...
Pitt basketball set to open ACC play Dec. 3 at Virginia
After seven nonconference games, Pitt will open its ninth season in the ACC on Dec. 3 at Virginia. The entire Pitt men’s basketball schedule was released Thursday night on the ACC Network. The Panthers’ final home game March 1 will be a historic event — Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final...
New Ken resident, Shady Side Academy grad Moore eager for return to Pittsburgh with W. Michigan
Skyy Moore found out early in his freshman year at Western Michigan that the Broncos would be making the trip to Pittsburgh to play Pitt at Heinz Field. “I was super excited to know I was going home to play,” said Moore, a New Kensington native and 2019 Shady Side...
Pat Narduzzi interviewed Western Michigan coach Tim Lester for Pitt offensive coordinator job in 2017
The conversation started as a job interview, but it ended with two coaches “talking ball,” according to Western Michigan coach Tim Lester. Pitt was looking for an offensive coordinator when Matt Canada left after the 2016 season, and one of the candidates to replace him was Lester, then the quarterbacks...
‘U mad, bro?’: Steelers fans want more faith; Pitt fans want more coverage; Pirates fans want more wins
The Steelers season is just starting. The Pirates season is finally ending. Pitt’s fan base is starting to wake up. And the emotions from all sides are equally raw. That’s abundantly clear in this week’s “U mad, bro?”. After their win Sunday over the Buffalo Bills, this Twitter follower remained...
First Call: Kevin Colbert may be scouting QB prospect; ex-Steeler signs with Bengals; Dan Marino’s milestone
The Steelers may already be scouting a quarterback for next year’s draft. The Bengals have signed a former Steelers free agent. The Raiders Maxx Crosby raised eyebrows with his performance Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens. And we celebrate a Pitt football legend’s birthday. All of this in today’s First...
Ex-Pitt players Therran Coleman, Bricen Garner switch sides as Western Michigan comes to town
Therran Coleman and Bricen Garner are in agreement. They won’t walk onto the grass in Heinz Field’s south end zone (the one in front of Pitt’s student section) and try to relive history, even in their minds. “We’re past that,” Coleman said. “I’m looking to make new moments.” “I’m going...
Strong bonds, improving numbers part of Pitt receiver Taysir Mack’s seasonVideo
Prioritizing the importance of blocking for a teammate is one way position coach Brennan Marion builds solidarity among Pitt’s wide receivers. “If you love the guy, you’ll fight for him,” Marion, a Greensburg Salem graduate, told reporters Wednesday after the second day of practice in preparation for Saturday’s game against...
Thanks to parents’ Army background, Pitt linebacker SirVocea Dennis grows into leader
A year ago, SirVocea Dennis survived his sophomore season at Pitt — conquered it, really — recording 14½ tackles for a loss while earning third-team All-ACC honors at outside linebacker. Then, coaches came to him and said, “‘OK, you showed you can handle the outside. Now, we’re moving you to...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi hopes lack of traditional TV coverage will increase attendance Saturday at Heinz Field
Among those concerns giving Pat Narduzzi the most angst this week, the lack of traditional TV coverage for Pitt’s game against Western Michigan on Saturday is far down the list. But he did use the occasion to make a plea for a bigger crowd at Heinz Field. The old excuse,...
Do Pitt’s signs of maturity in 2-0 start signal success for 2021?
Midway through a four-game nonconference season that looked soft enough for Pitt to handle, the Panthers are handling it. But what does it mean? Pitt has scored 92 points, tied with the 2009 and 2014 teams for the largest offensive output in the first two games since 1988. That year,...
Kenny Pickett, Pitt win critical moments, game at Tennessee
After Pitt’s 41-34 victory against Tennessee, Pat Narduzzi looked to the heavens. Maybe he knew that what happened Saturday in front of 82,203 people in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., was based nearly as much on good fortune as good football. But — make no mistake — there was plenty...
Pitt basketball assistant Milan Brown promoted to associate head coach
With his three top assistants returning to Pitt for a fourth consecutive season, coach Jeff Capel on Friday announced that Milan Brown has been promoted to associate head coach. Brown has more than 25 years of coaching experience, including 12 seasons as a head coach at Holy Cross (2010-15) and...
Pitt Take 5: Can one game in September set tone for the season?
There is an argument to be made that Pitt’s game Saturday at Tennessee could set the tone for the season. A victory, even against a second-tier SEC team, might get people talking and cause them to pay attention to the events at Heinz Field when Pitt is playing. A loss...
