Pitt’s Justin Champagnie out 6-8 weeks with knee injury; Au’Diese Toney also sidelined
Pitt’s hot start to the season hit a major roadblock when the Panthers’ two leading scorers and rebounders – Justin Champagnie and Au’Diese Toney — were ruled out of Tuesday’s game against Louisville at Petersen Events Center with leg injuries, coach Jeff Capel announced an hour before tipoff. Toney (ankle)...
7 Pitt players named to All-ACC teams
The votes are in and Pitt landed six players from its senior class and one sophomore on the All-ACC team, announced Tuesday morning on the ACC Network. Only Clemson and Notre Dame had more players named (12) while Boston College, Miami and North Carolina also checked in with seven. Pitt...
No. 2 Clemson, No. 4 Notre Dame headline AP all-ACC honors; 5 Pitt players selectedVideo
Second-ranked Clemson and fourth-ranked Notre Dame headline the Associated Press All-ACC teams and individual awards for the 2020 season. The Tigers, who beat the Fighting Irish in Saturday’s league championship game for a sixth straight title, had a league-high 10 selections in results released Monday after voting by 14 sports...
After Jeff Capel’s positive covid-19 test, Pitt associate head coach Tim O’Toole will run team
Pitt associate head coach Tim O’Toole previously has sat in the No. 1 chair. In his long and well-traveled coaching career that began as a graduate assistant at Fordham in 1987, he was head coach at Fairfield, his alma mater, from 1998-2006. He also served under legendary coaches Mike Krzyzewski...
Pitt, Penn State, WVU players honored as Pro Football Focus All-Americans
Pitt defensive end Rashad Weaver, Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker and West Virginia slot defender Tykee Smith were named first-team selections Monday to the Pro Football Focus All-America Team. “Weaver finished his season with a 90.0 pass-rush grade and produced multiple pressures in every single game played,” PFF wrote. “And...
Tim Benz: Wanna blame Notre Dame for College Football Playoff mess? Me too, but we can’t
The easiest thing in the sports world to do is to hate Notre Dame. The arrogance. The individualism. The hype. The specially catered ACC membership rules. The money. The independent television network deal. So when the Fighting Irish were drubbed 34-10 by Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, that resulted...
Pitt coach Jeff Capel tests positive for covid-19
Pitt men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel has tested positive for covid-19 and will miss the Panthers’ scheduled game against Louisville on Tuesday. According to a news release from the Pitt athletics department, subsequent testing within the program resulted in no additional positive tests. The Panthers (5-1, 1-0 ACC), who defeated...
Tim Benz: Adopt the 2020 chaos! Include Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina in College Football Playoff.
The most overused phrase of 2020 is, “Hey, it’s 2020!” Well, allow me to employ it one more time while discussing college football. Hey, it’s 2020! So what better year to bust the College Football Playoff norms than this year? The selection committee should embrace the chaos and admit either...
Ithiel Horton scores 18, leads Pitt to win at Miami in ACC opener
Ithiel Horton knew there were eyes on him at the start of the season. He came in as a transfer from Delaware with the reputation as a scorer. Of course, it was frustrating when he missed 23 of his 33 shots in Pitt’s first five games. But he spent some...
Pitt nets 21 prospects in Class of 2021 at the end of unique year for recruiting
The process that brought 21 letters of intent onto Pat Narduzzi’s computer via DocuSign on Wednesday morning — “I think the fax machine is officially dead,” he said — gained intensity in the spring while Pitt’s coaches were quarantined by covid-19. “We were obsessed with recruiting,” Narduzzi said, noting his...
Pat Narduzzi: Kenny Pickett thought ‘long and hard’ about coming back
Pat Narduzzi said the Duratz Athletic Complex where the Pitt football team lives and works was rocking Tuesday night. And he wasn’t talking about the trains that rumble through the South Side. On the eve of national letter of intent day, the biggest news came from a player who signed...
Pitt, West Virginia announce changes to wrestling schedule
Pitt announced its updated wrestling schedule Wednesday with the season opener set for Jan. 3 at the U.S. Naval Academy. The Panthers’ first home match is Jan. 9 against Lehigh. The Atlantic Coast Conference opener is Jan. 16 at home against Duke. The Panthers will wrestle four other ACC opponents...
Baldwin’s Dorien Ford becomes first of 20 recruits to sign letters of intent with Pitt
Baldwin defensive tackle Dorien Ford became the first of 20 Pitt prospects to sign and deliver letters of intent on national signing day Wednesday morning. #1 is in! The Hometown Hero @DorienFord_21 is ready to roll!! #H2P #PITT2L1TT pic.twitter.com/ZbG7NNbxzl— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) December 16, 2020 Coach Pat Narduzzi tweeted the...
Pitt’s Kenny Pickett goes on Twitter to announce he will return for the 2021 season
With three words on Twitter five days after the last game of the season, Kenny Pickett changed the entire course of the Pitt football program. For, at least, as he stated: “One more year.” Pickett, who has been Pitt’s starting quarterback since the last game of the 2017 season, indicated...
Pitt opens ACC season against short-handed Miami
While Jeff Capel juggles a long bench that could get longer before the end of Wednesday, he should feel fortunate he doesn’t have Jim Larranaga’s problem. When Pitt opens the ACC portion of its schedule at Miami on Wednesday, the Panthers will meet a depleted Hurricanes team that might dress...
Pitt hopes to follow winning season with top-25 recruiting class
For serious Pitt fans and, of course, the coaching staff, National Letter of Intent Day, set to kick off at 7 a.m. Wednesday, is just as important as most game days. Pitt lost to N.C. State and Boston College in October but still had time to salvage a winning season...
Burrell grad Scherer honored with education scholarship
Burrell graduate Nikki Scherer, a senior member of the Pitt women’s track and field team, is a recipient of $2,500 in tuition from the Go Teach Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway, a partnership of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the College Football Playoff Foundation, the conference announced Tuesday. She is one...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel eager to add Miami (Ohio) transfer Nike Sibande to lineup
If the NCAA acts as expected Wednesday and grants transfer athletes immediate eligibility, coach Jeff Capel said guard Nike Sibande will play in Pitt’s ACC opener that night at Miami. “If he’s cleared, he’ll play right away,” Capel said. Sibande transferred to Pitt from Miami (Ohio) and has been practicing...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel defends Mike Krzyzewski’s covid comments
With Pitt’s nonconference schedule finished and the first of 20 ACC games scheduled for Wednesday in Miami, Jeff Capel’s thoughts are focused on basketball. Most of them, anyway. On the court, in his locker room, while speaking to reporters, Pitt’s socially conscious basketball coach has become a strong advocate for...
College Sports podcast: Pitt’s 6-5 record is ‘a huge disappointment’
This week was as odd as it gets in college sports. Western Michigan and Ball State nearly recreated the Cal-Stanford “Band Game.” CHAOS ? Both teams ran onto the field before the play was ruled dead as Western Michigan attempted a last second TD.Ball State went on to win the...
Justin Champagnie records 2nd consecutive 20/20 in Pitt’s victory
On the day he settled into the college basketball history books — going back-to-back with 20/20 games for only the third time in the past 25 years by a Power 5 player — Justin Champagnie said this with a straight face: “I don’t like to just hog the ball.” And...
In season of covid-19, Pitt scored more victories off the field than on it
If Pat Narduzzi felt more pride than joy after Pitt’s last game, no one should be surprised. Winning the final game by rolling over Georgia Tech, 34-20, was no insignificant feat, but only when you consider the massive performance in the ground game — 317 yards, or 217 above Pitt’s...
Pitt football team won’t play in bowl game, even if one is offered
Pitt won’t accept a bowl invitation this year. Coach Pat Narduzzi joined athletic director Heather Lyke on Friday in declaring on a university news release that the Panthers will not play in a bowl game. With a 6-5 overall record, Pitt was in line to earn a berth in one...
Pitt’s Patrick Jones won’t play in a bowl game
Defensive end Patrick Jones II announced Friday on Twitter that he is declaring for the NFL Draft and will not join Pitt in a bowl game, if an invitation is offered. Jones played Thursday night in Pitt’s final regular-season game, a 34-20 victory against Georgia Tech. He led the team...
Georgia Tech’s Geoff Collins offers Pat Narduzzi abrupt handshake after Pitt victory
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi extended a handshake to Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins after the Panthers’ 34-20 victory Thursday night in Atlanta. Collins dismissively shook hands and abruptly walked away, leaving Narduzzi looking bewildered. Narduzzi said later he didn’t know why the meeting ended that way. Geoff Collins of Georgia...
