Overcoming loss of Keyshon Camp to injury won’t be easy for PittVideo
For the second time in a month, Pat Narduzzi called a starting defensive lineman into his office to deliver bad news. After only one game, the season is over for Pitt defensive tackle Keyshon Camp, who hurt his knee Saturday night not by running into a Virginia opponent but by...
U mad, bro? Pitt fans lash out at Pat Narduzzi; angst over Pirates, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell
How do I know when somebody is starting to slip in popularity at Pitt? When I write a critical column regarding the Panthers football team and I get far more positive response to it than I do negative. Normally, if I write anything remotely skeptical about Pitt football, I’m overwhelmed...
Strong safety Paris Ford ‘juices’ up Pitt secondaryVideo
When Virginia wide receiver Hasise Dubois caught a short flip from quarterback Bryce Perkins late in the third quarter against Pitt, he appeared to have enough for an important first down. But when Dubois turned upfield looking for more yardage, Paris Ford was waiting for him. Ford punched the football...
Mark Madden: Pitt football long on problems, short on fixes
Pitt football might not quite be broken, but elements of it certainly are. Pitt sold 47,144 tickets for its opening-night loss to Virginia. You can be encouraged by that, or discouraged by more than 21,000 left unsold. (It didn’t look like every ticket-buyer showed up, either. About 35K in the...
Set your alarm clock: Pitt/Ohio starts at 11 a.m., but it’s not the earliest kickoff in school history
For those Pitt fans troubled by the 11 a.m. start to Saturday’s game against Ohio, be glad you’re not an Alabama fan. For Pitt, it’s a one-time event, but the Crimson Tide often start their games at 11 a.m. to accommodate TV networks that want noon (Eastern) kickoffs. Pitt’s game...
Pitt loses defensive tackle Keyshon Camp to season-ending knee injury
The news keeps getting worse for the Pitt football team. For the second time in a month, the Panthers have lost a starter on the defensive line. Junior tackle Keyshon Camp, who started and recorded a half-sack and two quarterback hurries against Virginia, injured his knee in the game and...
Pitt OL coach Dave Borbely hopes ‘moments’ with players lead to improvementVideo
Pitt offensive line coach Dave Borbely admits he has “his moments” when he gets a point across using special emphasis. But in the case of how the players performed Saturday night against Virginia, Borbely believes he can teach by espousing reasonable logic in a normal tone of voice. “I make...
Tim Benz: Pitt is stuck in the middle with Pat Narduzzi
One of the easiest things to do in sports is throw dirt on a college football team if it loses its opener. Especially if that loss is at home, in conference and against a beatable opponent. With only 12 games on the schedule, if a team drops a contest like...
Pat Narduzzi questions Nebraska’s 2003 firing of Ohio coach Frank Solich
Pat Narduzzi’s praise for Ohio’s Frank Solich went beyond the normal, mundane coach-speak that flows back-and-forth before a game. Narduzzi said he still hasn’t set aside Nebraska firing Solich — and that happened 16 years ago. “The guy never should have been let go there,” Narduzzi said Monday at his...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi doesn’t excuse defense, but questions ‘yellow hankies’Video
Among the optimists remaining in Pitt’s fan base — and their numbers aren’t necessarily growing — there’s a natural tendency to make excuses for the 30-14 loss to Virginia. It might be a reach, but here’s one: Virginia’s three touchdown drives of 19, 29 and 27 yards were shorter in...
Observations from Pitt’s opening-night loss to Virginia
Some thoughts the day after the Pitt Panthers’ opening-night 30-14 loss to Virginia: • Pitt still has trouble completing passes to the tight end. Will Gragg caught three passes for 4 yards and Rutgers transfer Nakia Griffin-Stewart dropped a pass on third down. • Maurice Ffrench, Taysir Mack and Tre...
Pitt’s run game disappears in loss to Virginia
Damar Hamlin promised to go home, crank up his iPad and start figuring out what went wrong. Pitt’s senior free safety said he planned to do so early Sunday morning before he went to bed. Sleep probably came fitfully, anyway, for many of the Pitt players after their unfortunate performance...
Kevin Gorman: Pitt came dressed to kill, but the Panthers delivered a dudVideo
If the hangdog expression on Heather Lyke’s face didn’t display the depth of her disappointment in Pitt’s 30-14 season-opening loss to Virginia, Pat Narduzzi’s explanation filled in the blanks. Lyke looked like someone who spent countless hours decorating for and delivering a birthday extravaganza, only to see the surprise spoiled...
Kevin Gorman: Pitt falls flat in second half of season opener against Virginia
It was a picture-perfect setting for a season opener. Pitt looked resplendent in its new royal blue and university gold uniforms. The playing surface was impeccable, and the temperature at kickoff was 72 degrees. All the Panthers had to do was open with a victory. That was the problem. ACC...
Pitt lends Virginia helping hand in season-opening lossVideo
Pat Narduzzi trusted his quarterback Saturday night and paid the price in Pitt’s 30-14 loss to Virginia at Heinz Field. Opening night was supposed to trigger the rebirth of Pitt’s passing game, with junior quarterback Kenny Pickett directing an offense designed by first-year coordinator Mark Whipple. Instead, it was a...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi reveals names of freshmen who could play this season
Pat Narduzzi wants it both ways. He is curious to see what his freshmen have learned in training camp. But who can tell if the guys don’t play in real games? Yet, if Narduzzi plays them in five or more games, there goes the redshirt and one precious year of...
Pine-Richland grad Kristen Murslack named assistant coach with Pitt swimming
Pine-Richland graduate and former Auburn swimmer Kristen Murslack is returning to the scene of some of her greatest high school accomplishments. Murslack, 24, recently was named an assistant coach with Pitt swimming and diving. “I grew up swimming and competing at Trees Pool,” said Murslack, a four-time WPIAL Class AAA...
Analysis: Game-by-game predictions for Pitt football
Predicting Pitt’s season, game-by-game: Saturday vs. Virginia: The Cavaliers’ 3-4 defense is a tough matchup for a young offensive line in Week 1. Virginia 20, Pitt 13. ••• Sept. 7 vs. Ohio: Another running QB gets in Pitt’s way, but Panthers find a way to slow down Nathan Rourke. Pitt...
Pitt’s Kenny Pickett: Offensive coordinator Mark Whipple brings swagVideo
In the final days of Pitt’s nearly summer-long prep for Virginia, Kenny Pickett made an interesting observation about his first-year quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. “When you see the confidence (Mark Whipple) has and the swag he walks around with, it affects everybody,” Pitt’s junior quarterback said. “If you can...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi unafraid to admit nerves are part of any game
After weeks of preparation for his fifth season opener as Pitt’s coach, Pat Narduzzi said his feelings of nervousness are the same for ACC foe Virginia as they were in 2015 when Youngstown State was on the other sideline. Only the stakes change. “If someone tells you,’I’m not nervous,’ maybe...
Pitt cross country set to host first home meet in 42 years
For the first time in 42 years, the Pitt men’s and women’s cross country teams will start their 2019 season by hosting five programs for the inaugural Pitt Panther Opener at the Carrie Blast Furnaces in Swissvale. While the season-opening meet will be special for the Pitt cross country program,...
Top 2018 Pitt recruit Mychale Salahuddin leaves program
Redshirt freshman running back Mychale Salahuddin, a four-star running back in high school and the highest-rated recruit in Pitt’s Class of 2018, decided to leave the program, coach Pat Narduzzi said Thursday. Salahuddin was limited throughout most of training camp while recovering from knee surgery after an injury suffered during...
Pitt’s Tre Tipton gets head start on his last chance
At age 23, Tre Tipton might be approaching the end of his football career. He knows it, accepts it and doesn’t regret it. But before he gets there, he has work to do, goals to reach and, he hopes, some fun to experience on Pitt football game days. Tipton, a...
Virginia presents an array of issues for Pitt in season openerVideo
In so many ways, Virginia is not a typical opponent for Pitt to confront at the outset of the season. Pitt has opened the season with a conference game only twice, losing to West Virginia, 34-0, in the Big East in 1996 and Florida State, 41-13, in 2013. Pitt is...
After only 2 scrimmages, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi looks for clean opener
NFL teams play four exhibitions before games start to count. College football isn’t designed that way. Teams conduct a few live scrimmages plus almost daily practices. Much of it, however, is held with limited contact in the hopes of keeping players healthy for the season. Pitt had two scrimmages, the...
