Analysis: Onus on Eli Holstein to solidify position as Pitt’s starting QB
During the opening 15 minutes of Pitt’s Saturday afternoon contest vs. Louisville, the Panthers played like a team that had turned a corner and made significant strides from the last time it took the field. But over the ensuing three quarters at Acrisure Stadium, shaky quarterback play, two double-digit leads...
ACC issues statement on controversial Pitt-Louisville no-call
Early in the second quarter of Pitt’s 34-27 loss to Louisville on Saturday, a controversial no-call set up the Cardinals at the Panthers’ 3-yard line, leading to an easy touchdown. With 14 minutes, 15 seconds to go before halftime, Pitt punt return man Kenny Johnson was first ruled to have...
Special teams fiascos, 2 INTs by Eli Holstein sink Pitt in ACC-opening loss to Louisville
Earlier this week, Pat Narduzzi asserted Pitt beat itself in the Panthers’ deflating Backyard Brawl loss to West Virginia two weeks ago. After his team’s 34-27 defeat to Louisville to open ACC play Saturday at Acrisure Stadium, Narduzzi can conclude the same thing. Pitt went up 17-0 after the first...
Pitt tailback Desmond Reid ruled out against Louisville
Pitt will be without All-American tailback Desmond Reid on Saturday vs. Louisville, per the Panthers’ final player availability report submitted to the ACC at 10 a.m. Pitt (2-1) and Louisville (3-0) kick off from Acrisure Stadium at noon following a Panthers bye week. Reid, who has rushed 24 times for...
Pitt expecting usual challenge from Louisville ‘QB whisperer’ Jeff Brohm
A few weeks ago, as Pitt prepared to host Central Michigan, Chippewas coach Matt Drinkall was effusive in his praise of Pat Narduzzi. Narduzzi, Drinkall said, has set the standard for defensive football in college for multiple decades. This week, with Pitt (2-1) preparing to host Louisville (3-0), Narduzzi was...
Pitt football notebook: Pat Narduzzi hopes Panthers have learned from early-season loss
A Week 12 loss to Louisville was a particularly unpleasant experience for Pitt’s football team in a latter half of a 2024 season that did not lack disappointment. Not only did the Panthers suffer their most lopsided defeat of the season, 37-9 to the Cardinals, but quarterback Eli Holstein, after...
‘Capable of more’: Pitt’s DL flexing depth but aims to be more disruptive
Moving on from losses and directing attention toward the next game applies across sports. That’s currently the task facing Pitt, which used its recent bye week to further digest a disappointing defeat at the hands of West Virginia on Sept. 13 in the 108th Backyard Brawl. Now, it’s onward to...
If Juelz Goff is to assume more prominent role, Panthers confident in their redshirt freshman RB
After earning Pitt’s primary backup tailback spot coming out of fall camp, Juelz Goff positioned himself to be a part of the Panthers’ ground attack in 2025. Desmond Reid was going to continue receiving the lion’s share of carries, in addition to being a regular threat through the air out...
Pitt announces kickoff time, broadcast details for Boston College game
Pitt’s Oct. 4 home game vs. Boston College will kick off at noon on the ACC Network, the school announced. That showdown comes after the Panthers host Louisville at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday and will be Pitt’s second ACC league game of the season. So far, all of Pitt’s games,...
First Call: Steelers’ blunt assessment of Patriots’ offense continues; Jordan Addison returning for Vikings
Tuesday’s “First Call” has some interesting quotes in the wake of the Steelers-Patriots game. The Minnesota Vikings are getting an offensive weapon back in advance of their contest against the Steelers in Ireland. Derrick Henry suddenly has a fumbling problem in Baltimore, and the Pirates could influence the National League...
Pat Narduzzi has at least 1 area of confidence coming off Pitt’s loss at WVU
Whenever a college football team drops a game in a way Pitt lost at West Virginia, the topic invariably comes up about how the players will — or won’t — bounce back emotionally when they have to take the field next time out. For Pitt, that’ll be Saturday against Louisville...
ACC moving to 9-game football schedule starting next year, aligning with rest of Power Four peers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference is moving to a nine-game league schedule for football while having teams play at least 10 games against power-conference opponents, though there will be variables due to the league’s odd number of football-playing member schools. Commissioner Jim Phillips announced the decision in a...
Pitt flushes West Virginia loss, prepares for undefeated Louisville’s arrival
Washing away the sour taste of Pitt’s overtime defeat in the 108th Backyard Brawl will be easier said than done for Panthers fans, who have to wait until 2029 for the next crack at West Virginia. Whatever disappointment exists among program supporters, internally, the sting of the 31-24 loss is...
Pitt to retire Aaron Donald’s No. 97 jersey when Notre Dame visits Acrisure StadiumVideo
In 135 years of fielding a football team, dating to the 1890 Western University of Pennsylvania squad, Pitt has retired the numbers of just 10 program alums. On Monday, the Panthers announced that exclusive club would gain a member. On Nov. 15 against Notre Dame, Aaron Donald’s No. 97 will...
Pitt football pioneer Bobby Grier honored at History Center program
On Jan. 2, 1956, college football fans gathered at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. They were there to watch the annual Sugar Bowl, played between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, but they also got to witness history. It was the first ever racially integrated...
Analysis: Examining Pitt at the bye in all 3 phases
It’s unsurprising that Pitt’s collapse in the Backyard Brawl is being viewed by fans as a harbinger of more poor results to follow. The Panthers’ 31-24 defeat to their hated rival was doubtless deflating, while the manner in which Pitt lost did much to erode confidence in the team’s long-term...
Hall of Fame QB Dan Marino speaks out on quiet battle with liver disease
NFL Hall of Fame quarterback and Pittsburgh native Dan Marino is opening up about his battle with liver disease for the past 18 years. In a new awareness campaign, Marino said he was diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, in 2007. “Anytime you get diagnosed with something, you’re surprised,”...
First Call: How this week’s QB injuries impact the Steelers; George Pickens comments on playing with Kenny PickettVideo
“First Call” for Tuesday looks at how all those quarterback injuries over the weekend may impact the Pittsburgh Steelers. A former Pitt standout is dealing with an injury of his own. A new Steeler scouts their upcoming opponent in the pocket this week. And George Pickens has a curious quote....
Pitt announces TV details, kickoff time for ACC conference opener vs. Louisville
Pitt’s Sept. 27 home game vs. Louisville at Acrisure Stadium will kick off at noon and be broadcast nationally on ESPN or ESPN2, the ACC announced Monday. Following this week’s bye, the Panthers (2-1) begin conference play vs. the Cardinals (2-0), who host Bowling Green this weekend. Pitt last hosted...
Analysis: Pitt has soul-searching to do during bye week with ACC goals still aheadVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After Pitt’s deflating overtime defeat in the Backyard Brawl, quarterback Eli Holstein told reporters that, despite the loss, the Panthers’ goals were still achievable. Namely, Holstein referred to competing for an ACC championship. “We still have our whole ACC schedule ahead of us,” he said after Pitt...
WVU crowd, coach Rodriguez revel in Mountaineers’ victory in Backyard Brawl
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia’s disdain for Pitt was evident at virtually every corner before, during and after Saturday’s Backyard Brawl, where an overflow crowd of mainly WVU fans crammed into Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium to witness a classic comeback victory by the Mountaineers. Think Pitt’s home at...
West Virginia ties score late, shocks Pitt with OT win in Backyard Brawl
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — More than enough Backyard Brawls (108 after Saturday’s contest at Milan Puskar Stadium, to be exact) have been played to confidently make some generalizations about Pitt and West Virginia’s historic rivalry. A good rule of thumb for when the Panthers and Mountaineers meet is to expect the...
Backyard Brawl gives Pitt, West Virginia opportunity to settle longstanding rivalry
Jonathan Crum — a die-hard West Virginia fan — never misses a Backyard Brawl. “This has always been probably the highlight of the year,” he said. “I’ve been to every game in Morgantown since probably 1989.” Saturday marks the 108th installment of the Backyard Brawl between the University of Pittsburgh...
Pitt, West Virginia announce 4-year extension of Backyard Brawl
One day before the 108th installment of the Backyard Brawl between Pitt and West Virginia, both schools announced an extension of the rivalry for four years from 2033-36. Those four games will be split between Acrisure and Milan Puskar stadiums, with Pitt hosting WVU on Sept. 10, 2033, and Sept....
Pitt, WVU coaches employing mind games, motivational tactics in advance of Backyard Brawl
The message appeared to have multiple layers in its intent from Pat Narduzzi. As the Pitt football coach stood at his podium to open his Monday morning press conference before this Saturday’s game at West Virginia, he read a list of results from Week 1 of the college football season....
