University of Pittsburgh
November 14, 2015
DURHAM, N.C. — Looking ahead to kickoff …
Game: Pitt (6-3, 4-1 ACC) vs. Duke (6-3, 2-3), 12:02 p.m., Wallace Wade Stadium
TV, radio: ESPN News, 93.7 The Fan
Online: GameTracker | Multimedia | Media notes
November 13, 2015
The Pitt men’s basketball flew halfway around the globe for half of nothing.
The Panthers’ season opener in Okinawa, Japan, the Armed Forces Classic showdown with No. 9 Gonzaga, was canceled after the first half due to unsafe floor conditions. The court had become wet due to the humidity and moisture at Foster Field House.
The Panthers led at the half, 37-35, thanks to a last-second 3-point play by Ryan Luther.
November 13, 2015
Tempo. No-huddle. Pace. Hurry-up. The blur. High octane.
Whatever you want to call it, the up-tempo offense is all the rage in college football, and it will be prominently on display at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday when Duke (6-3, 3-2 in ACC) hosts Pitt (6-3, 4-1).
The Blue Devils do it just about as quickly as anyone, and that’ll be the case whether Duke has Thomas Sirk, who is questionable with an upper-body injury, or Parker Boehme as their quarterback.
“(Duke) has shown some pretty rapid snaps,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said this week. “I’m talking, once the play is over, they’re snapping the ball somewhere between eight and 12 seconds (later). When the chain gang hasn’t set the chains yet, and they’re ready to play, you know you’re seeing a fast tempo offense.”
Ryan Solomon is one of three returning NCAA qualifiers for the Panthers -- PITT ATHLETICS
November 13, 2015
By C.J. CUNNINGHAM
One of the great traditions in Pitt’s rich athletic history belongs to the wrestling program, which dates to 1913 and can claim 16 national championships and 75 individual All-Americans. The golden era in the 1950s brought a top-10 finish every year of the decade.
Recently though, the team hasn’t been able to replicate those heights. Pitt has only won one national championship in the last 25 years. While the dry spell could hardly be considered a collapse of the program, the Panthers ended their time in the Eastern Wrestling League somewhat listlessly. National finishes in the mid-30s were more the norm in the 2000s.
The transition to the ACC provided new life, and now coach Jason Peters wants to restore glory.
November 12, 2015
Welcome to Live Qs at 5. Since apparently I did a good enough job last week to get to get invited back, this will once again feature all college-related questions.
Here’s how it works: Enter one question in the comments below. I’ll go through and answer as many as possible directly under your Q. When it’s done, all that will be left are the Qs that were used, my replies and any follow-ups by the original questioner.
November 12, 2015
Duke head coach David Cutcliffe announced Thursday that starting quarterback Thomas Sirk will be questionable for Saturday’s game against Pitt in Durham, N.C.
Sirk sustained an upper-body injury in last week’s 66-31 loss to Coastal Division-leading North Carolina. Even though Sirk may not play, Pitt and coach Pat Narduzzi are preparing as if he will.
“They say he’s questionable, but he’s a tough kid, I can tell you that,” Narduzzi said at his final media briefing of the week at Pitt’s South Side facility on Thursday. “You watch him run. His last touchdown run that he had (against North Carolina last week), he runs like Larry Csonka.”
November 11, 2015
Pitt’s defensive line room has looked more like a MASH unit lately.
Starting defensive tackle Darryl Render came into the Notre Dame game already banged up from an undisclosed injury the week before. On Saturday, his backup Mark Scarpinato was a last-minute scratch with a head injury. Then nose tackles K.K. Mosley-Smith and Tyrique Jarrett both went down with injuries during the game.
Generally buried at the bottom of the two-deep depth chart, redshirt sophomores Jeremiah Taleni and Justin Moody found themselves thrust into the lineup against the No. 5 team in the country.
“It felt good,” Taleni said of the chance to get some extended playing time. “I’ve been working since the beginning of the season for this opportunity and it was my time to step up.”
November 11, 2015
Welcome to another Live Qs at 5, this one all the way live.
How it works: Enter one question in the comments section below. I’ll answer directly under your Q. When it’s done, all that will be left are the Qs that were used, my replies and any follow-ups by the original questioner. This way, it’s easier for readers to go through it all.
November 11, 2015
In this episode, we fret over Landry Jones‘ second chapter, the Steelers’ secondary, Kris Letang’s minus-10 and Pitt basketball heading to Japan. Also, Matt finally gets to read the intro. We’re brought to you, as always, by our friends at GoToMeeting.com
November 10, 2015
The sight of Notre Dame wide receiver Will Fuller celebrating in the end zone three times at Heinz Field last Saturday won’t be something Pitt fans forget soon.
Panthers cornerback Avonte Maddox has tried to put that out of mind.
“It is one of the weeks you have to have a short memory,” he said after practice at Pitt’s South Side facility on Tuesday. “I had short memory during the game, too.”
Sidney Crosby has failed to produce a point in 10 of the Penguins' 14 games. -- JARED WICKERHAM
November 10, 2015
Brief and to the Point …
• Sidney Crosby was among the last of the Penguins lagging on the ice in Cranberry after Monday’s hour-plus workout, and this after Mike Johnston put the group through Herb Brooks-esque sprints to loosen those legs after all that cross-Canada flying.
Say what you will of the captain’s performance to date — 10 scoreless outputs in 14 team games, just two goals and five assists total — but you can’t fault the effort.
And now, officially, you can’t fault linemates anymore, either.
Johnston’s latest reshuffling Monday, this coming at a pace that would make a Vegas dealer blush, had Crosby between longtime fave Pascal Dupuis and newly promoted Beau Bennett. There are no excuses to be had there. Both can keep up, Dupuis can do the dirty work, Bennett can dangle, and Crosby … he just needs to start producing.
To his credit, shortly after coming off the ice, that seemed to be his thought, too.
“Lines change,” he said, “but you’ve got still got to score goals.”
Qadree Ollison scores a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter against Duke. -- GETTY
November 14, 2015
Pitt plays ‘complete game’ in big win over Duke
32by Alan Saunders • Coverage • Pitt
DURHAM, N.C. — The 2015 Pitt football season has been full of promise. Under first-year coach Pat Narduzzi, the Panthers have made enormous strides on both sides of the ball. But despite their early success, their 6-3 record was tempered by lackluster non-conference wins and back-to-back losses to North Carolina and Notre Dame that left many questioning the team’s quality.
Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium, Pitt answered some of those questions by finally putting together a dominant performance against a quality opponent and outperforming Duke, 31-13.
“We’ve been kind of waiting for this,” Narduzzi said after emerging from a raucous locker room. “It’s Game 10 and we were waiting for a complete game. I’m proud of our kids. They keep fighting every week. They do everything you ask them to do. They came out and fought their tails off. That was about as complete of a win as you can have.”
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