Pitt will rock its blue uniforms against the Eagles, wearing gold helmets with a blue Cathedral stripe and script, blue jerseys with gold numbers and blue pants with a gold Cathedral stripe down each leg.

It’s become somewhat of a Senior Night tradition for Pitt, and it will continue as the Seniors are honored just before Thursday night’s 7 p.m. kickoff.

Thursday Night Senior Night

Pitt Panthers Boston College Eagles

7 p.m. @ESPN @937theFan

See you at @AcrisureStadium #H2P » #BAM » #WeNotMe pic.twitter.com/Z2BSEsxtqs

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) November 15, 2023

Boston College rebounded off a poor season (and a poor start to this season) in a solid way, currently 6-4 and in position to head back to a bowl game.

BC rattled off wins over Virginia, Army, Georgia Tech, UConn and Syracuse before being smoked by Virginia Tech at home over the weekend. The five-game win streak gave the Eagles the chance to hit eight wins this season for the first time since 2009.

Thomas Castellanos took over the Boston College quarterback job earlier this season, and he’s thrown for 1,824 yards with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while adding 806 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, in what has become a solid rushing offense.

Pitt and Boston College haven’t met for a handful of seasons now, not since a 31-30 loss at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass., but Pitt does hold the all-time series lead.

The Panthers are 17-15 all-time against the Eagles, dating back to an inaugural win in Boston way back in 1959. After losing two back-to-back games in 1970 and 1971, Pitt won eight straight matchups into the early 80s.

Boston College was the better team in the 1990s, losing just twice, but Pitt is 5-3 since the turn of the century. However, the Eagles did win the last two matchups in 2019 and 2020.

The modest rivalry will resume once again this week, in a game that will pit Pitt quarterback/tight end hybrid Phil Jurkovec and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. against their old team.

Narduzzi said Monday that Jurkovec will see if the field if he’s able to help Pitt win the football game.

The post Pitt Will Wear Blue on Senior Night Against Boston College appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Pitt will be back on national television for the first time since losing to No. 4 Florida State earlier this month, and Matt will handle play-by-play duties, former Mississippi State and Florida head coach Dan Mullen will serve as his analyst and Harry Lyles Jr. will report from the sideline.

Bill Hillgrove, of course, is in the booth for 93.7 The Fan, with Pat Bostick serving as his analyst and Larry Richert and Dorin Dickerson reporting from the field at Acrisure Stadium.

Boston College rebounded off a poor season (and a poor start to this season) in a solid way, currently 6-4 and in position to head back to a bowl game.

BC rattled off wins over Virginia, Army, Georgia Tech, UConn and Syracuse before being smoked by Virginia Tech at home over the weekend. The five-game win streak gave the Eagles the chance to hit eight wins this season for the first time since 2009.

Thomas Castellanos took over the Boston College quarterback job earlier this season, and he’s thrown for 1,824 yards with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while adding 806 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, in what has become a solid rushing offense.

Pitt and Boston College haven’t met for a handful of seasons now, not since a 31-30 loss at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass., but Pitt does hold the all-time series lead.

The Panthers are 17-15 all-time against the Eagles, dating back to an inaugural win in Boston way back in 1959. After losing two back-to-back games in 1970 and 1971, Pitt won eight straight matchups into the early 80s.

Boston College was the better team in the 1990s, losing just twice, but Pitt is 5-3 since the turn of the century. However, the Eagles did win the last two matchups in 2019 and 2020.

The modest rivalry will resume once again this week, in a game that will pit Pitt quarterback/tight end hybrid Phil Jurkovec and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. against their old team.

Narduzzi said Monday that Jurkovec will see if the field if he’s able to help Pitt win the football game.

Television — ESPN

Matt Barrie (play-by-play)

Dan Mullen (analyst)

Harry Lyles Jr. (reporter)

Radio — 93.7 The Fan, Pitt Panthers Radio Network 

Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play)

Pat Bostick (analyst)

Larry Richert and Dorin Dickerson (reporters)

SiriusXM Satellite Radio

Channels 161 or 193 or on the SiriusXM app

WPTS Radio (Pitt Student Station) — 92.1 FM

The post ESPN Broadcast Crew Revealed for Pitt vs. Boston College appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

But at this point, with two games left (hosting Boston College and traveling to Duke), all the Pitt coaches can do now is try to finish the season strong. No matter how many embarrassing losses come Pitt’s way, Narduzzi has said — decidedly, at this point — that there will not be any changes in the season.

So, it’s up to the players to come together and finish the season strong, despite — as Narduzzi has said many times this season — not being put in the best position by the coaching staff.

Pitt is facing off against Boston College on a short week, coming off a brutal loss to Syracuse in New York City, and all the Panthers can do is move forward against an opponent that will likely try to do something similar to what ‘Cuse did over the weekend.

Staying Fresh When Not Given the Chance 

Unlike a normal week, Pitt didn’t have the luxury of spending Sunday watching film and taking Monday off. The Panthers flew home from New York City late Saturday night, got a few hours of sleep upon landing in Pittsburgh and were back for practice Sunday afternoon.

“It was good,” Narduzzi said. “Went out there and had a full scrimmage — we didn’t do that. You’ve got to be careful. I preached to our guys about just recovery and making sure that we’re as fresh as we can be. It’s a fast turnaround because you play a game and you get home at whatever, 11:00, 11:30 at night, probably they’re walking in the Bridge on Forbes at midnight and you’re turning around and practicing the next afternoon.”

There wasn’t time to sit down and watch exactly what went wrong against Syracuse, at least, not as a team, but the film study still went on.

Pitt turned its attention to watching Boston College, and more importantly, preparing itself physically for what should be another game in which the opposition runs the ball — a lot.

“You’ve just got to be careful what you do, which always scares you as a coach,” Narduzzi said. “It’s like you can go practice and work on those fundamentals and all those things and be exhausted on Thursday night, and I want a fresh team, as fresh as we can make them. So, you try to balance that with what you do workwise and how fresh you can keep them.”

With just four days off, and Sunday spent partially as a travel day, rest and recovery are at a premium. But 10 games into the season, it’s not as if anyone is truly 100% anymore either.

Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back Donovan McMillon (3) September 23, 2023 David Hague/Pittsburgh Sports Now

Always Want More Physicality

Pitt missed 18 tackles against Syracuse, which certainly contributed to allowing 382 yards to the ‘Cuse Wildcat, but it’s not as if the Panthers were shying away from hits.

Pitt hit hard, hard just wasn’t always enough against some big, physical Syracuse runners.

“I wouldn’t say not physical enough,” Narduzzi said. “You always want it to be more physical. You talk about toughness up on that back — our guys get great — put it this way: Defensively when you talk about physical, they’re about as physical as you can get. Just more leverage, I guess.

“Then the effort was outstanding all the way to the last drive on 3rd and short and 4th-and-short.”

It certainly wasn’t a banner day defensively for Pitt, it never is when allowing nearly 400 yards on the ground, but it’s not as if the Orange ran the ball 66 times because Pitt has a poor defense. There were stretches where the Panthers shut the Orange down, but without any resistance from the Pitt offense, Syracuse knew it could simply wear the Pitt defense down. And it did.

I don’t think the Pitt defense played well, missed tackles clearly still plaguing a defense that has been just out of position all season, but it was a strong second quarter, and there was even a red zone turnover on downs in the third quarter that was rewarded with an immediate pick-six.

But, even then, Narduzzi will always appreciate even more physicality.

“We’ve got to be more physical — again, it’s a little bit of everything, but one thing you notice when you go back and watch tape is there are a lot of guys breaking down. I’m not a big break down because all you do when you start to break down on a tackle, you just give that guy a chance to make a move on you. You break down, then he gives you a little over there and goes there.

“But I like to go take shots, and that’s what our guys are taught to do is go run through, and if you’re going to miss, know where you’re going to miss; miss on this side, miss on that side. Know where your help is, and they should always know where their help is based on the coverage of the defense. We like to take shots, and I don’t like stuttering down. Don’t give that guy a chance to make you miss.”

It will be another tough test against the top-ranked rushing offense in the ACC.

What Went Into the Odd Timeout Sequence? 

Ben Sauls ran out onto the field as Pitt faced a 4th-and-11 from the Syracuse 32, about to attempt a nearly 50-yard field goal, midway through the second quarter.

A Christian Veilleux pass fell incomplete on 3rd-and-11, and instead of letting Sauls attempt the 50-yard field goal, Narduzzi took a timeout to think it over — and talk to the officials about what he thought was going to happen.

“Again, I’m arguing with the official on the stem, and I sat next to the guy — again, not a bad argument, it was a good argument,” Narduzzi said. “I was asking how his day was going, what he had for dinner last night. But no, I was warning him before the ball even got snapped that you know they’re going to stem and try to make us jump offsides. I said, watch it. What did they do? They stemmed and got Terrence (Moore) to flinch.”

Moore did jump, and it backed Pitt up — out of what the coaching staff thought was Sauls’ range — and forced a punt.

“You know, again, I called it right ahead of time because I knew on a long one, they’d try to back us up more. As I’m talking to him, they never pumped the clock up, and again, that’s what it was.”

The television broadcast made it appear as if Narduzzi used two timeouts, and it did look like it, but the Panthers were charged just one timeout in the sequence. But the Caleb Junko punt, which had three gunners parked in the end zone, bounced into the end zone, too.

It was a thoroughly messy sequence that resulted in nothing for the Panthers. It kind of summed up the entire game.

Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Bub Means (0) November 4, 2023 David Hague/PSN

Growth at Wide Receiver Finally 

It’s taken some time, having gone through a tough season in the first year of the Frank Cignetti Jr. era, but after a slow start to the season, the wide receiving corps is truly one of the most consistent offensively.

That’s not exactly a high bar to clear, but even in a dreadful offensive performance against Syracuse, Bub Means and Konata Mumpfield stood out. Means led Pitt with 71 yards on two catches, and Mumpfield caught four balls for 29 yards and the lone offensive touchdown.

Despite a very, very poor season from the offense, both Means and Mumpfield have progressed personally. Means has caught 32 passes for 558 yards and four touchdowns and Mumpfield has caught 40 passes for 527 yards and five touchdowns.

Neither has been perfect, and it was a legitimate struggle for Means early in the season, but the unit as a whole — with Kenny Johnson and DaeDae Reynolds in the mix — isn’t a weakness. The wide receivers aren’t a bad unit. Far from it.

“I’m proud of the way those guys have hung together and can make plays when they have opportunities,” Narduzzi said. “You guys were here, Kenny Pickett’s junior year where it wasn’t like that.

“That’s one of our older groups; we look at Bub and Konata and Daejon Reynolds, and you’ve got the one young puppy in there, Kenny, those are probably the top four if I’m not missing anybody that are getting a lot of the reps out there.”

And Narduzzi said that two of the four main pass catchers, didn’t say which two exactly, were dealing some sort of bug that went around before kickoff Saturday, too.

So, while it’s been a disastrous season offensively, there are some building blocks in place, and Tiquan Underwood’s unit has shown signs of progression. It will be interesting now to see how the season finishes. And what the offseason holds for some of the Pitt pass catchers with decisions to make.

Season Summed Up by a Couple of Fumbles

It wasn’t a good day for Veilleux. He threw a bad pick-six, and he botched two handoffs that resulted in turnovers.

The first came on the first possession of the second half, having driven nearly 30 yards to set up a first-and-10 from the Syracuse 44, and there was a clear miscommunication between Veilleux and Johnson on a motion sweep play. Ball ends up on the ground, and ‘Cuse recovers.

The second came on the fourth possession of the second half, right after a three-and-out and the pick-six, and on another first-and-10, Veilleux botched a handoff to Hammond. And this one looked like one where Veilleux intended to keep the ball and simply couldn’t hang on. ‘Cuse managed to jump on it again.

“A little bit of both, just having a better grip on the ball and pulling it,” Narduzzi said. “Obviously, you’re reading it and you’ve got to be clean with the mesh, and it wasn’t.”

Two botched handoffs, to go along with a pick-six and a third fumble, are unacceptable. It was a pathetic performance offensively, and it’s hard to justify that performance resulting in another try. Poor coaching, poor play and poor results. Yet again.

The post Pat’s Points: Pitt WRs, Odd Timeout Sequence and a Short Week appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Marion, a former Pitt wide receivers coach and Greensburg, Pa. native, is in the midst of his first season as the UNLV offensive coordinator, and he’s been nominated for the Frank Broyles Award — the award given to the top assistant coach in college football.

It’s a triumphant return to serving as an offensive coordinator for Marion, who has spent the last three seasons as a wide receivers coach at three different locations.

Like everything we do, this was earned.

Congrats @BrennanMarion4 on being nominated for the 2023 Frank Broyles Award pic.twitter.com/3GMWqsCCm8

— UNLV Football (@unlvfootball) November 14, 2023

UNLV is averaging 36.4 points per game this season, up over 10 points from last season, and the Runnin’ Rebels are second in the Mountain West with a chance to take the lead in the standings with a win over Air Force this weekend.

While it’s not a high-powered passing offense, averaging just over 225 yards through the air per game, the Rebels are top-20 in the NCAA with just under 200 rushing yards per game — averaging 4.6 yards per carry and scoring 31 times on the ground.

Former Pitt running back Vincent Davis, who transferred to UNLV in the offseason, is leading the way with 553 rushing yards (5.5 yards per carry) and four touchdowns, but Jai’Den Thomas, Donavyn Lester, Courtney Reese and quarterback Jayden Maiava have all run for at least 199 yards this season.

Marion spent the 2022 season as the Texas wide receivers coach, and he spent the 2021 season as the Pitt wide receivers coach — helping Jordan Addison to bring home the Biletnikoff Award in 2021.

Marion, perhaps now infamously, wanted to stay at Pitt in an increased role after former offensive coordinator Mark Whipple resigned following the 2021 ACC championship game, but Pat Narduzzi opted to look elsewhere — naming Tim Salem as the interim coordinator for the ensuing Peach Bowl.

“When you have good coaches, people are going to come after them,” Narduzzi said following the Peach Bowl. “Guys have decisions to make. Whatever he wants to do, I’m good. We’ll be fine.”

Marion, at just 36 years old, is one of the fast-rising assistant coaches in college football, and there’s no doubt his name will pop up often as Power Five programs look to fill offensive coordinator vacancies in the offseason. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at William & Mary and Howard — gaining recognition for his Go-Go offense.

Pitt, of course, decided to fill the vacancy left by Whipple’s resignation by hiring Frank Cignetti Jr. And in the second year of the Cignetti-led offense, Pitt is averaging just under 20 points per game.

The post Former Pitt WR Coach Brennan Marion Nominated for Broyles Award appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

The Senior Bowl named its 75th Anniversary Team Tuesday, and three Pitt Panthers made the cut. Dan Marino, Curtis Martin and Aaron Donald, who all starred at Pitt before going onto exceptional NFL careers, all made the team.

“The history of our game means everything to us here at the Senior Bowl, so this is a special announcement,” Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy said in the release. “This 75th Anniversary Team includes many of the greatest players in NFL history and they are all legendary players for their respective franchises.

“We look forward to bringing these all-time greats back to where their NFL journeys started, the city of Mobile, Alabama. The Senior Bowl is grateful for our partners at the NFLPA for helping to make this celebration happen.”

The entire team can be found here.

75th Anniversary Team @SeniorBowl

Dozens of Pitt Panthers have excelled in Mobile on their way to the @NFLDraft

But these three Pitt and @NFL legends are among the best to ever play the game

QB Dan Marino
RB Curtis Martin
DL Aaron Donald#H2P » #BAM » #WeNotMe pic.twitter.com/jb41NRdDjC

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) November 14, 2023

Marino is perhaps the best NFL player to never win the Super Bowl, and the Central Catholic alum got his start in Pittsburgh.

Pitt lost just six games during Marino’s four-year Pitt career, completing 626-of-1,084 pass attempts (57.7%) for 7,905 yards with 74 touchdowns and 64 interceptions — winnning the Fiesta Bowl, Gator Bowl and Sugar Bowl in that span.

The Miami Dolphins selected Marino with the 27th pick in the 1983 NFL Draft, and he owned held a plethora of quarterback records by the time he retired following the 1999 season.

In 17 NFL seasons, Marino completed 4,967-of-8,358 pass attempts (59.4%) for 61,361 yards with 420 touchdowns and 252 interceptions. He won 147 of 240 NFL starts, leading 47 game-winning drives, but he never was able to win the big game during his career — falling to Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers as a second-year player in 1985.

Marino’s 1984 season, throwing for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns, was a season way ahead of its time in that era of the NFL.

He was enrished into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, following a career in which he was a three-time All-Pro, two-time Offensive Player of the Year and 1984 MVP.

Martin, who attended Allderice in Pittsburgh, also decided to stay home at Pitt. And in four seasons, missing most of his senior seaosn due to injury, he racked up 518 carries for 2,643 yards (5.1 yards per carry) and 15 touchdowns — adding 89 receptions for 749 yards and two more touchdowns.

The senior season injury, starting off the season with nearly 300 yards in two games, was a dissapointment, but he was still selected in the third round of the 1995 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. And he started fast.

Martin ran for 1,487 yards and 14 touchdowns as a rookie, earning Rookie of the Year honors and starting off a Hall of Fame career on a high note. In 11 seasons, he ran for 14,101 yards (4.0 yards per carry) and 90 touchdowns — adding 3,329 receiving yards and 10 more touchdowns through the air.

He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021, currently ranked as the NFL’s sixth-leading rusher all-time.

Donald, just a three-star recruit himself out of Penn Hills in the class of 2010, has done pretty well for himself since leaving Pittsburgh. And, of course, he didn’t leave Pittsburgh until he earned All-Big East and All-American honors at Pitt first. He racked up 181 tackles (115 solo), 66 tackles for loss, 29.5 sacks, forced six fumbles and defended 10 passes during his career in Pittsburgh.

And his senior campaign of 59 tackles (43 solo), 28.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, four forced fumbles and three passes defended rounded out one of the best defensive efforts in Pitt — and college football — history.

Donald, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, improved to even greater heights following his Pitt career, and he’s in the midst of his 10th NFL season with the Rams — still one of the very best defensive players in the NFL.

In nine-and-a-half seasons, he’s tacked up 527 tackles (331 solo), 171 tackles for loss, 108.5 sacks, 24 forced fumbles and seven recoveries and 18 pass breakups — cementing himself as one of the greats at just 32.

Prior to last season, Donald had earned seven consecutive first-team All-Pro honors — setting himself apart from his peers. And he’s once again in the midst of an All-Pro caliber season in 2023. And he will joins his fellow Pitt legends in the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the conclusion of his NFL career.

The post Pitt Well-Represented on Senior Bowl 75th Anniversary Team appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

It’s a short week with a Thursday night game against Boston College on the horizon, and Pat Narduzzi discussed what’s on the schedule in terms of preparing for the Eagles, avoided the topic of a starting quarterback decision and touched upon a plethora of other thoughts regarding ‘Cuse and Boston College.

The post WATCH: Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi Avoids QB Questions, Talks Short Week for Boston College appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Jimbo Fisher is going to earn about $25,000 a day over the next eight years to not be the head coach at Texas A&M. Mike Yurcich is out as the Penn State offensive coordinator despite guiding the second-highest scoring offense in the Big Ten — nearly 20 points per game more than Pitt.

Pat Narduzzi sort of evaded the idea of making in-season coaching changes at his weekly news conference last Thursday, and he was more adamant at his weekly press conference Monday.

“We evaluate every day what we’re doing and how we’re doing it and try to get things corrected,” Narduzzi said Monday. “And again, like I said, it’s a team sport. It’s everybody. I tell the trainers, they’re involved, equipment, you better not mess it up. And certainly coaches. So, we look at it on a daily basis, what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, and again, focus on Boston College.”

There is never a point in the evaluation process where Narduzzi feels like an in-season coaching change is needed. So, don’t expect one.

Pitt is in the midst of a 2-8 season, the worst since 1998 (which is before just about every player on the roster at this point), and there’s an overarching issue that has held Pitt back over the last two seasons — yes, even in a 9-4 season.

Pitt is 114th in points per game (19.9) and 117th in total offense (310.5) in college football, and there are only four Power Five schools in each category that have been worse than Pitt this season. The passing offense is a disaster, with a few quarterbacks failing to run Frank Cignetti Jr.’s offense, and the run game is non-existent without Izzy Abanikanda. And we don’t know if a new quarterback will fix anything.

Narduzzi said that over the next two games, the No. 1 priority is to win. It’s not about getting the stars of tomorrow into the lineup (unless the coaching staff is sure whichever player is able to help) or figuring out anything else relating to the future of the program. The goal is to win with this team — the current coaches and starters.

“We’re trying to get the next win, really,” Narduzzi said. “Just want to win. That’s what it comes down to is winning football games every Thursday or Saturday night. That’s the main focus. If they can help us and we’re not going to take a redshirt year away from them, we’ll do that.”

That’s fair. The No. 1 goal should be to win. But Pitt is hamstrung by a failing offense, so badly so that an opposing offense felt comfortable installing a brand new offense in the middle of a football game. Syracuse, after working out a few kinks in the first half, legitimately installed a new offense. And it worked.

Syracuse ran the ball 66 times, using a converted quarterback under center, and it was because Pitt couldn’t muster anything offensively. There’s zero chance Pitt runs it back next season, major changes are in order, but there won’t be any in-season. Even though those changes are overdue now.

Whatever happens against Boston College and Duke will be with Frank Cignetti Jr. as the leader of the offense. With Narduzzi’s hands-off approach, it truly is Cignetti’s offense. And there’s not one reason to expect anything else this season.

The post Don’t Expect Any Pitt Coaching Changes In-Season appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

After a Thursday night clash against Boston College this week, Pitt will head to Durham, N.C. to take on Duke on Nov. 25 at either noon or 3:30 p.m. That decision will be announced late Saturday night.

The Panthers and Blue Devils will kick off on ACC Network, and a broadcast crew for the season finale will be announced early next week.

Game Details Announced

Pitt Panthers at Duke Blue Devils

Saturday, November 25
Noon or 3:30 p.m. Durham, NC
@ACCNetwork @937theFan

The game time will be confirmed after this week’s games.#H2P » #BAM » #WeNotMe pic.twitter.com/AinnHZEw28

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) November 13, 2023

Duke is coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss to North Carolina over the weekend, and will head to Charlottesville, Va. to take on Virginia before hosting Pitt to end the regular season.

Despite missing star quarterback Riley Leonard, Duke has won the games its needed to this season, taking down Clemson, Lafayette, Northwestern, UConn, North Carolina State and Wake Forest to sit at 6-4 (3-3 ACC) this season.

It remains uncertain whether Leonard will be able to go against Pitt in two weeks, and Grayson Loftis (305 yards with four touchdowns and an interception in five games this season) appears to be the likely starter in his stead.

The Blue Devils have gotten by because of a strong run game, averaging just about 180 yards per game on the ground with a duo of Jordan Waters and Jaquez Moore.

Pitt and Duke have met 26 times, dating all the way back to a 52-7 win in Durham in 1929, and the Panthers largely have had the upper hand. Aside from a five-game losing streak in the 1940s, Pitt is 17-4 all-time.

The Panthers have won seven in a row — including a 28-26 win at Acrisure Stadium last season — and 11 of the last 12 games dating back to 1969. With the exception of 2020, Pitt and Duke have played every season since 2013.

Duke is the last chance Pitt will have to play a noon game this season, and it will be announced Saturday night.

The post Pitt Has One More Chance for Noon Kickoff This Season appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Well, after not watching the tape together as a team Sunday (instead beginning to prepare for Boston College), Narduzzi said he doesn’t know who will start Thursday.

“I don’t talk injuries with ya, I don’t know,” Narduzzi said when asked Monday at his weekly press conference.

“This isn’t an injury question, are they hurt?” a reporter asked.

“I don’t know, are they? I don’t know,” Narduzzi said. “We’ll see Thursday night.”

Veilleux completed 13-of-22 pass attempts (59%) for 161 yards with a touchdown and an interception against Syracuse but most of that production came in the first half — and he botched two handoff attempts throughout the second half.

Yarnell was inserted late, with the outcome all but decided considering the flow of the game, and he completed 3-of-5 pass attempts for 48 yards in relief.

It was a dreadful day for the Pitt offense, racking up just 269 yards (60 yards on the ground) and turning the ball over four times. Pitt went 3-of-10 on third down, was out-possessed by nearly 15 minutes and killed any and all of its own momentum.

“We have a nice drive going, first series of the second half, we drive all the way down there and put the ball on the ground with a ball handling deal, which just can’t happen,” Narduzzi said following the loss.

Pitt is 114th in points per game (19.9) and 117th in total offense (310.5) in college football, and there are only four Power Five schools in each category that have been worse than Pitt this season. The passing offense is a disaster, with a couple of failing quarterbacks trying to run Frank Cignetti Jr.’s offense, and the run game is non-existent. And we don’t know if a new quarterback will fix anything.

“We obviously as coaches have to put them in a better position to make plays,” Narduzzi said. “We didn’t put them in a position to make plays.”

Veilleux has completed 94-of-184 pass attempts (51.1%) for 1,179 yards with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions this season. And after two good starts, the first of his collegiate career, he’s slogged through three rough performances in a row. Yarnell has only played in two games this season, completing 5-of-8 pass attempts (62.5%) for 123 yards with a touchdown.

Narduzzi said that he will likely know whether Veilleux or Yarnell will be starting in the next day or two, but he said that it might come down to a decision on Thursday — in the locker room before kickoff. So, we truly will see.

Pitt and Boston College are scheduled to kickoff at Acrisure Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, and it will be broadcast on ESPN.

The post ‘I Don’t Know’: Pat Narduzzi Evades Starting Pitt QB Questions appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Boston College is coming to town on a short week for a Thursday night kickoff under the lights, and Circa Sports has set Pitt as a 3-point home underdog, with an over/under set at 46.5 points.

Pitt will be hosting Boston College at Acrisure Stadium, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m., and for those who will not in attendance, ESPN will broadcast the matchup.

College Football
Week 12 Opening Lines

Opening App Limits: $3k Sides, $1k Totals pic.twitter.com/cVf20MOZ4F

— Circa Sports (@CircaSports) November 12, 2023

DraftKings has set Pitt as a slightly slimmer underdog, -1 against the spread, and bets for and against the spread hold -110 odds. FanDuel has set Pitt as a 1.5-point underdog, with a bet to cover the spread holding -120 odds — a bet to win outright holding -110 odds.

Boston College rebounded off a poor season (and a poor start to this season) in a solid way, currently 6-4 and in position to head back to a bowl game.

BC rattled off wins over Virginia, Army, Georgia Tech, UConn and Syracuse before being smoked by Virginia Tech at home over the weekend. The five-game win streak gave the Eagles the chance to hit eight wins this season for the first time since 2009.

Thomas Castellanos took over the Boston College quarterback job earlier this season, and he’s thrown for 1,824 yards with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while adding 806 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, in what has become a solid rushing offense.

Pitt and Boston College haven’t met for a handful of seasons now, not since a 31-30 loss at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass., but Pitt does hold the all-time series lead.

The Panthers are 17-15 all-time against the Eagles, dating back to an inaugural win in Boston way back in 1959. After losing two back-to-back games in 1970 and 1971, Pitt won eight straight matchups into the early 80s.

Boston College was the better team in the 1990s, losing just twice, but Pitt is 5-3 since the turn of the century. However, the Eagles did win the last two matchups in 2019 and 2020.

The modest rivalry will resume once again this week, in a game that will pit Pitt quarterback/tight end hybrid Phil Jurkovec and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. against their old team.

The post Pitt Opens As Home Underdog Against Boston College appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Pitt collapsed in the second half, utterly and completely, and it resulted in the eighth loss of the season. Pitt turned the ball over four times, couldn’t run the football and allowed damn near 400 yards to a new-look Syracuse Wildcat offense.

Let’s just get into a few takeaways.

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi claps after the Panthers score against Virginia Tech on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 in Blacksburg, Virginia. (Mitchell Northam / Pittsburgh Sports Now.)

Time for Pat Narduzzi to Step Up 

It’s difficult to advocate for someone losing their job. The Pitt coaches, by all accounts, are good people. But college football is a business, Pitt is trying to win football games however possible, and it’s not happening. So, tough decisions — tough decisions for Pat Narduzzi — need to be made.

If the plan is to let Frank Cignetti Jr. go on Sunday, Nov. 26, why wait? In a 2-8 season, which has the not-too-unlikely potential to finish 2-10, why wait?

How many times does Narduzzi need to step up to the podium and say that Pitt didn’t put its players in the position to win? One more season?

“Obviously, really disappointing, and we were right there in the first half, and we were in the game, and disappointing second half,” Narduzzi said. “We didn’t finish. It starts with me, I take full responsibility. It’s my job to get the 74 guys we bring on the road all ready to go, but it starts with the coaching. It’s putting our guys in the position to make plays offensively and defensively, and we obviously didn’t do that today.”

Pitt has had some serious problems this season, and the effects of this disastrous season may be felt well into the offseason. It’s time for Narduzzi to step up and make the changes — in terms of coaching — that this team needs.

Pathetic Performance 

Again, difficult to advocate for someone losing their job, but also again, Pitt is trying to win football games.

There’s an argument to be made that Pitt should clean house offensively, and it’s looking like a better option after every game this season. It’s time to make changes — as many as needed to ensure this season doesn’t happen again.

Pitt is 114th in points per game (19.9) and 117th in total offense (310.5) in college football, and there are only four Power Five schools in each category that have been worse than Pitt this season. The passing offense is a disaster, with a couple of failing quarterbacks trying to run Frank Cignetti Jr.’s offense, and the run game is non-existent.

“We obviously as coaches have to put them in a better position to make plays,” Narduzzi said. “We didn’t put them in a position to make plays.”

Narduzzi said that he was very comfortable with the offensive game plan — that sometimes those plans work, and sometimes they don’t. Maybe other places. This game plan doesn’t work, and it hasn’t worked for just about two seasons now. When a team decides to just the ball 66 times, running a never-before-seen Wildcat because the opposing coaching staff is entirely sure that Pitt is unable to keep up, it’s a slap in the face.

Pitt turned the ball over four times, went three-and-out twice and was a hindrance — yet again — in the second half. Lack of discipline and focus, miscommunications and questionable personnel usage and playcalling have plagued Pitt all season. It’s almost gotten worse as the season has worn on.

“Didn’t get enough first downs, didn’t score enough points and the four turnovers in the second half are just really disappointing. You can’t win with four turnovers.”

You can’t win with this offense either.

Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Shayne Simon (32) November 4, 2023 David Hague/PSN

Historically Bad Run Defense 

After a 43-yard performance against Syracuse, Rodney Hammond Jr. has racked up 381 yards (at 4.2 yards per carry) and three touchdowns on the ground for Pitt this season. That’s in nine games. Syracuse, in one afternoon at Yankee Stadium, racked up 382 yards (at 5.8 yards per carry) and two touchdowns on the ground.

Pat Narduzzi likes to run the football, and he likes to stop opposing teams from running the football. His team didn’t do either Saturday.

“It’s frustrating. You’re frustrated with the loss, period,” Narduzzi said. “There’s a lot of things you’re frustrated with, but certainly, you’d like to stop the run. And we didn’t do that today.”

In eight-and-a-half seasons under Narduzzi, his defense has allowed more than 382 yards just twice in a single game — the 2015 Military Bowl against Navy, allowing 417 yards on 71 rushing attempts, and a 2017 ACC matchup against Georgia Tech (in the midst of the triple-option offense), allowing 436 yards on 67 carries.

Syracuse racked up 382 yards on 66 carries, and while ‘Cuse isn’t a service academy or a triple-option offense, the game plan clearly changed.

The Orange attempted just eight passes against Pitt, throwing for just 17 yards, but it didn’t matter. The Panthers knew what was coming, the coaches making the calls and players trying to execute on the field, but it didn’t matter much.

“Obviously they didn’t plan on passing, I’m not sure Shrader could throw it, he hadn’t played for the last couple of weeks — didn’t even know he was gonna go today,” Narduzzi said following the loss. “But had no idea who the starting quarterback was — you try to work for (Carlos) Del Rio Wilson and everybody else.

“They did a lot of different stuff that we had not practiced. We tried to adjust as we went, obviously tackling had something to do with it, and we’ll watch that and see who missed and where we executed wrong but 66 rushes. We were on the field for a long time.”

Let’s Head to the Finish Line 

Boston College at home on Thursday night, for Senior Night, and Duke on the road. And that’s it. Two games left. The best-case scenario is a 4-8 season — which would be the worst season since 1998.

There isn’t much Pitt can do now besides giving its younger players chances to receive legitimate snaps against decent opponents. That’s been the case for a couple of first and second-year players throughout this season, and it needs to continue in increasing numbers. There are numerous veterans — who should be respected for their contributions to Pitt football — that should cede time to the younger players.

Pick either Christian Veilleux or Nate Yarnell, and see what they’ve got. The No. 1 priority has to be figuring out whether or not either is the quarterback of the future.

Narduzzi said there’s no quit in the locker room, everyone is together, and he guaranteed it. He said that Pitt would be ready for Boston College on a short week.

We’ll see about that Thursday night.

The post Pitt Takeaways: Don’t Wait to Make a Change appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Pat Narduzzi said following the loss to Syracuse at Yankee Stadium that he would watch the tape and see who would be the starting quarterback at Boston College this week.

“You turn the ball over three times, threw a pick-six, that’s a 15-point final gain there,” Narduzzi said following the loss. “Then we had two fumbled exchanges, so we had three turnovers. Like I told you, we’ve got a lot of faith in Nate Yarnell, and then we go and turn it over again. (Yarnell) goes three-and-out, I think he had two series but got faith in both of those guys.”

Veilleux completed 13-of-22 pass attempts (59%) for 161 yards with a touchdown and an interception but most of that production came in the first half — and he botched two handoff attempts throughout the second half.

Yarnell was inserted late, with the outcome all but decided considering the flow of the game, and he completed 3-of-5 pass attempts for 48 yards in relief.

It was a dreadful day for the Pitt offense, racking up just 269 yards (60 yards on the ground) and turning the ball over four times. Pitt went 3-of-10 on third down, was out-possessed by nearly 15 minutes and killed any and all of its own momentum.

“We have a nice drive going, first series of the second half, we drive all the way down there and put the ball on the ground with a ball handling deal, which just can’t happen,” Narduzzi said.

Veilleux has completed 94-of-184 pass attempts (51.1%) for 1,179 yards with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions this season. And after two good starts, the first of his collegiate career, he’s slogged through three rough performances in a row. Yarnell has only played in two games this season, completing 5-of-8 pass attempts (62.5%) for 123 yards with a touchdown.

Narduzzi has said that Frank Cignetti Jr. will make the decision, but who would you start at quarterback against Boston College?

The post Poll: Who Should Pitt Start at QB Against Boston College? appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Pat Narduzzi likes to run the football, and he likes to stop opposing teams from running the football. His team didn’t do either Saturday.

In eight-and-a-half seasons under Narduzzi, his defense has allowed more than 382 yards just twice in a single game — the 2015 Military Bowl against Navy, allowing 417 yards on 71 rushing attempts, and a 2017 ACC matchup against Georgia Tech (in the midst of the triple-option offense), allowing 436 yards on 67 carries.

Syracuse racked up 382 yards on 66 carries, and while ‘Cuse isn’t a service academy or a triple-option offense, the game plan clearly changed.

The Orange attempted just eight passes against Pitt, throwing for just 17 yards, but it didn’t matter. The Panthers knew what was coming, the coaches making the calls and players trying to execute on the field, but it didn’t matter much.

“Obviously they didn’t plan on passing, I’m not sure Shrader could throw it, he hadn’t played for the last couple of weeks — didn’t even know he was gonna go today,” Narduzzi said following the loss. “But had no idea who the starting quarterback was — you try to work for (Carlos) Del Rio Wilson and everybody else.

“They did a lot of different stuff that we had not practiced. We tried to adjust as we went, obviously tackling had something to do with it, and we’ll watch that and see who missed and where we executed wrong but 66 rushes. We were on the field for a long time.”

Pitt prides itself on stopping opposing run games, to the point that it leaves its cornerbacks out on islands, and it generally works. There have been two seasons (2020 and 2021) in which Pitt’s opponents haven’t even hit 200 rushing yards in a game.

In the Narduzzi era, there had been just four 300-yard rushing games (if you don’t count the two 400-yard games), but there are five now.

“It’s frustrating,” Narduzzi said. “You’re frustrated with a loss, period. There are a lot of things you’re frustrated with, but certainly, you’d like to stop the run. And we didn’t do that today.”

Starting quarterback Garrett Shrader was the leading receiver for Syracuse, catching a single pass for six yards, and a Wildcat approach — which Narduzzi said that Pitt was not at all prepared for after not seeing it on tape — was a nightmare scenario.

Pittsburgh Panthers defensive lineman Dayon Hayes (50)September 9, 2023 David Hague/PSN

Tight end Dan Villari, who served as a Wildcat quarterback, led Syracuse with 154 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, averaging nearly 10 yards per carry, and running back LeQuint Allen (102 yards), Shrader (96 yards), running back Juwaun Price (28 yards) and running back Ike Daniels (4 yards) added additional yards.

In watching Syracuse, Narduzzi said the Wildcat formation had been primarily a goal line set for the Orange, definitely nothing like the Panthers saw today, and obviously, it led to serious problems for the Panthers all afternoon. It’s tough to adjust to what hasn’t been put on tape, and it appeared as though it was trending toward that point at the end of the first half, but the second half was a whole different beast.

Pitt had six offensive possessions in the second half. Four ended with turnovers, and two were three-and-outs. The interception was returned for a touchdown.

It’s hard, very, very, very hard to win that way, especially after allowing just 45 yards in the second quarter to rebound from a rough first defensive possession. ‘Cuse scored 14 points in the second half, and both touchdowns came off turnovers. A lot of yards came as Pitt was unable to maintain drives or turned the ball over.

This isn’t to absolve blame on the defense, it wasn’t a banner day for the unit, but it would’ve been a much, much better day if the offense could’ve sustained any — any — sort of momentum. And there’s a good chance ‘Cuse decided to go full Wildcat because the coaching staff decided that Pitt was going to be unable to keep up offensively.

“It’s never just one thing,” Narduzzi said. “There’s 11 guys on the field at one time, and we didn’t run the ball well enough, and they did. It’s a smattering of things.”

Pitt wasn’t good enough against Syracuse’s run-heavy offense, right from the first whistle, that much is clear. But it’s also not as if the defense has had any sort of help offensively. And that’s been a trend that’s continued over the last two seasons now. The third-worst run defense performance is certainly not solely on the shoulders of the defense.

When all is said and done, it will be the poor run defense — which certainly hasn’t been good enough — that shoulders the blame for a poor season. But it most certainly isn’t the No. 1 fault.

There are just two games left, sitting at 2-8 (1-6 ACC), and Boston College is up next.

For reference, team rushing yards allowed per game under Narduzzi:

2015 — 148.5

2016 — 119.5

2017 — 142.4

2018 — 178.3

2019 — 108.5

2020 — 93.5

2021 — 88.7

2022 — 98.0

2023 — 159.6

The post One of the Worst Run Defenses in the Narduzzi Era is a Team Effort appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

After three second half turnovers, Christian Veilleux was benched in the fourth quarter of a 28-13 loss to Syracuse at Yankee Stadium Saturday afternoon, and Pat Narduzzi pointed to the turnovers as a reason for finally making the change.

“You turn the ball over three times, threw a pick-six, that’s a 15-point final gain there,” Narduzzi said following the loss. “Then we had two fumbled exchanges, so we had three turnovers. Like I told you, we’ve got a lot of faith in Nate Yarnell, and then we go and turn it over again. (Yarnell) goes three-and-out, I think he had two series but got faith in both of those guys.”

Veilleux completed 13-of-22 pass attempts (59%) for 161 yards with a touchdown and an interception but most of that production came in the first half — and he botched two handoff attempts throughout the second half.

Yarnell was inserted late, with the outcome all but decided considering the flow of the game, and he completed 3-of-5 pass attempts for 48 yards in relief.

It was a dreadful day for the Pitt offense, racking up just 269 yards (60 yards on the ground) and turning the ball over four times. Pitt went 3-of-10 on third down, was out-possessed by nearly 15 minutes and killed any and all of its own momentum.

“We have a nice drive going, first series of the second half, we drive all the way down there and put the ball on the ground with a ball handling deal, which just can’t happen,” Narduzzi said.

It would be one thing if it was a one-off performance, but with 13 points, it was the most prolific performance from the Panthers offense in weeks. But, obviously, it was still a dreadful all-around performance from an offensive unit that will sink even lower down the national rankings.

When Pitt returns home to host Boston College for Senior Night on Thursday at Acrisure Stadium, there isn’t a certainty that Veilleux will still be under center. Narduzzi admitted he doesn’t know who will be under center.

“We’re gonna look at the tape and find out,” Narduzzi said. “We’ll look at the tape.”

If there’s just one thing — and there’s certainly much more — Pitt needs to figure out for next season, it’s if next season’s starting quarterback is currently on the roster, and that’s looking less likely by the week.

The post Pat Narduzzi Will ‘Watch the Tape’ to Make Starting QB Decision appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Pitt collapsed in the second half against ‘Cuse, failing to capitalize on a 13-7 halftime lead and falling to the Orange at Yankee Stadium Saturday afternoon in embarrassing fashion. The Panthers fall to 2-8 (1-6 ACC) following the loss.

And, of course, Pitt fans were not shy to voice their opinions following the fourth consecutive Panthers loss.

I wanna hear Duzz say there's no quit in this team,or coaches for that matter

— Dave Yazz (@dyarksky) November 11, 2023

Hers my reaction. Down the Allegheny it goes. pic.twitter.com/RiZWj06XM7

— Panther Pride (@buccos4122) November 12, 2023

Same shit…different day ! https://t.co/lZptpUPULR

— BloomfieldBoomer (@acolamarino57) November 12, 2023

I’m speechless

— Cale Berger (@cale_berger) November 11, 2023

Game encapsulates the entire frustrating season. Cale what troubles me: few games looked flat or games didn’t look prepared & unable to adjust.
But…they just out-mistake the opponent every week.
Penalties.Turnovers.Mental mistakes/execution.
What do you think rights the ship?

— P1TTFAN (@P1TTFAN) November 12, 2023

Only thing you can say here is that Narduzzi has neve reached these depths before as a HC. Sometimes, guys need to hit rock bottom and get a real slap in the face before they get aggressive and make wholesale changes.

Maybe, Narduzzi will. But I wouldn't hold my breath, https://t.co/4JJ2gXctSg

— Nick Farabaugh (@Nick_Farabaugh) November 12, 2023

If I’m Narduzzi I’d be aggressive in coaching and player turnover, but he’s not aggressive, so I’m not holding my breath

— Chris Dokish (@ChrisDokish) November 12, 2023

Another dreadful #Pitt football performance. Can't say I saw a positive, for the third straight week.

I think Pat Narduzzi should reconsider not thinking about in-season coaching changes. Unforgivable performance.

— Karl Ludwig (@LudwigKarl8) November 11, 2023

I have a reaction. Overhaul everything https://t.co/ldS6zuyLNP

— Chas (@frazmoney93) November 12, 2023

Remember when Pitt went 10-2, had their best season in 40 years, set All-Time offensive records, had a Biletnikoff winner, a Heisman finalist & won the ACC & like the first interview after the season Narduzzi said “I didn’t like how much we threw the ball” & now here we are lmao

— Ghost of Whip (@GhostofWhip) November 11, 2023

Pitt has scored three offensive touchdowns in the past three games.

Pitt has allowed three non-offensive touchdowns in the past three games.

— Jim Hammett (@JimHammett) November 11, 2023

Fun game for everyone:

Name the best potential portal QB you can think of. Be sure to tag @Alliance_412!!

— The Loyal Sons (@TheLoyalSons) November 11, 2023

:/

— The Panther Pitt (@ThePantherPitt) November 11, 2023

Every program needs a reset / refresh. #Pitt has reached that point. Its time to make a thorough evaluation, top to bottom, and make changes. I do believe there’s some young and talented players on the roster. Not all hope is lost.

— Harry G. Psaros (@PittGuru) November 11, 2023

Pitt was ranked to start the year

— Logan Carney (@Media_Carnival) November 11, 2023

They gave up weeks ago ! https://t.co/weJHyhO8cX

— BloomfieldBoomer (@acolamarino57) November 11, 2023

Wow. Lol.

— JJ Kitchen (@JJ_Kitchen40) November 11, 2023

FIRE EVERYONE!!!!!!

— JOE (@PittFamily4Life) November 11, 2023

My timeline is rated “R” RN

— Panther4Life (@JediMaster868) November 11, 2023

Lmfao we lost to a team whose leading passer had 12 yards pic.twitter.com/EFMt3SpplA

— Zack (@pickettbeliever) November 11, 2023

I’m convinced that all teams on Pitt’s schedule, minus Wofford and Louisville, have been stealing signs this season. I’m also even more convinced that Pitt ISN’T stealing signs.

— Francis Guarnieri (@fpguarnieri89) November 11, 2023

The post Twitter Reaction to Embarrassing Loss to Syracuse at Yankee Stadium appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.