We are almost halfway through the ACC schedule and have seen some teams surprise and others disappoint, yet no one has been able to knock the kings off the mountain. As a conference the ACC has still underachieved on the season, but a couple of teams are showing some signs of life. How does your team stack up against the competition? Here’s a look at my latest ACC Power Rankings. 1. Florida State (6-0, 4-0 ACC, defeated Syracuse 38-20, Last Week-1) Amidst all of the Jameis Winston ... Read More
James Conner to play on defensive side of ball vs. Virginia Tech
When the Pitt Panthers opened the 2014 season, many people were excited to potentially see running back James Conner line up on both sides of the ball. That naturally hasn’t happened yet with Conner’s solid start to the season, but it looks like we will get to see the sophomore line up at defensive end Thursday night when the Panthers play host to Virginia Tech. “I'm going to get that thing going this week on the defensive side of the ball,” Conner said. “I'll be out there ... Read More
Wolverines hand Nittany Lions second straight conference loss
Penn State’s (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) failed attempt at an onside kick in the fourth quarter combined with a magnificent show of perseverance through pain from quarterback Devin Gardner left Michigan (3-4, 1-2 Big Ten) on top by a score of 18-13 on Saturday night in Ann Arbor. Penn State senior kicker Sam Ficken opened the scoring with a 35-yard field goal 5:32 into the first half. Michigan determinedly answered just three minutes later with a 43-yard touchdown from wide receiver Devin Funchess, who ... Read More
Penn State looks to bounce back against Michigan
Penn State head coach James Franklin’s promise to “get it fixed” is on the line as the Nittany Lions (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) take on the University of Michigan Wolverines (2-4, 0-2 Big Ten) on Saturday night in Ann Arbor. Penn State is in limbo right now – a shocking 29-6 loss to Northwestern two weeks ago led into a bye week that focused on corrections, strength-training and rest. Michigan wants to go into its bye week with a win against Penn State, and perhaps the memory of a stinging overtime ... Read More
Big Ten Conference is no longer a powerhouse
The Big Ten Conference can no longer be called a powerhouse, at least not when it comes to football. It started in 2012 when Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany told the critics to fire away. A lack of top-10 teams, bowl bans and blowout losses led to a lot of criticism from all angles. “We’ve underperformed, and I can’t argue with that,” he admitted in a 2012 press conference. Things seem to have not gotten better. Despite a good start to the season for traditionally strong teams like Ohio ... Read More
Should Pitt consider a quarterback change?
Pitt Panthers fans had high hopes coming into the season with a very young and talented team. They got off to a 3-0 start to the season and finally had the extremely hyped quarterback under center that everyone has wanted to see play for a long time now. However during the Panthers recent three-game slide there is much blame to go around, but all three losses have one thing in common- Chad Voytik has not played well. Voytik went 16-for-30 for 195 yards with two touchdowns and one ... Read More
Pitt adds home-and-home series vs. Marshall; finalizes 2015-16 non-conference schedule
While things haven't exactly gone according to plan for Paul Chryst's Pitt Panthers the past three weeks and some have already begun looking towards the future, at least Pitt fans will know who will be on the schedule the next two years. The Panthers announced on Tuesday that they will play the Marshall Thundering Herd in a home-and-home series, beginning in 2016. Pitt will play Marshall of Conference USA on Oct. 1, 2016, at Heinz Field. The Panthers will travel to Marshall in 2020. The ... Read More
Pitt downed by Virginia for third straight loss
The Pitt Panthers gave their fans hope with their 3-0 start to the season, but have since come back to earth. Their slide continued Saturday night with a 24-19 loss to Virginia, Pitt’s first ACC loss of the season and third defeat overall. Cavaliers’ running back Kevin Parks ran for a career-best 169 yards and a touchdown and the solid Virginia defense slowed down the Panthers rushing attack in the win. Virginia won the game in the second quarter after both teams traded field goals in ... Read More
Pitt lands Central Valley DB Jordan Whitehead
Pitt head coach Paul Chryst landed another local blue-chipper for the future on Friday when Central Valley high school standout Jordan Whitehead announced in a press conference today that he had committed to Pitt. What school Whitehead was going to choose has been a hot topic as of late and the Panthers landed him over West Virginia, Penn State, Ohio State and others. Whitehead is a four-star recruit in every ratings service and Rivals.com lists him as the 30th-best defensive back in the ... Read More
Nittany Lions hoping to ‘fix it’ going forward
On Friday night, there was a lot of social media buzz about Penn State entering the postseason undefeated. On Saturday night, there was a lot of social media outrage at what ESPN called “the biggest loss since 2001.” Penn State was 4-0 for the first time since 2008, due largely in part to how well the team has bonded. Quarterback Christian Hackenberg called his team a “tight-knit group,” and the players have responded well to head coach James Franklin’s program. His involvement-above-all ... Read More