The Duquesne Dukes started building momentum as a team with a pair of non-conference wins over Dayton and Valparaiso in consecutive weeks as they prepared to enter Northeast Conference play. Behind a balanced offensive attack and a defense that forced four turnovers, the Dukes stayed hot as they came away with a big 35-21 road win against Bryant University, getting Duquesne off to a 1-0 start in the conference. Quarterback Sean Patterson threw for 247 yards and a pair of scores and running ... Read More
Pitt’s Jahmahl Pardner Lost for Season
There wasn't a whole lot of bad news that came from Pitt's 35-17 victory over Virginia Tech last Saturday, but they did receive some when it was made known that talented freshman cornerback Jahmahl Pardner will have surgery to repair a torn ACL this week and will miss the rest of the 2012 season. Pardner suffered the injury against the Hokies on Saturday. He appeared in all three games this season on special teams and as a nickel-back, recording three tackles, one sack, and one forced ... Read More
Pitt Defense Looking to Build Off Encoraging Performace vs. Hokies
After Pitt’s big win last Saturday against Virginia Tech, much has been made of the way Tino Sunseri and the Panthers’ offense performed. Why not? All Sunseri did was win Big East Offensive Player of the Week after completing 19-of-28 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns. In addition, the Pitt offense racked up 537 yards, their highest total since 2000. However while Sunseri and freshman running back Rushel Shell’s 157 yards on the ground were a big part of the Panthers victory, that ... Read More
Running Game Key as Duquesne Looks for 3rd Straight Win
After being blown out in their season opener against Old Dominion, the Duquesne Dukes have rebounded nicely with consecutive victories against Dayton and Valparaiso. They get the opportunity to make it three in a row this Saturday when Jerry Schmitt's team opens up Northeast Conference play on the road against Bryant University. The Bulldogs were picked to finish third in the preseason coaches’ poll and are off to an 0-3 start on the season. But while things seem to be coming together ... Read More
Yinzer of the Week Award: Tino Sunseri
Here at the Yinzer, we are going to be doing a "Yinzer of the Week Award" coming each and every Tuesday. To win the award, you of course have to be from Pittsburgh and have to perform well in your sport over the weekend. While there were many candidates this week, I decided to give the inaugural award to Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri. No, seriously. Sunseri is in his senior season at Pitt and the majority of fans are ready to get him off campus. He bad in a loss to Youngstown State and ... Read More
Big East Conference Week 4 Power Rankings
Now that the college football season is entering Week 4 and most teams have played at least one conference game, it's time to take a look at my weekly Big East Conference Power Rankings. Thanks to a big win against Virginia Tech, the Pitt Panthers moved up, but they still have a bit of work ahead of them before cracking the upper half of the conference. With that being said, let's take a look at how the Big East teams stack up. 1. Louisville (3-0): The Cardinals avoided a scare in a ... Read More
Pitt’s Tino Sunseri named Big East Player of the Week
Perhaps no player in a Pittsburgh Panthers uniform has been under more scrutiny than Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri has over the course of the past couple of seasons. However while a lot of the criticism is well deserved, Sunseri took a big step towards silencing his critics, at least for one week, with an outstanding and gutsy performance in a 35-17 upset win over then No. 13 Virginia Tech. Sunseri's performance, in which he completed 68 percent of his passes (19 of 28) for 283 yards with ... Read More
Duquesne’s Larry McCoy Named NEC Player of the Week
Duquesne running back Larry McCoy is close to shattering nearly every rushing record in program history. If he continues to put up numbers like he did on Saturday, the records will fall quicker than many may have anticipated. McCoy rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns in a win vs. Valparaiso and that performance earned him Northeast Conference Co-Player of the Week honors. In addition to that honor, McCoy tied Donte Small (1998-2001) for the most 100-yard games in Dukes' history with ... Read More
McCoy Vaults into Record Book as Duquesne beats Valpo
Similar to last week’s win against Dayton, it was a struggle for a little bit for the Duquesne offense. But behind a big day from running back Larry McCoy, who rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns, Duquesne rallied to defeat Valparaiso 45-17. Valparaiso (0-3, 0-0) actually jumped on Duquesne (2-1, 0-0) quick and led 17-7 after the first quarter, before the Dukes' defense buckled down and the offense got going. After Crusaders field goal, McCoy scored his first touchdown of the game, a ... Read More
Paul Chryst gets 1st Win as Panthers Upset No. 13 Virginia Tech
After being embarrassed the first two weeks of the season by the like of Youngstown State and Cincinnati, not many people gave the Pitt Panthers a chance Saturday afternoon when Pitt played host to No. 13 Virginia Tech. But as the old cliché goes - That's why they play the games. The Panthers responded to their coaches’ challenge and showed up to play for quarters of football as they upset the Hokies 35-17 Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field, thanks to a complete effort on both sides of the ... Read More