When it was announced on Tuesday that Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema would be bolting the Badgers for Arkansas, it could have a ripple effect all the way down to Pittsburgh, as Pitt Panthers head coach Paul Chryst is likely to be on the short list of successors for Bielema at Wisconsin. If so, good for Chryst, but it would be another big blow to a Pitt program begging for some consistency from its head coach. Chryst said Tuesday night he is committed to the Pitt football program, despite ... Read More
2012 college football awards
Here is a rundown of the major college football awards that will be given out over the next week. Heisman Trophy Collin Klein, Kansas State (2,490 P-YDS, 890 R-YDS, 37 TOT TD, 7 INT) Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M (3,419 P-YDS, 1,181 R-YDS, 43 TOT TD, 8 INT) Manti Te’o, Notre Dame (101 Tackles, 1.5 Sacks, 7 INT) Will Johnny Football be the first Freshman to take the award? Will Te’o be the second Defensive player in a long time to take it? Or will Klein keep the Heisman universe at ... Read More
Pitt Accepts Bid to BBVA Compass Bowl
Birmingham, Alabama has become the home away from home for the Pitt Panthers. For the third consecutive season, the Panthers have accepted an invitation to ply in the BBVA Compass Bowl. The Panthers accepted the bid to the bowl Sunday night, where they will play Ole Miss at Legion Field Jan. 5 at noon. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. Pitt lost to SMU 28-6 in their second appearance BBVA Compass Bowl last season, but beat Kentucky 27-10 in the game two years ago. Pitt (6-6) became ... Read More
The Backyard Brawl, A Brawl to Remember
As far as postgame press conferences go, it was unusually riveting. West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez stood at the podium, ashen-faced, shell-shocked, and fighting back tears as he prepared to face the media. No more than 25 feet away, in the visitor’s locker room, the Pitt Panthers could be heard celebrating triumphantly. After mumbling through some answers, the exasperated losing coach searched for the right words to describe what had just happened. “Nightmare. Just a flat-out ... Read More
We Are….In the face of adversity, Penn State showed its true colors
The 2012 Penn State University football team may reside as one of the most beloved and talked about Penn State football teams ever. They didn't go undefeated or win a Big Ten Conference Championship. However, the obstacles that this team overcome being in the shadows of the Jerry Sandusky scandal after one of the most trying years that any Division I school has gone through, earned them a spot in the ring of honor where every undefeated and Big Ten championship team that Penn State has had is ... Read More
Duquesne Dukes Look Back at Missed Opportunities
When Duquesne Dukes head coach Jerry Schmitt looks back on the 2012 season, he will look back on missed opportunities and a great senior class. While it will be very hard to replace a successful class of seniors that included: running back Larry McCoy, quarterback Sean Patterson, safety Serge Kona, linebacker Horvin Latimer and others, it will be the missed opportunities throughout the season that prevented this Dukes team from potentially repeating their success from a season ago and ... Read More
Pitt Keeps Bowl Hopes Alive With Upset Win Over Rutgers
The 2012 season for Paul Chryst and the Pitt Panthers has been filled with more ups-and-downs than a roller coaster ride at your favorite theme park. That trend continued Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field. After laying an egg in terms of effort their last time out, the Panthers used an inspired effort on both sides of the ball and came away with a 27-6 upset win over No. 18 Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights came into the game with one of the best defenses in the country, but it was the ... Read More
College Football Rivalry Week Empty without Backyard Brawl
Ah, yes. The weekend of Thanksgiving where college football’s rivalries take place. This is an exceptionally large weekend for fans of teams like Ohio State – Michigan, Auburn – Alabama, and Pitt – West Virginia. Except, this year it’s different. Thanks to conference realignment, WVU moved to the Big 12 while Pitt will be making a jump to the ACC. Because of that, both teams had to remove each other from their schedules ending a streak that has gone on every year since 1919 (with the ... Read More
Robert Morris Can’t Finish Against Monmouth
Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University football team has made a recent habit of exciting fourth-quarter comebacks, but the Colonials fell just short of duplicating last week’s effort as they fell to Monmouth, 26-21, to close out each team’s season Saturday afternoon at a sunny Joe Walton Stadium. RMU appeared to have scored a game-winning touchdown with just seven seconds remaining, but an untimely holding penalty was accessed that negated the score. The Colonials had shown great ... Read More
Duquesne falls short to Wagner
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Duquesne gave Wagner all it could handle, but a Dominique Williams touchdown with 5:54 left proved to be the difference as the Seahawks defeated the Dukes 23-17 to earn the Northeast Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Championship. The win was the eighth in a row for 8-3 Wagner (7-1 in NEC). Duquesne, which rallied from an early 14-3 deficit to take a 17-14 fourth quarter lead, finished its season 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the NEC. Duquesne recovered two ... Read More