A once-promising season for the Pitt Panthers has started to spiral out of control. The Panthers dropped their second game in a row, falling 51-28 to the Miami Hurricanes. And in an increasingly troubling trend, Pitt’s defense was torched all afternoon. The Panthers' porous defense has proven to be their undoing. Despite head coach Pat Narduzzi’s pedigree as a defensive coordinator at Michigan State before his hiring at Pitt, his defense has routinely been burned. If Pitt’s current 34.4 ... Read More
No. 12 Penn State, Iowa squaring off in prime-time
#12 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Iowa Hawkeyes The Records: Penn State (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten); Iowa (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten). The Head Coaches: Penn State: James Franklin, third season, 44-29 overall, 20-14 at Penn State; Iowa: Kirk Ferentz, 132-90 record while head coach at Iowa, 144-111 overall. The Game: Penn State and Iowa square off on the gridiron for the first time in Happy Valley since 2011, which ended with a 13-3 victory for the Nittany Lions. Iowa comes into the match-up against ... Read More
Penn State gets statement win in rout of Purdue
While the upset over Ohio State was the signature win that had eluded head coach James Franklin for the majority of his three-years at Penn State, the 62-24 win Saturday over Purdue served as a big statement win for both him and the program. After the emotional high of defeating the then-No. 2 team in the country (and a big rival, to boot), Saturday's game had the possibility of being a considerable let down. The Nittany Lions were on the road against a team with an interim head coach looking ... Read More
Cheers and Jeers: Barkley, PSU offense shine in rout of Purdue
The Penn State Nittany Lions (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) exploded for 45 points in the second half of Saturday afternoon's game on the way to a 62-24 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers. Here are the game's “Cheers and jeers.” Cheers Third quarter explosion— The Penn State offense benefited from great field position field throughout the third quarter and used it to its advantage, scoring 24 points in the third quarter. (Two Purdue turnovers also helped.) In that third quarter, Chris Godwin got the ... Read More
McQueary wins $7.3 million in PSU defamation suit
Former Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary was awarded $7.3 million in damages stemming from his role in the Jerry Sandusky chid sex abuse scandal. A jury found that Penn State defamed McQueary following his testimony, which helped prosecutors bring charges against Sandusky, became public in 2011. Sandusky is serving a 30- to 60-year prison sentence for the molestation of 10 boys while he was in charge of his foundation, The Second Mile. Following four hours of deliberation, the ... Read More
No. 24 Nittany Lions hit the road to face Purdue
#24 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Purdue Boilermakers The Records: Penn State (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten); Purdue (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten). The Head Coaches: Penn State: James Franklin, third season, 43-29 overall, 19-14 at Penn State; Purdue: Gerad Parker (interim), 0-1 record while head coach at Purdue, 0-1 overall. The Game: Penn State hits the road this week to face Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium in only the third road game of the season for the Nittany Lions. James Franklin's squad is fresh off ... Read More
Panthers’ early deficit vs. Hokies sinks Pitt
Murphy’s Law was in full effect for about the first quarter and a half of Thursday night's game at Heinz Field for the Pitt Panthers. You name it; it went wrong — turnovers, penalties and straight-up bad luck. In one instance, a well-defended pass ping-ponged off both the Virginia Tech receiver and the Pitt defender, staying alive and off the ground long enough to be hauled in for a big gain for the Hokies. But the efforts of Pitt's determined defense weren't enough, and the Panthers (5-3, ... Read More
Game vs. Hokies marks start of make-or-break stretch for Pitt
Following a bye week, the Panthers will be back in business Thursday night when Pitt hosts the No. 25 Virginia Tech Hokies, who are coming into the game fresh off their 37-16 manhandling of the Miami Hurricanes. When Pitt welcomes the Hokies to Heinz Field, it'll be the start of a make-or-break stretch for the Panthers. For a second straight season, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi’s team has gotten off to a quick start. The Panthers opened last year at 6-1; this time around Pitt sits at 5-2 and ... Read More
Resilience key in Penn State’s resurgence this season
Resilience (noun): the ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity or the like; buoyancy; AND the dominant trait of the 2016 Penn State Nittany Lions football team. If a college football game were to ever define the word “resilience,” Saturday night's upset victory by the Nittany Lions over the then-second ranked Ohio State Buckeyes was that game. The Nittany Lions were a 19-point underdog at HOME entering the game, but a steady diet of efficient pass rush and ... Read More
Upset of No. 2 Ohio State “special” for Penn State
“This is special,” an emotional James Franklin, head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, said following his team's 24-21 victory over the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) at Beaver Stadium. Franklin's Nittany Lions (5-2, 3-1) pulled off a major upset after coming into the game as 18-point underdogs in Las Vegas. “This is for everybody,” Franklin said. “This community has been through so much in the last five years.” Ohio State held a 14-point lead as the fourth quarter ... Read More