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
Despite loss to Winston-Salem, Shippensburg enjoyed magical season
Shippensburg’s historic season ended Saturday with a 37-14 loss to power house and No. 2 ranked Winston-Salem State. The Raiders’ day seemed like it was going to be a long one when the Ram’s first drive was a three-play 70-yard strike that happened before you even realized the game had started. Shippensburg’s offense couldn’t respond, but their defense did the next time the Rams had the ball. Brian Sourber intercepted a pass and ran it back 63 yards, and suddenly Shippensburg was only down by ... Read More
Johnny Football should be the next Heisman winner
Admittedly, I am not the biggest college football fan in the world. On Saturdays, I'll watch a game that features two big schools but I wouldn't mind spending time doing other things. I root for LSU (woot) and my favorite team is UVA (woot?), but I neither live nor die based on how they play each and every week. When it comes to college football discussions, I typically leave the arguments for people with more knowledge of the subject. However, after hearing all the talk about Manti Te'o ... 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
Shippensburg’s season ends at the hands of undefeated Winston-Salem State
Shippensburg’s historic season ended Saturday with a 37-14 loss to power house and No. 2 ranked Winston-Salem State. The Raiders’ day seemed like it was going to be a long one when the Ram’s first drive was a three-play 70-yard strike that happened before you even realized the game had started. Shippensburg’s offense couldn’t respond, but their defense did the next time the Rams had the ball. Brian Sourber intercepted a pass and ran it back 63 yards. Suddenly, Shippensburg was only down by one ... 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
Raiders use 2nd half to run away and move on in D2 playoffs
After their lowest output of the season last week, Shippensburg University Football rebounded quickly to move another step in the right direction in the Division 2 National playoffs. Raider nation is abuzz after a huge win over PSAC East rival, Bloomsburg. After keeping things close in the first half, the Raiders used their prolific offense to turn up the heat and never look back. The Huskies kept it close though throughout the first half, and kept Zach Zulli and the Shippensburg offense ... Read More