Kent McCord, the Orange QB who transferred from Ohio State had the nightmare of nightamres in the first 30 minutes. He was 16-of-34 for 130 yards with four picks before the break.
A pair of ACC football teams are considered sleeper candidates to make the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Perhaps the best part of the new 12-team College Football Playoff era is the amount of teams that still have a chance to compete for a national championship here in late October.
In previous years, only seven or eight – maybe 10 in a high parity season – teams would still have even a tiny shred of a chance of making the CFP.
This season there are quite a few teams from every power conference with a chance of making the CFP, either by winning the regular season or earning one of the seven automatic bids – with one going to a Group of Five program.
Most current projections have two teams from the ACC making the College Football Playoff: The Miami Hurricanes and Clemson Tigers.
However, according to Blake Toppmeyer of USA TODAY, there are a pair of dark horse teams in the conference who are having strong enough seasons that – if the stars align just right – could end up competing in the inaugural 12-team CFP.
SMU Mustangs
SMU is 6-1 on the year and 3-0 in conference play with wins over Florida State, Louisville, and Stanford. The Mustangs also hung 66 points on in-state rival TCU, and their only loss was an 18-15 showdown against a BYU team that looks like a very strong candidate to make the College Football Playoff themselves.
With a tough road game at Duke (yes really) and matchups against Pitt, Boston College, and at Virginia left on the calendar, there is enough meat in the schedule for SMU to get a strong look for one of the at-large bids if they win out.
Pitt Panthers
Barry Reeger-Image Images
Pitt is one of two undefeated teams remaining in the ACC, with Miami being the other. The Panthers are 6-0 on the year and 2-0 in ACC play, although the wins have come against bottom-feeders North Carolina and Cal.
However, Pitt, has a nice road win at Cincinnati and a win over West Virginia, and with plenty of chances still remaining on the schedule this team could make a push for a CFP spot. Syracuse at home is next, followed by SMU, Virginia, Clemson, Louisville, and Boston College.
The move comes after the University of Pittsburgh fired former athletic director Heather Lyke in September.
Greene will need to immediately work on building up the NIL presence for Panthers in football and basketball among other sports. Having worked with Auburn, Ole Miss, and Tennessee, he might be the best served in this avenue given how strongly the three universities have performed in this area.
Despite being behind on the NIL front, the Panthers are enjoying the 6-0 start to the college football season. Pitt will next take the football field on Oct. 24 when the Panthers host the Syracuse Orange.
As for Greene, he will need to hit the ground running in his new role as he will once again run the athletic department. The former Auburn AD served in that role from 2018 until he stepped down in 2022. Prior to that tenure on the Plains, Greene was the AD with Buffalo from 2015 to 2018.
3 ACC teams were ranked in the top 25, but should the Pitt Panthers join them after a 4-0 start?
Week 4 of the college football season is in the books and once again the US LBM Coaches Poll was dominated by teams from the SEC and the Big Ten.
Those two conferences represent 15 of the top 25 teams in the poll, including the top eight.
The Miami Hurricanes are the highest non SEC or Big Ten school, with Mario Cristobal’s program coming in at No. 9 just behind Penn State and ahead of the first Big 12 team on the list in Utah, who is No. 10.
After hanging 59 points on NC State Saturday, Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers move up to No. 15 overall, two spots ahead of the third and final ranked ACC team, the Louisville Cardinals, who knocked off Georgia Tech on Saturday.
That’s it for the ACC heading into Week 5, although four other teams were in the receiving votes category including the Pitt Panthers, who are 4-0 after crushing Youngstown State by a score of 73-17.
Pitt received 50 votes, good for No. 28 overall, while Boston College (15) Duke (14) and SMU (4) all got some love from the coaches as well.
Here is the full poll after Week 4 of the season:
US LBM Coaches Poll after Week 4:
Ranking
Team
Record
Points
1
Georgia Bulldogs
3-0
1,350 (35)
2
Texas Longhorns
4-0
1,324 (18)
3
Ohio State Buckeyes
3-0
1,279 (2)
4
Alabama Crimson Tide
3-0
1,185
5
Ole Miss Rebels
4-0
1,145
6
Tennessee Volunteers
4-0
1,094
7
Oregon Ducks
3-0
1,016
8
Penn State Nittany Lions
3-0
967
9
Miami Hurricanes
4-0
912
10
Utah Utes
4-0
904
11
Missouri Tigers
4-0
887
12
Michigan Wolverines
3-1
692
13
LSU Tigers
3-1
632
14
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
3-1
553
15
Clemson Tigers
2-1
542
16
USC Trojans
2-1
520
17
Louisville Cardinals
3-0
509
18
Oklahoma Sooners
3-1
404
19
Iowa State Cyclones
3-0
386
20
Oklahoma State Cowboys
3-1
326
21
Illinois Fighting Illini
4-0
307
22
BYU Cougars
4-0
167
23
UNLV Rebels
3-0
124
24
Texas A&M Aggies
3-1
119
25
Kansas State Wildcats
3-1
116
Schools Dropped Out:
No. 22 Nebraska;Â No. 23 Memphis
Others Receiving Votes:
Washington State 94;Â Indiana 67;Â Pittsburgh 50;Â Boise State 42;Â UCF 35;Â Iowa 34;Â Arizona 16;Â Boston College 15;Â Duke 14;Â James Madison 13;Â Nebraska 7;Â Washington 6;Â Rutgers 5;Â Colorado 5;Â SMU 4;Â South Carolina 2;Â Navy 2;Â Liberty 2;Â Arkansas 2
The battle between Herbstreit and Florida State fans rages on
For maybe the first time ever, college football saw Cal fans on social medai trolling Florida State fans about their Week 4 matchup before Cal had even played its Week 3 game against San Diego State.
These are strange times in the ACC, to be sure, but this new conference rivalry may be hard to top. What else would you honestly expect from an undefeated Cal team visiting a winless FSU program?
Sadly, we cannot technically count that as one of pettiest Week 3 moments. Fortunately, we have more than enough trolling of Florida State to hold us over until those powerhouses(!?) kick off in Tallahassee.
Kirk Herbstreit: Defender of Florida State’s integrityÂ
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Florida State fans did NOT like ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit before this season and they probably won’t like him anymore after his tongue-in-cheek dig on College GameDay last week.
Herbstreit became the face of FSU’s contempt after the team was snubbed from the College Football Playoff following a season-ending injury to quarterback Jordan Travis.
Well, with their season on the ropes before losing to Memphis last Saturday, Herbstreit mocked the “disrespect” coming from the rest of the GameDay panel who picked against Florida State. It was well played, you gotta admit.
Memphis Tigers: Destroyers of Florida State’s integrityÂ
There was trolling before the game. And there was even more trolling after FSU lost to Memphis.
Now, the Tigers could’ve chosen any number of ways to mock the 0-3 start by the program that poached their last coach, but they chose to focus on the very strange tactic of using water guns at practice.
Anyone remember when West Virginia was ranked No. 2 in the BCS poll back in 2007 only to get upset on its home field by unranked Pitt, which was a four-touchdown underdog before the game.
The final score was 13-9.
As former WVU fullback Owen Schmitt said, “We blew it against the [expletive] [expletive] team in the [expletive] world.”
In case you did forget, Pitt had a helpful reminder before hosting (and beating) WVU again on Saturday.
The Crimson Tide hadn’t played in Madison since 1928, a full 64 years before House of Pain released “Jump Around”. So you can’t blame Alabama for embracing the tradition at Wisconsin games on Saturday as they beat the Badgers, 42-10. Especially since it appeared plenty of fans had already left the stadium before the end of the fourth quarter.
Washington State’s Apple Cup victory puts Cougars on the map
The Steelers hire a former Pitt LB to be their new assistant director of scouting.
The Pittsburgh Steelers brought in former Philadelphia Eagles Andy Weidl to be the assistant general manager and now the team has brought in one of his former employees. Pittsburgh has hired Max Gruder to be the new assistant director of player scouting.
Gruder knows the Steelers franchise well having been a linebacker at the University of Pittsburgh from 2007-2011 and put together a solid career. He joins the Steelers after scouting stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins. Gruder was signed as an UDFA by the Atlanta Falcons but despite being highly productive in college, couldn’t carve out a name for himself as a player in the NFL.
Julian Anderson talks about why he committed to Pitt football over the weekend.
Over the weekend, Julian Anderson committed to Pittsburgh while on an official visit. The three-star athlete is a very intriguing prospect for the ACC program to land.
The Pitt commit is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 87 edge in the country and the No. 38 player in New Jersey in the class of 2025.
This offseason, Anderson transferred from First Academy (Clearwater, Florida) to Blair Academy (Blairstown, New Jersey). As a junior last season, Anderson registered 45 total tackles and 15 tackles for a loss along with five sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery.
Now, why is Anderson so intriguing? Well, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound athlete also played wide receiver, finishing with 40 catches for 672 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.
Not many edge rushers are athletic – and quick enough – to also play wide receiver. If he can add size and maintain his speed and agility, then Pitt will have landed a player who could be a truly elite defensive end.
Anderson picked Pitt from an offer list that also included Boston College, Duke, Syracuse and West Virginia among others.
“I would definitely say that I could just feel the love and great family atmosphere that Pitt has as soon as I got up there,” Anderson told USA TODAY High School Sports.
“It really just felt like a big family to me and that is something that is important to my parents and I.
“As well as a high-energy and younger coaching staff that they have who is ready to work every day. Especially coach Daoust (defensive line coach Tim Daoust) and coach TJ (TJ Minnifee, a defensive line assistant) who I can’t wait to be coached under and learn all I can from them.”
On the official visit, Anderson said he felt a comfort level with the program that led him to make a decision over the weekend.
The facilities that the Panthers’ program shares with an NFL team was an important decision for Anderson in his commitment.
“Definitely the fact that they share a facility with the Steelers,” Anderson said.
“And that players get to see people are where they want to be every day.”
â Julian âJuJuâ Anderson (@jujuandersonn) June 10, 2024
One of the individuals thanked by Anderson as part of his social media post announcing his commitment is Latish Kinsler. A Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) advisor, Kinsler is a familiar name to many college football fans as being a former standout defensive back at Cincinnati.
2024 NFL draft: New Orleans Saints draft Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Bub Means in Round 5
Here’s that help at wide receiver that fans have been asking for. The New Orleans Saints selected Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Bub Means in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft, at No. 170 overall. He transferred a couple of times in college and also played for Tennessee and Louisiana Tech.
Means led Pitt in receiving last year and has a lot to offer athletically. He’s taller and heavier than Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed at 6-foot-1 and 213 pounds, with better straight-line speed than A.T. Perry (he timed the 40 yard dash in just 4.43 seconds). He’s known for having some success on contested catches but he also has some moves in space with the ball in his hands.
So he could quickly climb the depth chart in New Orleans. Look for Means to compete with Cedrick Wilson Jr., Stanley Morgan, and Equanimeous St. Brown for that fourth spot on the depth chart this summer.
Pitt freshman Carlton Carrington announced at a press conference that he will forgo his college eligibility and enter the 2024 NBA draft.
Pitt freshman Carlton Carrington announced on Wednesday at a press conference that he will forgo his remaining college eligibility and enter the 2024 NBA draft.
Carrington was named to the All-ACC Rookie team after averaging 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists on 41.2% shooting from the field in 33 games. He was the only freshman in the country to average at least 13.5 points, five rebounds and four assists this season.
The 6-foot-5 guard registered five 20-point games, including a season-high 27 points, five assists and four rebounds on March 2. He was one of 27 players in Division I to register a triple-double after recording 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in his debut on Nov. 6.
Carrington is projected to be a first-round pick, given his offensive skill set. He can create for himself and has shown the ability to get to his spots in the mid-range, where he flourishes. He still has some work to do on his 3-point shot after converting 32.2% from beyond the arc.
The 19-year-old will also need to strengthen his frame and add weight to develop into a capable defender at the next level. Depending on where he lands, he could be a player who spends time in the G League to improve his game against tougher competition.
Carrington should be an intriguing player for teams drafting toward the end of the first round. He has potential and, in the right situation, could develop into a rotational player.
The 2024 NBA draft will occur June 26-27 in New York City.
The Pennsylvania natives and former Pittsburgh Panthers shared what they love about the Steel City’s cuisine and how it compares with Buffalo food â Hamlin really wants to give our Christian D’Andrea a tour of Pittsburgh â and their favorite bars.
“See, man, you gotta come to Pittsburgh and come get a scenery of food from us,” Hamlin said.
“For real, for real,” Jackson added.
“You gotta come get the real Pittsburgh, not the touristy [Pittsburgh],” Hamlin continued.
Hamlin said it’s a tie for him between Buffalo and Pittsburgh food, but he later changed his mind to Pittsburgh, admitting he hasn’t tried a lot of places in Buffalo. Jackson went with Pittsburgh too but noted that Buffalo has many hidden gems that “will fulfill all your tastebuds for sure.”
On the field, they broke down their defensive strategies for not letting players create space and get open, as well as how they mask their own schemes.
“It’s just all about executing the call that you’ve been running all week in practice,” Hamlin said. “However we decide to play it out this week â it may be different than [last] week, it may be the same. We might just be set on our rules because this is what works for us, you know what I mean?
“So it all depends, you know what I mean? But as long as the defense is all on the same page, you’ve got a chance to win every play. It only really gets ugly when you start to bust coverages, and you don’t know what to anticipate.”
Here’s our full interview with Hamlin and Jackson:
