Tag: pittsburgh football

Hidden plays that helped Notre Dame’s win at home against Pittsburgh

Which non-scoring plays stood out to you Irish fans?

[autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] routed [autotag]Pittsburgh[/autotag] 58-7 at home on Saturday afternoon, getting a win following a bye week.

The win improves the Irish’s record to 7-2 in the second year of the [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] era, and should make a move north in the next rankings.

It wasn’t a trap game, as it could have been, the Irish taking care of business, scoring the most points on the year. It’s a game that many of us will go back and watch again, multiple highlight plays for Notre Dame.

There were other plays, that we might not remember, but still made a difference in this game. Here are those plays.

5 stars: The best and worst of Notre Dame’s win over Pittsburgh

Who played well? Who didn’t for the Irish against Pitt?

This was the kind of game [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] needed, as they blew out [autotag]Pittsburgh[/autotag] at home 58-7.

Coming off a bye, the Irish started a bit slow, but finished with a fury scoring in the second half from all three units: offense, defense, and special teams. It was a true team win for Notre Dame who now improved to 7-2 on the year.

There was mostly good play from this team, so there were some much higher grades than normal here. There was one aspect of this game that didn’t sit well with me. So, here are the best, 5-stars, and worst, 1-star, performance’s from Notre Dame in its win over Pitt.

Notre Dame football gets great news ahead of contest against Pittsburgh

The Irish will be ready for Pitt

While [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] was on its bye week, there were no injuries reported.

Even better, ahead of their home game against Pittsburgh, all players listed on the two-deep are available this afternoon to battle against the Panthers. With health being extremely important, regardless of opponent, the Irish are at full strength.

It has been almost two weeks since we last saw Notre Dame defeating USC, can’t say that enough, so it is very exciting to get to see the Irish on the field again. Kickoff is set for just about 2 1/2 hours from now, so get those errands finished so you can watch the game without distractions.

Go Irish! Beat Pitt!

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Report: Pittsburgh benches Jurkovec, expected to start Veilleux next week

Phil Jurkovec, who has 2 TDs and 3 INTs over his past three games, will reportedly no longer be the starter for the Pittsburgh Panthers.

The Pittsburgh Panthers have made a change at quarterback, according to a Wednesday report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Noah Hiles.

The Panthers will trade senior Phil Jurkovec for sophomore Christian Veilleux when they next take the field against Louisville on Oct. 14.

Jurkovec, a three-year starter at Boston College who transferred to Pittsburgh before this season, has struggled so far in 2023. He’s completed a career-low 50.9% of his passes, he’s thrown more interceptions (3) than touchdowns (2) over his last three starts, and he’s been given a QBR below 35 in three of his five games.

Hiles reported Jurkovec told his teammates about the move during a players-only meeting on Wednesday morning.

Veilleux spent the past two seasons at Penn State before he also transferred to Pittsburgh this offseason. He’s thrown 27 passes in this season, completing 12 of them for 145 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

Coach who ripped Jordan Addison for transferring to USC is now in huge trouble

Pat Narduzzi criticized Jordan Addison when the receiver left Pitt and went to USC. Now, Pitt is at the bottom of the ACC. What a shame.

Remember when Jordan Addison transferred from Pitt to USC? Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi didn’t have to like his receiver’s choice, but then he chose to speak publicly about Addison instead of staying quiet. It wasn’t a good look.

As we noted in our coverage of this story, Narduzzi said that “We (Pitt) helped him win a Biletnikoff and be the player he is. He had one of the best quarterbacks in the country throwing the ball every day. I think sometimes people forget how they got where they are.”

Narduzzi also brought up the issue of tampering, clearly not liking the way that transfer went down with USC.

When talking negatively about Addison, Narduzzi also had uncharitable things to say about former Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, who guided the Panthers to the 2021 ACC championship by using Addison so well in the Panthers’ offense:

“Our old offensive coordinator had no desire to run the ball,” Narduzzi said about Whipple. “Everybody knew it. He was stubborn. Wake Forest was 118th in run defense and we threw the ball every down. When we ran it, we ran it for 10 yards but that wasn’t good enough.”

Narduzzi wanted to run more and throw less.

Well, he got his wish.

As a result, Pitt — the 2021 ACC champion — is now at the bottom of the ACC. The Panthers lost to Virginia Tech on Saturday to fall to 0-2 in the ACC. Only Virginia is also 0-2 in the conference. Pitt is 1-4 overall. Only Virginia, at 0-5, is worse. Pitt might not win three games this season.

It’s a real shame, isn’t it? Jordan Addison is certainly chuckling as he watches Pitt fans lose their minds about Narduzzi, as you can see below:

ACC football power rankings after Week 4: Florida State cements place atop the conference, Clemson drops

Here is a look at our ACC power rankings following Week 4 of the 2023 college football season.

The ACC looks very different this season, with Florida State taking down Clemson 31-24 in overtime as they cemented their spot atop the conference. 

As Florida State held onto the top spot in the ACC, Clemson fell further down the rankings as they failed to take advantage of a huge opportunity. The ACC looks stronger than many expected heading into this season, and in a shocking turn, the Tigers are not among the top tier of this conference through four weeks. 

There is a lot of season left for his to change, but right now, the conference looks far different than many would have expected. Here are our ACC football power rankings following Week 4 action.

ACC football power rankings after Week 1

Here is a look at our ACC power rankings following Week 1 of the 2023 college football season.

The 2023 college football season is in full swing, as each ACC team has officially participated in a game this season. 

It was a wild week for the ACC, that saw some great matchups. Florida State proved that they are the real deal in their thrashing of LSU, while Duke upset Clemson in a 28-7 upset that no one saw coming. 

The ACC is back, and it was an exciting week, with each team showing us some of what we can expect this season. With the crazy week of football, we are releasing our first batch of ACC rankings for the 2023 season. Here is how I’m breaking down the ACC after Week 1’s performances.

Clemson ranks No.4 in USA TODAY Sports’ college football preseason re-rank

Clemson is one of the best teams in the country heading into the 2023 season, and this re-rank has them higher than their poll rankings.

The start of the college football season is within grasp, and we are all excited for the start of another season.

As we fast approach the start of the season, sports media pour out their final preseason rankings in anticipation for the season to come. The latest to do so is USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg, who recently re-ranked the entire Football Bowl Subdivision from No.1 to No. 133.

Clemson landed highly for Myerberg, ranking No.4 in the country. One of the highest rankings we’ve seen for the Tigers, this is higher than their official Coaches Poll and AP Poll rankings of No.9 in the country.

Myerberg predicts an 11-3 season for the Tigers which would be solid but fall short of expectations for Clemson fans. The ACC had four teams in the top 25 including Florida State (No.7), North Carolina (No.20) and Pittsburgh (No.25).

Check out the top 25 schools in USA TODAY Sports’ re-rankings below.

Rank Team 2022 Record
1 Georgia 15-0
2 Michigan 13-1
3 Ohio State 11-2
4 Clemson 11-3
5 Alabama 11-2
6 Penn State 11-2
7 Florida State 10-3
8 Notre Dame 9-4
9 Southern California 11-3
10 Texas 8-5
11 LSU 10-4
12 Utah 10-4
13 Kansas State 10-4
14 Tennessee 11-2
15 Oregon State 10-3
16 Iowa 8-5
17 Oklahoma 6-7
18 Oregon 10-3
19 Texas A&M 5-7
20 North Carolina 9-5
21 Washington 11-2
22 Texas-San Antonio 11-3
23 Kentucky 7-6
24 Boise State 10-4
25 Pittsburgh 9-4

Check out Paul Myerberg’s full list.

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Updated ACC football projected win totals according to ESPN FPI

Despite all the hype around Florida State, ESPN’s FPI has Clemson as the ACC’s top projected team.

The 2023 college football season will be an intense one for the ACC, with a lot on the line. One of the most significant discussions of this off-season truly has become Clemson or Florida State. The Seminoles have become arguably the most hyped team in college football heading into 2023, with their new addition of former Michigan State wide receiver Keon Coleman adding even more fuel to the fire. 

Despite the hype and most analysts seeing Florida State as the new top team in the ACC, ESPN’s FPI sees things differently. 

According to ESPN, the FPI is a “measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily. FPI data from seasons prior to 2019 may not be complete”.

This FPI has Clemson with the highest projected win total in the ACC, ahead of Florida State. Here is a full look at the projected win totals for each ACC team according to ESPN’s FPI.

Where each ACC football team lands in ESPN’s final preseason SP+ rankings

Where Clemson and the rest of the ACC stand in ESPN’s final preseason SP+ rankings update.

ESPN recently updated their final preseason SP+ ratings as we fast approach the 2023 season, with Clemson and Florida State remaining the top two teams in the ACC.

With the original release coming out in February, a lot has changed since the first SP+ for the 2023 season came out. This can happen for a variety of different reasons.

As a reminder, these projections are primarily based on returning production, recent recruiting, and the recent history of each program. Clemson is one of the few teams that didn’t move in these ranking updates, remaining at No.9.

Here’s a look at where  each ACC football team landed in the August update.