Tag: Pittsburgh Panthers

Five takeaways from Florida basketball’s win over Pitt Panthers

Here’s what you need to know about Florida basketball’s big win on Wednesday night.

Florida took care of business Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Panthers, 86-71.

The Gators ran away with the win in the second half after trailing for most of the first. Walter Clayton Jr. led all scorers with 28, and Tyrese Samuel also reached the 20-point as he led the frontcourt with Micah Handlogten injured early on.

Freshmen Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh filled in for Handlogten, playing career-high minutes to varied levels of success. Zyon Pullin also saw increased minutes with Riley Kugel continuing to struggle.

It was a late start with a 9:30 p.m. ET tip-off, but Florida looked anything but tired on the court. Here’s what we learned about the Gators on Wednesday.

Game Preview: Florida gears up for NIT Season Tip-Off against Pittsburgh

The Florida Gators are traveling to Brooklyn, New York to challenge the Pittsburgh Panthers in the NIT Season Tip-off

The Florida Gators are hitting the road again to play in neutral territory on Wednesday night, as they prepare to play the Pittsburgh Panthers at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Florida and Pittsburgh face off for the first time since the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, where the Gators struck down the Panthers, 61-45 on the way to a Final Four appearance.

Florida is riding a two-game win streak after taking down in-state nemesis Florida State, 89-68, last Friday night. Gators head coach Todd Golden told the media that he’s looking forward to the matchup with Pittsburgh.

“We’re coming up in the next couple days against a really good team that has blasted every team they’ve played,” Golden said. “I feel like we’re going to have a tough matchup Wednesday in Brooklyn. We’ll try to use that, for sure, as momentum, a little proof in concept that what we’re doing is working, but with that being said we’re going to have to have two really good days of practice before we go into Brooklyn on Wednesday.”

The Panthers annihilated Jacksonville on Friday night by a 51-point margin, 107-56, and will look to move to 5-0 on Wednesday night. Here’s how both teams will line up by tipoff.

The day after: Lasting thoughts on Notre Dame’s win over Pittsburgh

What still sticks out in your mind Irish fans?

That was a fun game to watch for [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] fans, the Irish routing visiting [autotag]Pittsburgh[/autotag] to a tune of 58-7.

The second 50 point scoring output of the year, with four others in the 40 point range, which is the kind of point totals that will win a lot of games. All three phases were clicking, Notre Dame scoring on special teams and defense in addition to its offensive contributions.

It was a great day for the Irish and that will reflect in this. Take a look below at what Notre Dame thoughts have stayed with me after its impressive win over Pitt.

Former Penn State QB struggles as Pitt gets blown out at Notre Dame, Narduzzi rips talent

Pat Narduzzi’s offseason comments about Pitt’s ‘real offense’ continue to blow up in his face, and now he may have lost some of his players after a blowout loss to Notre Dame.

Things have not exactly been great for the Penn State offense the last couple of weeks, but things could always be worse. You could be the Pitt Panthers.

Pitt fell to 2-6 this season after getting scorched on the road at Notre Dame this weekend by a score of 58-7. The Irish led Pitt 17 at halftime and blew the game wide open in the third quarter with a 27-point quarter. Former Penn State quarterback [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag] had a brutal outing in his latest start with 4 interceptions and -13 rushing yards.

Veilleux has taken over the starting quarterback job for the Panthers and is currently up to 774 passing yards with 5 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. The Panthers are 1-2 since Veilleux has taken over the starting job with an upset win over Louisville and back-to-back losses against Wake Forest and Notre Dame. Pitt has be

The Pitt offense now ranks 113th in total offense, 101st in scoring offense, 117th in rushing offense, and 92nd in passing offense. Now heading into November, it is worth taking a look back at some of the comments Narduzzi had to share about the Pitt offensive philosophy when asked about the transfer addition of Veilleux from the Nittany Lions.

“Christian is a guy that, well, things are brand-new for him,” Narduzzi said in during the summer media day season. “He’s coming from a one-word offense to a real offense.”

Of course, this comment has already been revisited once this season. After Pitt scored 6 points in a rivalry game loss to West Virginia, we looked back at that quote, keeping in mind Penn State put 38 points on the board against the same Mountaineers team just a couple of weeks prior.

The state of Pitt’s “real offense” continues to take a beating after a horrendous showing against Notre Dame. And Narduzzi may be doing more internal damage than he can afford after his postgame comments about Pitt’s talent level were making the rounds on social media.

This comment was selectively taken a little out of context, as it was just a part of a response to a question where Narduzzi was attempting to explain the recent struggles starting with him, but it was enough to cause a stir online from some of Pitt’s players.

Narduzzi took to his social media account later to try and calm the noise a bit, but you have to wonder if it will resonate with his players well enough given how this season is going.

Narduzzi says Veilleux will remain Pitt’s starting quarterback moving forward. Veilleux and the Panthers will be in for another massive test next week when they host undefeated Florida State. Pitt is 2-6 and one more loss away from being ineligible for a postseason bowl game.

Meanwhile, in Happy Valley, Penn State has its own offensive concerns to address in the coming weeks. Penn State visits Maryland this weekend and will host Michigan next week. Penn State’s offense has to be cleaner and more crisp if it is going to avoid an upset at Maryland and compete with the two-time defending Big Ten champions.

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Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi says Panthers ‘didn’t do a good job’ replacing talent, players react

Narduzzi said Pittsburgh lost talent and didn’t do a good job replacing it, a sentiment his players seemed frustrated by.

Pittsburgh lost to Notre Dame 58-7 on Saturday, and Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi teed off on his roster after the game.

“We lost a lot of good players last year,” Narduzzi said. “We thought we’d replace them and we obviously didn’t do a good job of that.”

Narduzzi expanded upon his thoughts more, saying it starts with him and he didn’t coach well enough on Saturday, but the damage was done. His comments ignited a firestorm in his locker room, with players like tight end Gavin Bartholomew, running backs Rodney Hammond and Derrick Davis, and defensive back Ryland Gandy all responding to the quote on social media with varyingly clear displays of frustration.

The coach clarified his comments further on social media after the game.

Narduzzi signed a contract extension through 2030 after the 2021 season, which saw the Panthers win the ACC behind Heisman finalist Kenny Pickett’s quarterback play. His buyout is not currently known, but the USA TODAY Sports database says the Pittsburgh coach is due to make $5,875,817 this season, the 28th-highest-paid coach in the sport.

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.

Penn State’s ‘one-word’ offense scored more against West Virginia than Pitt’s ‘real offense’

Penn State’s ‘one-word’ offense did much better against West Virginia than Pat Narduzzi’s ‘real’ Pitt offense.

Remember when Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi made a comment about Penn State’s offense not being as real as Pitt’s offense this offseason? That comment seems pretty fun to look back on now after Pitt’s offense struggled against an opponent Penn State opened the season with a bang against.

Narduzzi was discussing Pitt quarterback [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag], who transferred to Pitt from Penn State in the offseason. Narduzzi suggested Veilleux would be in a better spot to thrive in what he referred to as  areal offense compared to Penn State’s “one-word offense.”

“Christian is a guy that, well, things are brand-new for him,” Narduzzi said in a one-on-one interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He’s coming from a one-word offense to a real offense.”

Narduzzi tried explaining he was not taking an actual shot at Penn State and was stressing the different offensive styles between the two schools. That’s a fair assessment, because it is clear Penn State and Pitt have vastly different offenses this season. And now we have a common opponent to compare and contrast the two, much to the chagrin of Pitt’s head coach.

Penn State opened the season against West Virginia and won by a score of 38-15. Starting quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] made his first college start and ended his night with 325 passing yards and 3 touchdowns in the win for the Nittany Lions. Allar also completed 21 of 29 pass attempts against the Mountaineers with no interceptions to show for it. Penn State’s offense totaled 478 yards of offense in the win as well.

This past weekend, Pitt got a chance to attack that same West Virginia team, although this time the Mountaineers were playing at home instead of in a packed stadium on the road. So how did Pitt’s “real offense” do?

Not well.

Pitt starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec struggled all night long. Jurkovec completed just 8 of his 20 attempts for a grand total of 81 yards. He threw no touchdowns and was picked off three times, and Narduzzi was left in a tough spot defending his quarterback and starting quarterback decision after the game.

Could Pitt about to be making a quarterback switch in favor of Veilleux? If things continue down this path in western Pennsylvania, it could be happening soon. Pitt is 1-2 after their loss to West Virginia, and ACC play is about to get fired up.

Now, it is worth pointing out that this weekend also saw the least impressive showing by Penn State’s offense so far this season. Penn State struggled to get much going on offense in their first road game at Illinois, but Allar did not make any costly mistakes with a turnover-free game and over 200 yards of passing despite a mediocre pass-completion rate.

Drew Allar and Penn State’s “one-word” offense will prepare for a top 25 battle with Iowa this weekend in front of a whiteout crowd in Beaver Stadium on Saturday night.

Week 2 Preview: Miami vs Texas A&M is among the best ACC Games to watch

College Sports Wire looks at four ACC games to watch in week two

After an eventful first week of the 2023 college football season for the Atlantic Coast Conference, week two is just around the corner.

Entering week two, 10 of the ACC’s 14 teams will be 1-0, including the Duke Blue Devils, Florida State Seminoles, and North Carolina Tar Heels. Starting the season 0-1, however, includes the Clemson Tigers, who fell to Duke 24-7 in one of the more surprising results of the opening weekend. Boston College, Virginia, and Georgia Tech will also enter week two at 0-1 on the season.

All four of those teams will have the opportunity to get into the win column this weekend while the others look to improve to 2-0, creating multiple intriguing matchups this weekend. Here are the top four games to pay attention to this weekend in the ACC.

Pat Narduzzi takes another apparent shot at Penn State’s offense

Pat Narduzzi takes another apparent shot at Penn State’s offense

You have to love talking season, especially when Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi gets in front of a microphone. While Penn State was going through the Big Ten media day fun in Indianapolis, the ACC football kickoff was showcasing its programs in North Carolina. And Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi almost couldn’t help taking what was perceived by some as a shot at Penn State’s offensive system and quarterback play.

Asked about his quarterback options and depth for the season, Narduzzi commented on Christian Veilleux, the former Penn State backup quarterback who transferred to the Panthers this offseason. Narduzzi praised Veileux and suggested he was coming along with getting used to a new offensive system, suggesting Pitt’s is more advanced than what Penn State operates with.

“Christian is a guy that, well, things are brand-new for him,” Narduzzi said in a one-on-one interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He’s coming from a one-word offense to a real offense.”

Ahh yes, there is the subtle shot at the Penn State offense that Narduzzi just couldn’t help unloading. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted Narduzzi stressed this was not intended to be disrespectful of Penn State, but that won’t stop many from believing Narduzzi knew what he was doing with his quote. He is not one to typically hold back with his comments. But it is fair to suggest Pitt and Penn State run two totally different offenses, and there is a wide range of offensive styles found throughout the world of college football.

For example, Pitt’s “real offense” is coming off a solid season in which the passing game ranked 79th in the nation with 223.5 yards per game with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions thrown.

By contrast, Penn State’s “one-word offense” struggled with the nation’s 46th ranked passing offense with 252.5 yards per game and just 29 touchdowns to seven interceptions. And all that culminated in a Rose Bowl victory over Pac-12 champion Utah to close the season. Sean Clifford was named the game’s offensive MVP in his swan song with the Nittany Lions.

Narduzzi seems to be riding on the coattails of the one season in the past decade in which Pitt had a top-30 passing offense, with Kenny Pickett electrifying the ACC and leading Pitt’s eighth-ranked pass offense in 2021. But outside of that one blip on the radar, there has not been much to crow about with the success of the Panthers’ pass attack over the years under Narduzzi. Perhaps the 2021 season was the exception to the norm in western Pennsylvania.

But maybe we shouldn’t be too hard and overreact to this line from Narduzzi. Because he does have a point in saying that Pitt’s offense is designed differently than what Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich has cooked up in State College.

“But it’s a totally different offense,” Narduzzi said. “This offense is NFL-style with sophisticated terminology. We’re going to see a different version of Christian.”

And this is a very good point to consider. Veilleux, who backed up Sean Clifford the past couple of seasons and saw the writing on the wall with the addition of five-star Drew Allar in the Class of 2022 (even though James Franklin insists there is actually a quarterback competition for this season). Veilleux will have a great chance to thrive at Pitt, one that he likely was not going to have at Penn State.

And we’ll all be watching to see how Veilleux does with the Panthers, even if out of just pure curiosity. Meanwhile, a reminder one last time that a one-word offense can do some serious damage against the right opponent. And Narduzzi is well aware of that.

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5 most important players for Oklahoma Sooners Basketball in 2023-2024

Taking a look at five players that are important to Oklahoma’s 2023 season as they attempt to bounce back from two disappointing years.

Oklahoma’s men’s basketball team needs a big-time bounce-back season. After consecutive seasons of missing the NCAA Tournament, Oklahoma heads into 2023-2024 facing the possibility of three consecutive missed tournaments. That hasn’t happened since the gap in tournament appearances from 2009-2013.

Head coach Porter Moser will face his most difficult challenge yet. Not only is the pressure on for him to lead Oklahoma to the NCAA Tournament, he’ll have to do it with the Big 12, adding schools like BYU and new perennial hoops powerhouse Houston to the nation’s best basketball conference.

It won’t be easy, and the effects of the last two years of failure reverberated thru the program. The Sooners saw six players from last year’s roster hit the transfer portal and seek other college basketball opportunities elsewhere. They also lost two veteran presences, Grant Sherfield and Tanner Groves, who play for the Phoenix Suns and OKC Thunder in the NBA Summer League.

To be able to compete, Porter Moser and his staff turned to the transfer portal to replenish what they lost. Oklahoma welcomed transfers from across the country. They brought in talent from the ACC, MAAC, PAC 12, and the Western Athletic Conference.

Oklahoma will look like a brand new team next season, and based on last year’s results, it’s hard to see how that could be a bad thing. However, how will Porter Moser make it work when looking past the surface level? Who will Oklahoma depend on with Grant Sherfield, Tanner Groves, Jalen Hill, and others not on the court?

After looking at the roster and factoring in returnees, we believe these five players are the most important for the Sooners to fight back into the NCAA tournament.