College football runs through Pennsylvania. In central PA, the Penn State Nittany Lions, led by head coach James Franklin, in his 11th season, and a tough defense, are 8-1 through eleven weeks of the season. Down in southwestern PA, the Pittsburgh Panthers, led by Chris Bickell ‘97 Head Football Coach Pat Narduzzi, in his 10th season, and a dynamic offense headed by offensive coordinator Kade Bell, are also 7-2 through eleven weeks. 

Pitt 

The Pitt Panthers are 7-2 so far this year, with their losses being to the number 13 ranked Southern Methodist Mustangs and the unranked Virginia Cavaliers. The loss against SMU would snap Pitt’s seven-game winning streak that gave Pitt its first 7-0 start since 1982. The last time Pitt was 7-0 Dan Marino was their quarterback, the number one movie was E.T, the top song was “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John, and Ronald Reagan was president. 

This has been a long time coming for the nine-time National Champions, which they haven’t won since 1976. The Panthers started out the season with a 55-24 victory over the Kent State Golden Flashes. Before the game, Narduzzi named transfer quarterback from the University of Alabama Eli Holstein the starter. Holstein, a redshirt freshman, in his first collegiate start threw for 333 yards with three touchdowns to one interception. Transfer running back Desmond Reid from Western Carolina University was the star of the show as he rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries along with a 78 yard punt return touchdown. 

Pitt would play back-to-back rivalry games in weeks two and three. Down 27-6 in the River City Rivalry with the Cincinnati Bearcats, the Panther offense ignited with senior wide receiver Konata Mumpfield snagging two touchdown passes from Holstein. Reid had yet another big game with 148 yards rushing and 106 yards receiving to go along with a touchdown reception. Senior kicker Ben Sauls, a native of Tipp City, Ohio, just a short 70 mile drive from Cincinnati, nailed the game winning field goal with under 20 seconds to go to give Pittsburgh a 28-27 win. 

Once again trailing by double digits, this time to the West Virginia Mountaineers, the Panthers mounted another comeback. With under five minutes, the Mountaineers took a 34-24 lead and it looked like they would win the Backyard Brawl for a second straight year. Holstein, however, had other ideas. Holstein drove the Panthers down the field before penalties would set them back to their own 40 yard line where Holstein threw up a prayer in triple coverage to junior wide receiver Daejon Reynolds who came down with the ball in the end zone. The Pitt defense then forced a punt and drove back down the field again where senior transfer running back from LSU and Gateway alumni Derrick Davis Jr. would punch in the game winning touchdown. 

The Panthers would finish off their non-conference schedule with a 73-17 thumping of the Youngstown State Penguins. Pitt would go into their first bye week with 4-0 non-conference record for the first time in school history. 

Pitt started their conference meetings with a matchup in Chapel Hill with the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Panthers had never won in Chapel Hill until this year, where they utilized a strong defensive second half to lead them to a 34-24 victory. Holstein threw for a season high 381 yards and had another three touchdown passes. Reid finished the game with 155 receiving yards and a touchdown, as well. 

In week 7, the Panthers welcomed California to the Atlantic Coast Conference with a defensive masterpiece in a 17-15 Pitt win. Cal’s kicker, Ryan Coe, a South Fayette graduate, missed the potential go-ahead field goal late in the fourth quarter that helped secure the win for the Panthers. Pitt’s offense, however, stalled out in the second half, being held scoreless. 

After their second and final bye week of the season, Pitt lined up against the Syracuse Orange for a Thursday night game. After a quick three-and-out from the Panthers’ offense, the Pitt defense went to work, picking off Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord’s fourth pass attempt of the night. Sophomore linebacker Rasheem Biles took it back to the endzone to give Pitt an early lead. The Pitt linebackers, also known as “the sharks”, took over the game. They intercepted four of McCord’s passes, taking three to the endzone, including Biles’ touchdown. Pitt’s offense was once again stagnant as they only accounted for 20 of Pitt’s 41 points in a 41-13 win. Holstein was removed from the game in the third quarter due to concussion protocol. Senior Nate Yarnell replaced Holstein. The Panthers’ defense forced McCord to throw five interceptions, a season high.

With wins like this, teams would put a target on their back. This was evident when Pitt took to Dallas to face Southern Methodist. SMU threw the first punch and Pitt couldn’t recover. The Mustangs’ offense was too much for the Panthers’ defense. Pitt’s offense looked to break out of the funk but were unable and the Panthers were soundly defeated, 48-25. 

Unfortunately, the Panthers weren’t able to rebound against a Virginia team struggling to find their identity, as the Cavaliers came into Pittsburgh and knocked off the Panthers, 24-19. An extremely controversial decision by the officiating crew when they gave Virginia a second chance on fourth down after the Cavaliers snapped the ball before they were set, which they were able to convert leading to a field goal that made the Pitt offense needing a touchdown to win. A touchdown they wouldn’t get. 

Pitt is now unranked in both the College Football Playoff and AP Polls. Even with back-to-back losses, the Panthers have already won four more games than they did last year. 

With huge games coming up against Clemson and Louisville, Pitt is looking to sweep the final stretch and try to make their first College Football Playoff appearance.

Penn State

The Penn State Nittany Lions are always highly touted and their season is always highly anticipated. They opened up the season 7-0 before they fell to the world famous Ohio State Buckeyes, who sat in the fourth spot in the AP poll. The last time Penn State was 7-0, was 2017. The top song was “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran, the top movie was “The Last Jedi” and Donald Trump was president.

The Nittany Lions headed to Morgantown to face off with the West Virginia Mountaineers in a rivalry game. Penn State opened up the scoring with a 50-yard strike from junior quarterback Drew Allar. Afterwards, the game was held in a lightning delay for over an hour. When both teams came back out of the tunnel, Penn State was ready for West Virginia. The Nittany Lions held the Mountaineers to just 12 points as Penn State took a 34-12 victory in Morgantown to start their season 1-0.

Penn State’s home opener against Bowling Green State should have been an easy victory but became a humiliating struggle when the Falcons took a 24-20 lead into halftime in Happy Valley. Junior running back Nicholas Singleton took the game into his own hands. Midway through the third quarter, Singleton caught a 14-yard touchdown pass to give Penn State their first lead of the day, one they would not relinquish. To open up the fourth quarter, Singleton took a hand-off from Allar 41 yards for a score to give the Nittany Lions a ten-point lead. The world class defense held strong in the second half, allowing just a field goal that came with 47 seconds remaining in the game, and they allowed Penn State to hold on as everyone at Beaver Stadium breathed a huge sigh of relief. With a 34-27 win, Penn State would drop two spots in the AP rankings to number ten.

The Nittany Lions had a bye week to go over their many miscues and struggles from the game against Bowling Green. Back in action against the Kent State Golden Flashes, Penn State was firing on all cylinders as they cruised to a 56-0 victory to improve to 3-0. Allar threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns in the rout.

A week later, Penn State would face their first ranked opponent in the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Fighting Illini scored on their opening possession, which was quickly countered by a Tyler Warren touchdown. The senior tight end plays just about every position on offense, as he lined up in the backfield to take the handoff two yards for the score. It looked like the Nittany Lions have a shootout, but there were no more points scored until the third quarter when Singleton broke the siege with a four-yard run. Senior running back Kaytron Allen took a handoff from Allar five yards for the score with under two minutes to go to ice the game and give Penn State a 21-7 win.

Penn State would meet UCLA as a Big 10 foe for the first time. In front of a sellout crowd, the Nittany Lions welcomed the Bruins with a defensive masterclass, allowing just 260 total yards of offense in a 27-11 victory. Allen led the way for the Nittany Lions on the ground with 21 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown.

The Nittany Lions traveled to southern California to battle the USC Trojans. In a complete shock, the Trojans dominated Penn State out of the game and took a 20-6 lead into halftime. Coming out of the break, Allar found Warren for a 32 yard touchdown strike. With this new life, Penn State fought all the way back to force overtime with Singleton catching a 14 yard pass from Allar to score the game tying touchdown with under three minutes to go. Ryan Barker nailed the winning field goal to lift the Nittany Lions over the Trojans, 33-30.

Heading into a tough road environment at Camp Randall Stadium to face the Wisconsin Badgers, Penn State would have to stick to their fundamentals and play their game. The Badgers took the lead into halftime with senior running back Tawee Walker punching in the score from a yard out to give Wisconsin a 10-7 lead. After the break, Penn State’s offense stalled twice, before the Nittany Lion defense broke through. Senior safety Jaylen Reed picked off Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Lock and took it back 19 yards to give Penn State a 14-10 lead. Allar would be removed from the game due to injury and sophomore Beau Pribula replaced Allar and completed 11 of his 13 pass attempts and threw a touchdown pass to backup tight end Khalil Dinkins on route to a 28-13 Nittany Lion win.

Back at home for the first time in almost a month, #3 Penn State met with the #4 Ohio State Buckeyes in one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the year. The Nittany Lions quickly jumped out to a 10-0 lead with sophomore cornerback Zion Tracy picking off Ohio State’s Will Howard and took it 31 yards. Penn State’s second interception returned for a touchdown in as many weeks. The Buckeyes quickly responded with two touchdowns to quiet the raucous crowd at Beaver Stadium. Ohio State would not relinquish their lead, with both teams exchanging field goals in the third quarter, and Buckeye Jayden Fielding kicking another in the fourth for the last score of the game. Ohio State would hang on to win it 20-13 in this storied rivalry and extended their win streak over the Nittany Lions to eight games.

Looking to bounce back from a frustrating loss, which seems like clockwork year in and year out, Penn State hosted the 2024 National Champion runner up Washington Huskies. The annual whiteout saw a staggering 110,000 fans attended Beaver Stadium for the biggest event for Penn State football. The Nittany Lions clobbered the Huskies, who had lost most of their team to graduation and the NFL draft, along with their head coach Kalen DeBoer who left for Alabama after Nick Saban retired. Pribula, who is often used in special run packages to confuse the defense, struck first with an eight-yard run. Warren ran two touchdowns during the second quarter, each from two yards out to give Penn State a three score lead before senior wideout Julian Fleming caught an eight-yard pass from Allar to extend the lead to 28-0 at the half. Washington responded with two field goals before Allen found the endzone to seal the ballgame. With the whiteout win, the Nittany Lions reached 8-1 on the season. 

Penn State as of week 11 sits at #4 in the College Football Playoff poll. They face just one more team with a winning record this season. With even just two more wins out of their final three games, Penn State seems like a lock for the 12-team playoff, a new format installed this season, as they look to win their third national championship.