Bowl season is set and the PITT Panthers are slated to return to the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl to take on the 18th-ranked UCLA Bruins.
The Panthers are 2-2 in the Sun Bowl and last played against Stanford in 2018 and lost by a slim margin of 14-13. Prior to that, PITT fell to Oregon, 3-0, in 2008; beat Texas A&M, 31-28, in 1989; and beat Kansas, 33-19, in their first appearance in 1975.
This will also mark the first time PITT and UCLA face off in a bowl game. The Bruins lead the all-time series, 9-5, as the two met regularly from 1958 to 1972, with the only exception being in 1965.
The Panthers will be without defensive lineman Calijah Kancey, who announced that he is skipping the bowl game due to an undisclosed health issue. Kancey was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year after recording 7.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for a loss in 11 games.
The Sun Bowl kicks off at 2 p.m. on December 30.
NCAA
While Penn State missed out on a trip to the College Football playoff, the 11th-ranked Nittany Lions will participate in the annual Rose Bowl game against 8th-ranked Utah.
Meanwhile, the College Football Playoff bracket looks a bit different this year, as Alabama and Clemson will not take part in the playoff. Topping the rankings is defending champion Georgia, followed by Michigan, TCU, and Ohio State, respectively.
Both playoff matchups will be played on New Year’s Eve. In one game, TCU will face Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl at four o’clock. Then Ohio State takes on Georgia at eight o’clock.
The National Championship kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on January 9.
DIVISION II/IUP FOOTBALL
The stage is set for the NCAA Division II semifinals.
After Shepherd ended the season for IUP on Saturday, the Rams will take on second-seed Colorado School of Mines, who upset first-seed Angelo State in the Super Region IV playoffs.
Meanwhile, Super Region III representative Ferris State battles West Florida, the Super Region II winner.
With IUP’s season coming to an end on Saturday, the season finale of Hawk Talk takes place tonight at the CH Fields Craft Kitchen at the Hilton Garden Inn.
Jack Benedict and coach Paul Tortorella will recap the emotional season, headlined by a PSAC Championship win, also over Shepherd.
Airtime is six o’clock on U92.5 FM, U92radio.com and Renda Digital TV.
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