12-18-22 roundup: Pro basketball and football, College football
By Richard Walker
Just when the Carolina Panthers appeared to position themselves for a division title run, a throng of towel-waving Pittsburgh Steelers fans and their team dampened the local team’s increasing optimism.
In front of a crowd of 73,548 at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium, the Steelers with former University North Carolina standout Mitch Trubisky starting at quarterback took a 24-16 victory that dropped the the Panthers to 5-9 this season.
With well over half of the crowd waving Pittsburgh “Terrible Towels” and/or wearing Steelers’ black and gold attire, Trubisky directed an efficient offensive attack that churned for 325 yards, 22 first downs and converted 12 of 16 third downs.
And former Charlotte 49ers standouts Alex Highsmith (4 tackles including 1 QB sack) and Larry Ogunjobi (5 tackles including 2 for losses) led a Steelers’ defense that limited the Panthers to 209 total yardage including 21 yards rushing. (The 21 yards rushing was the third-lowest total in Carolina’s franchise history.)
However, due to Sunday’s other NFC South division results, the Panthers still control their fate in the divisional race. Tampa Bay (6-8) remains atop the division while Carolina, Atlanta and New Orleans all are tied for second place at 5-9. The Panthers will win the division if they win their remaining three games.
Pittsburgh made the first of its three long scoring drives on its opening drive – the Steelers went 12 plays for 67 yards, 10 plays for 75 yards and 21 plays for 91 yards on their three TD marches – and Carolina never led.
Sam Darnold led the Panthers with 225 yards passing and one touchdown.
Here’s the full Carolina Panthers schedule for the 2022 season:
Week 1, Sept. 11, Cleveland (L 24-26)
Week 2, Sept. 18, at N.Y. Giants (L 16-19)
Week 3, Sept. 25, New Orleans (W 22-14)
Week 4, Oct. 2, Arizona (L 16-26)
Week 5, Oct. 9, San Francisco (L 15-37)
Week 6, Oct. 16, at L.A. Rams (L 10-24)
Week 7, Oct. 23, Tampa Bay (W 21-3)
Week 8, Oct. 30, at Atlanta (L 34-37, OT)
Week 9, Nov. 6, at Cincinnati (L 21-42)
Week 10, Nov. 10, Atlanta (W 25-15)
Week 11, Nov. 20, at Baltimore (L 3-13)
Week 12, Nov. 27, Denver (W 23-10)
Week 13, Dec. 4, BYE
Week 14, Dec. 11, at Seattle (W 30-24)
Week 15, Dec. 18, Pittsburgh (L 16-24)
Week 16, Dec. 24, Detroit, 1 p.m.
Week 17, Jan. 1, at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Week 18, Jan. 8, at New Orleans, TBD
Pro basketball
The Charlotte Hornets lost their eighth straight games on Sunday as Nikola Jokic (40 points, 27 rebounds, 10 assists) had a triple-double for the Denver Nuggets in their 119-115 victory.
It was the first game of Charlotte’s six-game, 10-day West Coast road trip.
LaMelo Ball (31 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), Kelly Oubre (16 points), Gordon Hayward (15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists), Jalen McDaniels (14 points), Mason Plumlee (11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists), Nick Richards (11 points) and P.J. Washington (10 points, 6 rebounds) led a balanced Hornets’ attack.
But Charlotte, which has suffered several injuries all season, lost starting guard Terry Rozier to a hip contusion in the second quarter.
Here’s the 2022-23 Charlotte Hornets schedule:
(7-23 record)
October
19 at San Antonio (W 129-102)
21 New Orleans (L 112-124)
23 at Atlanta (W 126-109)
26 at New York (L 131-134, OT)
28 at Orlando (L 93-113)
29 Golden State (W 120-113, OT)
31 Sacramento (L 108-115)
November
2 at Chicago (L 88-106)
4 at Memphis (L 99-130)
5 Brooklyn (L 94-98)
7 Washington (L 100-108)
9 Portland (L 95-105)
10 at Miami (L 112-117, OT)
12 at Miami (L 115-132)
14 at Orlando (W 112-105)
16 Indiana (L 113-125)
18 at Cleveland (L 122-132, 2 OT)
20 at Washington (L 102-106)
23 Philadelphia (W 107-101)
25 Minnesota (W 110-108)
28 at Boston (L 105-140)
December
2 Washington (W 117-116)
3 Milwaukee (L 96-105)
5 L.A. Clippers (L 117-119)
7 at Brooklyn (L 116-122)
9 New York (L 102-121)
11 at Philadelphia (L 113-131)
14 Detroit (L 134-141, OT)
16 Atlanta (L 106-125)
18 at Denver (L 115-119)
19 at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
21 at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
23 at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
26 at Portland, 10 p.m.
27 at Golden State, 10 p.m.
29 Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
31 Brooklyn, 7 p.m.
January
2 L.A. Lakers, 7 p.m.
4 Memphis, 7 p.m.
6 at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
8 at Indiana, 5 p.m.
10 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
12 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
14 Boston, 7 p.m.
16 Boston, 1 p.m.
18 at Houston, 8 p.m.
21 at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
23 at Utah, 9 p.m.
24 at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
26 Chicago, 7:30 p.m.
29 Miami, 1 p.m.
31 at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
February
2 at Chicago, 8 p.m.
3 at Detroit, 7 p.m.
5 Orlando, 1 p.m.
8 at Washington, 7 p.m.
10 at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
11 Denver, 7 p.m.
13 Atlanta, 7 p.m.
15 San Antonio, 7 p.m.
24 at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
25 Miami, 7 p.m.
27 Detroit, 7 p.m.
March
1 Phoenix, 7 p.m.
3 Orlando, 7 p.m.
5 at Brooklyn, 6 p.m.
7 at New York, 7:30 p.m.
9 at Detroit, 7 p.m.
11 Utah, 7 p.m.
12 Cleveland, 5 p.m.
14 Cleveland, 7 p.m.
17 Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
20 Indiana, 7 p.m.
23 at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
24 at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.
26 Dallas, 1 p.m.
28 at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
31 Chicago, 7 p.m.
April
2 Toronto, 1 p.m.
4 Toronto, 7 p.m.
7 Houston, 7 p.m.
9 at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
College football
Here is the full 2022-23 NCAA Division I FBS schedule:
(College Football Playoff)
Championship – Jan. 9 at Inglewood, Cal., TBA
Semifinal – Dec. 31 Peach at Atlanta, Ga., 4 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 TCU
Semifinal – Dec. 31 Fiesta at Glendale, Ariz., 8 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Ohio State
(CFP Selection Committee Bowl games)
Jan. 2 – Rose at Pasadena, Cal., 5 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 8 Utah vs. No. 11 Penn State
Jan. 2 – Cotton at Arlington, Tex., 1 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 10 Southern California vs. No. 16 Tulane
Dec. 31 – Sugar at New Orleans, La., Noon (ESPN)
No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 9 Kansas State
Dec. 30 – Orange and Miami, Fla., 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Clemson
(Other bowl games)
Jan. 2 – Citrus at Orlando, Fla., 1 p.m. (ABC)
No. 17 LSU vs. Purdue
Jan. 2 – ReliaQuest at Tampa, Fla., Noon (ESPN2)
No. 22 Mississippi State vs. Illinois
Dec. 31 – Music City at Nashville, Tenn., Noon (ABC)
Iowa vs. Kentucky
Dec. 30 – Arizona at Tucson, Ariz., 4:30 p.m. (Barstool)
Ohio vs. Wyoming
Dec. 30 – Gator at Jacksonville, Fla., 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 21 Notre Dame vs. No. 19 South Carolina
Dec. 30 – Sun at El Paso, Tex., 2 p.m. (CBS)
No. 18 UCLA vs. Pittsburgh
Dec. 30 – Duke’s Mayo at Charlotte, Noon (ESPN)
Maryland vs. No. 23 N.C. State
Dec. 29 – Alamo at San Antonio, Tex., 9 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 20 Texas vs. No. 12 Washington
Dec. 29 – Cheez-It at Orlando, Fla., 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Oklahoma vs. No. 13 Florida State
Dec. 29 – Pinstripe at Bronx, N.Y., 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Minnesota vs. Syracuse
Dec. 28 – Texas at Houston, Tex., 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Mississippi vs. Texas Tech
Dec. 28 – Holiday at San Diego, Cal., 8 p.m. (Fox)
No. 15 Oregon vs. North Carolina
Dec. 28 – Liberty at Memphis, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Arkansas vs. Kansas
Dec. 28 – Military at Annapolis, Md., 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Duke vs. Central Florida
Dec. 27 – Guaranteed Rate at Phoenix, Ariz., 10:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma State
Dec. 27 – Birmingham at Birmingham, Ala., 6:45 p.m. (ESPN)
Coastal Carolina vs. East Carolina
Dec. 27 – First Responder at University Park, Tex., 3:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Memphis vs. Utah State
Dec. 27 – Camellia at Montgomery, Ala., Noon (ESPN)
Buffalo vs. Georgia Southern
Dec. 26 – Quick Lane at Detroit, Mich., 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Bowling Green vs. New Mexico State
Dec. 24 – Hawai’i at Honolulu, Hawai’i, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
San Diego State vs. Middle Tennessee
Dec. 23 – Gasparilla at Tampa, Fla., 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Missouri vs. Wake Forest
Dec. 23 – Independence at Shreveport, La., 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Houston vs. Louisiana
Dec. 22 – Armed Forces at Fort Worth, Tex., 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Baylor vs. Air Force
Dec. 21 – New Orleans at New Orleans, La., 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Western Kentucky vs. South Alabama
Dec. 20 – Boca Raton at Boca Raton, Fla., 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Toledo vs. Liberty
Dec. 20 – Famous Idaho Potato at Boise, Id., 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
San Jose State vs. Eastern Michigan
Dec. 19 – Myrtle Beach at Conway, S.C., 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Marshall vs. Connecticut
Dec. 17 – Frisco at Frisco, Tex.
North Texas vs. Boise State – Boise State 35-32
Dec. 17 – New Mexico at Albuquerque, N.M.
BYU vs. SMU – BYU 24-23
Dec. 17 – LendingTree at Mobile, Ala., 5:45 p.m. (ESPN)
Southern Miss vs. Rice – Southern Miss 38-24
Dec. 17 – Jimmy Kimmel L.A. at Inglewood, Cal.
Washington State vs. Fresno State – Fresno State 29-6
Dec. 17 – Las Vegas at Las Vegas, Nev.
Florida vs. No. 14 Oregon State – Oregon State 30-3
Dec. 17 – Celebration Bowl at Atlanta
Jackson State vs. N.C. Central – N.C. Central 41-34 in OT
Dec. 17 – Fenway at Boston, Mass.
Louisville vs. Cincinnati – Louisville 24-7
Dec. 16 – Cure at Orlando, Fla.
No. 24 Troy vs. No. 25 UT-San Antonio – Troy 18-12
Dec. 16 – Bahamas at Nassau, Bahamas
UAB vs. Miami, O. – UAB 24-20