Welcome to Take Madness, The Pitt News’ version of March Madness, but with hot sports takes. In our second Take Madness group, we have the just outside of Philly region, featuring four writers from — you guessed it — just outside of the Philadelphia area.
You, the readers, can vote on The Pitt News sports desk’s Instagram and X accounts.
Mason Rudolph’s return is welcome // No. 1 Conor Hutchison, Senior Staff Writer
The Steelers have had a quarterback controversy since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement at the end of the 2021 NFL season. In the three seasons since, the Steelers have boasted five starting quarterbacks.
Yet again in 2025, the question of who will lead the Steelers is up in the air. They let Justin Fields walk and sign a lucrative contract with the New York Jets and may have damaged their relationship with Russell Wilson by entertaining the idea of signing Aaron Rodgers. All of the Steelers’ options, as always, are unideal.
It’s a joke at this point that the Steelers will win nine to 10 games no matter their quarterback play. The Steelers bringing in Rudolph, a likable guy who has paid his dues to the franchise, for a salary cap hit of literally $0 to win those 10 games rather than an expensive guy like Rodgers to do it is the correct move.
While the Steelers refuse to buy another lottery ticket in drafting a quarterback, a cheap, serviceable option is far superior to an expensive, serviceable option.
Juju Watkins is the key to USC’s success this March // No. 2 Kaitlyn Griffin, Staff Writer
With the stage set for the women’s NCAA tournament, Juju Watkins secured USC a No. 1 seed and has the Trojans facing off against UNC Greensboro in the first round.
As only a sophomore, Watkins has established herself as the player to watch, recently surpassing Caitlin Clark’s mark of points scored in her first two NCAA seasons. Watkins is now less than 80 points away from the record set by Kelsey Mitchell, and she will more than likely surpass that mark during the tournament.
As the Athletic’s National Player of the Year and the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year, Watkins averages 24.6 points per game and has led USC to a 9-2 record against top 25 opponents in the 2024-2025 regular season.
Despite a heartbreaking loss in the Elite Eight last year to UConn, Watkins’ sophomore season performance has proven that she is more than capable of leading the Trojans through the Spokane 4 region of the bracket and straight to Tampa for a National Championship.
The 76ers need to move on from Joel Embiid // No. 3 Ava Nicholas, Staff Writer
The Philadelphia 76ers infamous Process Era has come to an end. Following the announcement that Joel Embiid would miss the remainder of the season due to a lingering knee injury, it’s time for the 76ers to face the harsh reality that Embiid’s time in Philly needs to end.
Over his career, Embiid has missed 47% of all games due to injuries, with 446 games played and 400 games missed. In the 2024-25 season, he only played 19 games.
The MVP version of Joel Embiid is never coming back because he’s simply not healthy enough to ever reach that caliber of play again. Sure, he can put up numbers offensively, but his level of impact is on a steady decline.
Trading him now — before his value declines further— would give Philadelphia a chance to reset and build around players like Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain to construct a more durable, adaptable roster. The truth is that as long as the Sixers cling to Embiid as their centerpiece, the team will never win a title.
Pitt will have a top-10 defense in CFB next year // No. 4 Ethan Lemler, Staff Writer
After a 7-0 start, Pitt was winless over the final six weeks of the season. Much of the blame could be put on injuries, but the season will be looked back on as a disappointment.
In a time when college players seem to transfer at the first sign of detriment, head coach Pat Narduzzi kept his headliners, rising redshirt sophomore quarterback Eli Holstein and rising senior running back Desmond Reid, but it was the other side of the ball that became stars last season — and he kept them, too.
For this Pitt defense, it all starts with the sharks — Kyle Louis, Rasheem Biles and Braylen Lovelace. Louis returns as a first-team All-American, and his combination of elite speed and football IQ is as good as it gets for the quarterback of the defense. The front seven is rounded out with first-year standout defensive lineman Francis Brewu, dominant interior linemen redshirt juniors Sean Fitzsimmons and Nick James and two havoc-inducing edges, senior Jimmy Scott and sixth-year Nate Temple.
While the secondary does seem to have a few question marks, Pitt’s front seven has the makings to be one of — if not the — best groups in the nation. Pitt’s defense will sit in the top 10 in the country next year.