By Sam Draut–

In their final ACC game of the season, Louisville (6-5) fell behind Pitt 42-17 in the second quarter and couldn’t put together a strong enough comeback in the second half and lost 45-34 in Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday.

“We just flat got beat. You have to take your hat off to their offense and their defense,” coach Bobby Petrino said. “They did a great job of executing.”

2nd quarter: Louisville led Pitt 10-7 at the end of the first quarter. Kyle Bolin led a 4-play 52 yard drive that was capped off by a 29 yard touchdown catch by Keith Towbridge. But after the three point lead, everything fell apart for the Cardinals. Pitt scored touchdowns on four straight possessions, and took a 35-17 lead with 55 seconds left in the second quarter. On his final play of the game, Bolin threw an interception to Avonte Maddox who returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. After the pick-six, Pitt took a commanding 42-17 lead with 35 seconds left before halftime. Louisville picked up some momentum going into halftime after Lamar Jackson replaced Bolin and led a quick 2-play 75 drive in 32 seconds. Jamari Staples caught a 49 yard touchdown pass as time expired, cutting Pitt’s lead to 42-24 at halftime.

After the game, Petrino said he didn’t know why the defense struggled so much in the first half.

“They were running the ball. They were throwing it and made big plays throwing it off their play-action,” Petrino said. “We didn’t tackle well and we left a couple guys open down the middle for big plays, so we flat just got beat by their offense. They executed and we did not.”

Second half adjustments: After being gashed in the first half for 326 yards of total offense, the Louisville defense regrouped in the second half and held Pitt to 150 yards of total offense and only three points. But, the Cardinal offense could only put together two scoring drives and cut the deficit to eight points in the fourth quarter as Pitt slowly drained out the clock and eventually added a field goal to make it a two possession game with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter.

QB1: Bolin started for the third consecutive game and completed 10 of 20 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. But, Louisville’s running game was held in check and the offense started to stagnate, so after Bolin’s interception late in the second quarter, coach Bobby Petrino elected to go with Jackson for the remainder of the game. Jackson completed 9 of 17 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. The freshman also ran for 19 yards and a score.

Petrino wouldn’t say who the starting quarterback would be for the final game against Kentucky.

“We need to evaluate the game and get on the practice field and make a decision,” Petrino said.

Target: Jamari Staples left in the fourth quarter with an injury, but the UAB-transfer put together a career day before his exit. Staples had nine catches for 194 yards and a touchdown. Staples had a strong catch in double coverage early in the first quarter that set up an eventual 32 yard field goal by John Wallace.

“He made a lot of great plays for us, and he was competing extremely hard,” Petrino said. “He made some great runs after the catch. You can’t say enough about the guy who goes out there and competes that hard.”

No ground gains: After posting two consecutive weeks of 200 yards rushing on the ground, including running back Brandon Radcliff rushing for over 100 yards in each of Louisville’s two wins over Syracuse and Virginia, the ground attack disappeared against Pitt. Radcliff had seven rushes for (negative) -1 yard and the Cardinals ended the game rushing for (negative) -1 yard on 24 carries. Pitt finished with seven sacks and ten tackles for a loss.

What’s next: Louisville plays their final game of the regular season in Lexington against in-state rival Kentucky (5-6) on Saturday.

“We need to come back, and get ready, practice well, go down and battle and find a way to win the game,” Petrino said.

With bowl eligibility already ensured, Louisville will go for their fifth consecutive win over Kentucky.