By Derek DeBurger

Louisville will look to bounce back from a devastating loss to Stanford with the Pitt Panthers, the team the Cards suffered a devastating loss to a year ago.

Louisville has lost seven out of the last nine matchups with Pitt, including a 1-3 record since being in the ACC. The Cards will have to remain focused to get a victory against the Panthers, something they have not done consistently this season.

Three yards and a cloud of dust

Pat Narduzzi is an old school coach: run the ball and win with defense.

In spite of this, the Panthers have had some special quarterbacks under Narduzzi’s tenure, and it looks like they might have one now in Alabama-transfer Eli Holstein.

Holstein was buried on Alabama’s depth chart a year ago, so it’s been a surprise that he has looked so dynamic at times. Holstein has over 2,000 yards passing and 17 touchdowns, as Pitt ranks 16th in the country in passing yards per game.

However, while Holstein has been a revelation in his first year as a starter, he’s not guaranteed to play Saturday. He is expected to start, but has missed the past two games with an injury. In his absence, Nate Yarnell has gone 0-2 and looked ok at best in the process. If Yarnell gets the start, Louisville will have a much easier time game planning, and a much clearer path to victory.

Regardless of who starts at quarterback, the offense will run through running back Desmond Reid. Reid is the Panthers’ leader in all rushing stats and receptions and is second in receiving yards. Reid has 1,419 all-purpose yards and nine total touchdowns.

The worst part of Louisville’s pass-defense has been their linebackers and safeties who cover the middle of the field. Pitt will no doubt try to get Reid isolated in the passing-game and target him behind the line of scrimmage and across the middle of the field. It will be on players like TJ Quinn and Antonio Watts to play the first line of defense and keep Reid out of open space.

Pitt has other playmakers, unlike a year ago. Gavin Bartholomew returns as a tight end with NFL-caliber talent and athleticism, and Konata Mumpfield and Kenny Johnson act as big-body possession-receivers.

Steadily stout

Considering Narduzzi is a former Broyles Award winner when he was the defensive coordinator at Michigan State, Pitt has an excellent defense.

There may not be a single star to point to for the reason behind Pitt’s success. but the linebacker group is absolutely the start unit of this defense. Kyle Lewis is the most star-adjacent player as he ranks top-10 nationally in tackles for loss and interceptions, top-25 in sacks and top-40 in tackles. If Lewis doesn’t end the year as an All-American, he will have been robbed.

Along with Lewis, Rasheem Biles, Brandon George and Braylan Lovelace round out the elite linebacker corp. Bile, George and Lovelace are third, fourth and fifth on the Panthers in tackles, respectively, and all have multiple sacks on the season.

Pitt loves to blitz, so Louisville’s offensive line will need to be on their A-game Saturday. The O-line for the Cards has seen improvement after looking rough to start the year, but this will potentially be their toughest test of the season.

Pitt has a solid secondary to compliment the pressure that they bring on a daily basis. Donovan McMillon leads the group with 84 tackles (which leads the team), six pass breakups and an interception.

Arguably the weakest group in Pitt’s defense is their defensive line, but they’re still a deep group that get’s in the backfield with frequency.

Why would you sleep?

Louisville sits at 6-4 on the season, with two of their losses simply coming as a result of nothing starting games with the required effort and energy level needed. There is probably not a world where the Cards come out flat Saturday, but even if they do come out with a fire under them this is a toss up of a game.

Louisville will need to limit the production or Reid and take what the defense gives them.

Tyler Shough will need to look like a pro-prospect, even if he doesn’t put up eye-catching numbers.

Louisville has what it takes to get a win, and with home-field advantage I expect them to advance to 7-4 on the year.

Photo by Vinny Porco