By Elizabeth Scanland

In a rollercoaster of a game, Louisville beat the Pittsburgh Panthers in their first road game of the year.

A game of runs

The Pitt offense got off to a hot start, finding early success in the passing game and reaching the red zone after a 34-yard dime to wide receiver Kenny Johnson. However, a dropped pass on third-and-six at Louisville’s 12-yard line forced the Panthers to settle for a field goal.

Louisville’s opening drive went nowhere thanks to a tackle for loss and a costly unsportsmanlike penalty, resulting in a quick three-and-out.

Pitt quickly capitalized as Ja’Kyrian Turner broke free for a 14-yard gain, followed by Eli Holstein connecting with Louisville-transfer Cataurus Hicks for a deep touchdown, giving Pitt a 10-0 lead.

The Cardinals finally showed signs of life, with Miller Moss completing several short passes to Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy to move the chains. A 14-yard completion to tight end Nate Kurisky pushed Louisville into Pitt territory, but an offensive holding penalty ended the drive without points.

Louisville forced their first defensive stop on a three-and-out, then put together a promising drive to enter Pitt territory.

But a delay of game penalty stalled the momentum, and on the next play, Moss was picked off by Rasheem Biles, who returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. Pitt extended the lead to 17-0.

Going into the game, Louisville was 1-21 all-time when being down by 17 or more points.

Early in the second quarter, Louisville caught a massive break. Set to punt, the Cardinals recovered a muffed catch deep in Pitt territory. Just a few plays later, Moss punched in a short rushing touchdown to put the Cards on the board.

After a three-and-out from Pitt, Louisville quickly took the field again hoping to build on their new found momentum. Moss converted several third downs with key completions to Lacy and Antonio Meeks, moving the Cardinals inside the red zone. A pass interference penalty helped extend the drive, but the offense stalled and Louisville settled for a 34-yard field goal.

After another three-and-out, Pitt’s punter fumbled the snap and the Cards took over in great field position. Moss took no time to find Bell in the end zone, tying the game at 17-17.

But Pitt responded with poise. Helped by back-to-back personal foul penalties against Louisville, Holstein marched the Panthers into the red zone. After getting stalled Pitt kicked a 37-yard field goal to retake the lead, 20-17.

After a quick three-and-out from Louisville, Pitt got the ball back with under a minute remaining and made it count. Holstein completed passes to Hicks and Justin Holmes before hitting Raphael Williams Jr. on a deep ball for a 38-yard touchdown with just 19 seconds left in the half.

Louisville was down 27-17 heading into the locker room.

May the odds ever be in Louisville’s favor

Louisville opened the second half with promise. Moss connected with Bell for back-to-back first downs, but a holding penalty killed the drive. Nick Keller salvaged it with a 57-yard field goal which tied his own school record to make it 27-20.

The Cardinals forced another three-and-out and had a chance to tie, but the drive fell flat and Keller’s 56-yard attempt came up short.

Pitt immediately flipped the field with a 56-yard pass to Hicks, setting up first-and-goal, but Antonio Watts came up with a huge interception at the two-yard line to keep it a one-score game.

Pinned deep, Louisville managed to move the ball behind big plays from Lacy and Duke Watson, but a sack and a false start forced a punt.

The fourth quarter began with Pitt facing a fourth-and-seven, but Holstein’s pass was incomplete for a turnover on downs.

Louisville took over and methodically moved the ball downfield, highlighted by a 37-yard completion from Moss to Lacy. The Cardinals continued their drive with key completions and runs, ultimately capping it off with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jaleel Skinner, tying the game at 27-27.

Pitt’s next possession stalled early when Holstein was sacked for a seven-yard loss, then threw a pick to TJ Quinn.

Louisville capitalized on the turnover as Moss found Kurisky in the back of the end zone, putting Louisville ahead for the first time in the game.

Pat Narduzzi had seen enough as he pulled Holstein from the game in favor of Cole Gonzales. Unfortunately for Pitt, Gonzales was no more successful as the Panthers turned it over on downs and threw one more pick to Quinn for good measure.

The Cards limped out of Acrisure Stadium with a 34-27 win.

Are you what your record says?

That was pitiful game.

Pitt is a subpar team this year, but they were good enough to pop Louisville in the mouth if they came out flat. Which they did.

It didn’t help that there were injuries to each of Louisville’s top three running backs and the top cornerback Rodney Johnson.

Still, the offensive line struggled much of the game and Moss looked hopeless in the first half. However, he did make up for it by having an incredible second half with 169 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-20 passing.

Quinn was absolutely incredible Saturday, racking up five tackles, two interceptions and a pass defensed that should have been a third interception. The linebacker also blew up Gonzales on fourth down to force an incompletion that should have gone down as a forced fumble.

The same problems for the Cards still exist, but Moss’s second half was a big sign in the right direction. Louisville still hasn’t been fully healthy all season long, so there is a slight glimmer of hope that the stars aligning will breed a completely different team. But that’s perhaps wishful thinking.

The Cards advance to 2-21 after falling behind 17-plus points. Saturday’s win also marks the Cards’ first in Pittsburgh since 2012, and evens up the all-time series at 11-11.

Louisville now sits at 4-0 on the year and 1-0 in ACC play.

Photo by Nolton Alfred / The Louisville Cardinal