Pregame Notes: Good afternoon/evening Card Nation. After about a month away from L&N Stadium, the Cards return home and it’s Senior Day. The 6-4 Cards take on a 7-3 struggling Pitt Panthers team. Pittsburgh was 7-0 to start the season and has dropped their last 3 games, the last 2 by a total of 5 points. Louisville is coming off a disappointing 35-38 loss to Stanford as the time expired. Pittsburgh will get their starting quarterback back tonight. Louisville trails the all time series 9-11 vs Pitt, with Pitt winning the last meeting 38-21 in 2023. The Cards do hold a slim winning record at home vs Pittsburgh (4-3), so here is to hoping it is 5-3 after tonight.
1st Quarter:
The Pittsburgh Panthers moved the ball effortlessly down the field on their first possession. Stanquan Clark missed a tackle that went for 21 yards. On the very next play, Clark intercepted Holstein’s pass in the end zone. Brock Travelstead capped a 10-play Louisville drive with a 38-yard field goal to give the Cards an early 3-0 lead. The Isaac Brown drive was concluded by Brown with a 1-yard touchdown run. The 5-play, 82-yard drive featured 4 carries for 59 yards for Isaac Brown. Louisville took a 10-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
2nd Quarter:
The Cards began the quarter with a huge 4th-and-1 stop at midfield. Louisville capped off a 6-play, 50-yard possession with a 15-yard TD pass from Shough to Brooks to extend the Cards lead to 17-0. Louisville stopped Pitt on yet another 4th down attempt, at almost the exact same spot as the last possession. This time though, the Louisville offense moved backwards and was forced to punt. On Louisville’s next possession, they stalled inside the 2-yard line, giving the ball back to the Panthers. Louisville’s Stanquan Clark came away with his 2nd interception of the game when he picked off Yarnell at the 15 yard line. Isaac Brown took the first carry of the possession 15 yards for the touchdown to put the Cards up 24-0. Brock Travelstead added a 38-yard field goal to extend the lead to 27-0 before intermission. The first half shutout is Louisville’s first ACC shutout since November 9th 2023 vs UVA (14-0).
Halftime Stats:
T.O.P: 16:04
Passing Yards: 202
Rushing Yards: 106
Sacks: 1
T.Os: 2 (INTS)
3rd Quarter:
Louisville only needed three plays thanks to Shough to Bell’s 68-yard pass to put 7 points on the board. Heading into the final quarter. Pittsburgh was finally able to find the end zone, but Louisville made them work for it. Nate Yarnell connected with Mumpfield on a beautifully thrown fade, anywhere else and it would have been an incompletion or a possible interception for the Cards. Louisville used a Brock Travelstead 40-yard field goal after an 8-play 37 yard drive. Louisville took a 37-7 lead into the final quarter.
4th Quarter:
It was a somewhat sloppy start to the quarter for the Cards. It was also a great test of patience and will. The only points scored were by the Panthers on a safety when Chaney was tackled in the end zone. Things started to get a little chippy, and the Panthers were clearly disappointed in their performance and started to act like Louisville’s next opponent. On the Panthers drive inside the redone, Corey Thornton picked off Nate Yarnell. The quarter also saw the return of Maurice Turner. He received multiple carries and looked 100% healthy…just in time too. The final score from the Texas vs uk game was announced, and what was left of Card Nation went crazy. There were also 2 different “Beat uk” chants in the fourth quarter. The Cards had this one well in hand from midway through the second quarter, and never looked back. Louisville beat Pittsburgh 37-9.
Final Stats:
Passing Yards: 293 (2 TDs)
Rushing Yards: 212 (2TDs)
Post Game Notes:
Louisville improves to 7-4 overall and 5-3 in the ACC. Louisville got a lot production from their offensive skill players, but the real credit needs to go to the defense for their performance. The defense came away with 3 interceptions (2 by Clark), 2 sacks (both by Gillotte) and 7 tackles for loss. Tyler Shough finished with 293 yards and 2 touchdowns. Chris Bell finished with 101 yards and a touchdown on 2 receptions. This is the 2nd consecutive 100-yard performance by Bell. The Cards will now head to Lexington for the annual “Battle Of The Bluegrass” next Saturday. The team up in Lexington has 4 wins and are not bowl eligible. So, like most years, this will be their Super Bowl.
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