EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW (2025): Louisville at Pitt

Pregame Prep: Things You Should Know Before the Game

• Kickoff: Noon ET
• TV / Radio: ESPN2 / 93.9 The Ville
• Weather: sunny, highs in the mid-70s; very low chance of rain
• Odds: Louisville -4.5, O/U 57.5 (FanDuel)
• Uniforms: Louisville (all white); Pitt TBA as of Thursday morning

Last Time (Louisville v. Pitt): 2024

Louisville marched to a 34-0 lead, including a 27-0 halftime margin, and cruised to a 37-9 victory over Pitt. Tyler Shough completed 17-of-28 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns, while Isaac Brown had 93 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Louisville had three interceptions, including two by Stanquan Clark, as the defense held the Panthers to 265 total yards.

Notable Numbers:

• Pitt leads the all-time series 11-10.
• Pitt also leads Louisville 6-5 in head-to-head since 2005, when Louisville joined the Big East and started playing the Panthers as a conference foe.
• At 3-0, this is the third straight season that Louisville has opened with three straight wins, which is the first time that Louisville has accomplished that feat.
• Nick Keller’s 57-yard field goal last week set a new Louisville record for the longest field goal in program history, surpassing Brock Travelstead’s 56-yarder at Notre Dame last season.
• Caullin Lacy had his second punt return touchdown last week against Bowling Green, becoming one of three players in Louisville history with multiple punt return touchdowns in a single season (Tom Lucia in 1949 and Greg Campbell in 1970).
• Additionally, Lacy is now one of seven players in Louisville history to have three or more special teams touchdowns, and the second since 2000 (Trent Guy had five from 2006-2009).

First Quarter: Meet the 2025 Pitt Panthers

The loss to Louisville last season was part of a free fall that Pitt suffered in the second half of last season. After starting 2024 with a 7-0 record and climbing as high as 18th in the CFP polls, Pitt lost six straight games to close out the season, bookended by a six-overtime loss to Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.

2025 hopes to be different for 11th year head coach Pat Narduzzi, who is one of three ACC coaches to have a tenure of 10+ years with their program (Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and NC State’s Dave Doeren are the other two). Pitt enters this week with a 2-1 record, but are coming off a bye week after losing to rival West Virginia two weeks ago in overtime.

Second Quarter: Pitt Offense Breakdown

In Narduzzi’s first half of his coaching tenure, he had offenses that generally had some of the slowest tempo in the FBS. In the last few years, however, Pitt has flipped the script and now has one of the fastest in the sport. According to TeamRankings.com, Pitt has the 11th fastest tempo, averaging 22.9 seconds between plays.

Quarterback Eli Holstein returns as the starter for Pitt in 2025. A former four-star recruit and Alabama commit, Holstein has tremendous size at the position, listed at 6’4″ and 225 lbs. Holstein can throw solid passes into intermediate and deep parts of the field, which has been on display as Pitt upgraded their receiver depth from last year. He can be erratic with his throws sometimes coming off-platform as he faces pressure, but he’s got enough arm strength to complete them. Holstein is also a capable runner when a lane opens up, which could pose problems for Louisville.

The stars of the Pitt offense are running back Desmond Reid and wide receiver Raphael “Poppi” Williams. Both are big play threats in their own ways, but let’s start with Reid. Reid nearly had 1,000 yards rushing last season and was tied for the team lead in receptions; he’s an excellent receiver out of the backfield and just as excellent as an open field runner, often times being a safety valve / checkdown option for Holstein when needed.

Reid’s status for Saturday, however, is uncertain after he exited the West Virginia game with a lower body injury. If Reid is somehow not able to go on Saturday, look for Juelz Goff (21 carries, 84 yards, two touchdowns) and freshman Ja’Kyrian Turner (ten carries, 35 yards, TD) to split reps at running back.

Williams led the Panthers in receiving touchdowns last season (six) and was once an All-Southern Conference first-team player at Western Carolina in 2021. He’s a vertical threat that can stretch the field and can be utilized well on screens and pop passes. Kenny Johnson (nine rec., 126 yards, TD) is another solid receiver that can stretch the field, he also splits return duties with Desmond Reid and has a kick return touchdown in his collegiate career. You’ll also see former UofL receiver Cataurus “Blue” Hicks (seven rec., 84 yards, two TDs) and Deuce Spann (six catches, 62 yards) rotate at wide receiver. Pitt also uses a platoon at tight end with Malachi Thomas and Justin Holmes headlining the group.

Players to Watch:

• QB Eli Holstein (65.9% completion, 274 YPG, 9.3 YPA, nine touchdowns, three INTs)
• RB Desmond Reid (24 carries, 142 yards, TD; six rec., 71 yards)
• WR Raphael “Poppi” Williams III (12 rec., 245 yards, three TDs)

Third Quarter: Pitt Defense Breakdown

Defensive coordinator Randy Bates has been a bedrock in Pat Narduzzi’s coaching staff, entering his eighth season with the Panthers. Most people that have watched Pitt’s defense in that stretch know what to expect from them; they will blitz you, they will play a physical brand of football, they will make your offense work for points.

Pitt has an excellent linebacker group led by Kyle Louis, who might be one of the best defensive players that Louisville faces all season. Louis is a perfect embodiment for the modern NFL linebacker; a do it all, rangy player that can drop back into coverage or play the run and get stops. He’ll be all over the field on Saturday and I’d expect he will make a play at some point.

Rasheem Biles and Braylan Lovelace round out a veteran linebacker group for Pitt. Biles is another solid pass coverage linebacker that can also plug gaps in the run game, giving Pitt’s defense a lot of flexibility with their play calling.

Pitt’s front four has a lot of experience in their starting rotation, with ends Jimmy Scott (three TFLs, sack) and Utah State transfer Blaine Spires (2.5 TFLs, sack) starting. Francis Brewu (two sacks) and Sean FitzSimmons start on the interior and one thing that Pitt’s DL generally does well is eat space to allow their talented linebackers to run free on blitz assignments.

Pitt’s secondary also has a lot of seniors on it, with Rashad Battle and Tamon Lynum manning both corner spots and sophomore Cruce Brookins (23 tackles, two PBUs) headlining the safety spot. Freshman Shawn Lee Jr. (nine tackles, TFL) has been climbing the depth chart and should eventually be a starter if his growth continues.

Players to Watch:

• LB Kyle Louis (19 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, two sacks, INT)
• LB Rasheem Biles (30 tackles, three TFLs, two PBUs)

Fourth Quarters: Keys to the Game

When Louisville has the ball…

We’ll treat last week as an aberration, after Louisville unexpectedly played last week without Duke Watson and with Isaac Brown and Chris Bell on very limited reps. I’m not going to make any personal projections as far as who (or what) is available, but rather focus on the schematics each team runs.

When Louisville has the ball, they have to figure out how to maximize Miller Moss against blitz packages. Pitt’s defense has historically been among the most blitz-happy in the ACC since Narduzzi’s arrival, and their front seven will look to make plays in the backfield. Pitt currently has 12 sacks and 30 TFLs through three games, the latter which ranks tied for 13th in FBS heading into this week. This will especially be important, if Louisville finds itself without their top two running backs again on Saturday.

I’d also be curious to see if Louisville looks to get more designed plays for Caullin Lacy. Lacy has proven to be one of Louisville’s most dynamic playmakers with his ability as an open field runner, especially in the return game. If Louisville can start to work more jet sweeps or screens to utilize Lacy’s strengths, it could present similar opportunities that he would have as a special teams player; get him in space, and let him make magic happen.

When Pitt has the ball…

Tempo, tempo, tempo. That is the bread and butter nowadays for Pitt football, as they do have some of the fastest tempo in the FBS. They will often go no-huddle and try to catch defenses resting between plays, so Louisville will have to be alert and make sure they can get substitutions in without penalty. The latter is especially important, since the Cardinals have struggled so far with untimely penalties in the first three games on both sides of the ball.

However, Pitt has struggled in one area; their offensive line. The Panthers are coming off allowing six sacks against West Virginia in their last game, and while Holstein is a capable athlete, he has been prone to misfires when facing pressure. They also haven’t generated much in the run game, as Pitt averages about 3.8 yards per carry as a team. Louisville’s front four will need to win the battle at the line of scrimmage, keeping Pitt from running the ball and Holstein from making plays with his feet.

Pitt will also look to stretch the field vertically and test Louisville’s back seven in pass coverage. This will be a test to see if Louisville’s secondary has improved from last year with their communication and ability to defend the middle, as well as the intermediate and deep parts of the field.