Watch: Jeff Brohm, Karl Maslowski and Louisville Players Preview Pitt

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program put together a complete, albeit clunky, three-phase performance in their last time out, taking down Bowling Green 40-17 to move to 3-0 on the young 2025 season.

Next up, Louisville hits the road for the first time this season, and will kick off ACC play against Pitt. Kickoff against the Panthers is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

Prior to their upcoming matchup, head coach Jeff Brohm, special team coordinator Karl Maslowski, wide receiver Dacari Collins and defensive tackle Rene Konga took time to meet with the media. They discussed the previous game vs. Bowling Green, previewed the upcoming game at Pitt, and more.

Below is the partial transcript from Brohm's press conference, as well as the videos from Maslowski, Collins and Konga's press conference:

Head Coach Jeff Brohm

Opening Statement

“We’ve got our first road test coming up this week - a conference game, an important game, so we have to have a good week of practice. I think this is going to be a good test for us. [Pitt has a] physical defense. They play hard, they play aggressive, they play downhill, they take chances, they take risks and we’re going to have to be really good at finding ways to defeat it and take care of the ball while we do that. Offensively, they spread it around. We've got to play good defense, which has been good through three games and will be tested on the road this week. It will be a good experience for our guys. It’s an important game. An important game because it’s the next game, but it’s also a conference team on the road that knows how to play good football, and they’ve been doing it for a long time now. We did not have success there two years ago, and we will have to play much better this time around.”

(On differences with Pitt’s defense from last year)

“As we’ve gone back and looked at last year’s game, to be quite honest, we played as good as we could play. It was a really well-executed game plan by our guys on both sides of the ball. We were able to defeat the blitz early on against Pittsburgh, which really helped us move the ball and get points. Once we got a lead, which is always important, we were in the driver’s position the rest of the way out as far as controlling the ball, making them throw the ball more than they wanted to, which really helped our defense. That’s going to be key once again: you’ve got to have a good plan to defeat all their pressures and, even when they play base defense, they’ve got a lot of guys down in the box, supporting the run and playing aggressive. They’ll pressure on the outside, they’re not going to give up any easy completions - you’re going to have to earn it. We just have to have a good plan and be able to execute it early, and that was the key to success last year. I’m sure they have watched the film as well, and we will have to have a few adjustments here and there to see if we can gain an edge, but they test you. That’s why they have been so great against the run and so good on defense, because they are aggressive and you have to have some different elements to try to take advantage of it.”

(Injury updates on Isaac Brown and Duke Watson)

“Both have lower leg injuries that they’re trying to heal up from. Hopefully we will get them back, but I will not know until later in the week.”

(On film review from Saturday)

“I thought we came ready to play. I thought Miller Moss executed well, threw the ball accurately and did a good job there. There were a couple of things here and there that he could do better, but we’ve recognized that. Like get the ball out of his hands versus the blitz and doing things like that, maybe we could do that a little bit better. We got better on the offensive line, recognizing and playing overall. There’s still some elements we have to clean up without question. There were too many penalties that hurt us on some big plays that brought us back. We have to clean that up. That can really stall some drives and stall momentum. But overall I thought we did better. I think defensively we played solid football. There were two big plays at the end of the game we gave up to give them two touchdowns, but other than that we were very solid throughout the game and that’s been really good through three games. We know we will be much more tested against the offenses we face from here on out, but we’ll see exactly how we stack up, but it is off to a good start. Special teams, we definitely have done a good job and that has definitely helped us. To be that consistent in the kicking game and then the return game has been a huge plus. So if we continue to do that against really good opponents, it’ll definitely help us move forward.”

(On the Secondary’s play against Bowling Green)

“Well, I think our secondary has played well. And we did a good job and that’s been good to see. Now, we have not faced passing teams; not one week. So, how good we’re going to be is still to be determined. But, we have practiced well, I think our starting corners have played really solid football and are very talented. I think we have some backups that can come in and do a pretty good job. Our safeties have played well and we have had pretty good linebacker play that’s been consistent. It did hurt not having [Stanquan Clark] but the others got to step in there and be a little more consistent, which they can. I think our D-Line has been consistent up until this point. So, that’s the positive. And not to keep bringing it up, but we are going to face much better offenses as we move forward from here on out the rest of the year. So; being consistent, making sure that we are still creative in our attack and not too vanilla will be important. Can’t just rely on a few things that have worked against certain opponents and think they’re just going to continue to work. So we really got to continue to make sure we are coaching and doing the right things properly to change some things up and give different looks and pressure the quarterback and play aggressively on the outside without getting the ball thrown over our heads. So, I think we’ll see, moving forward how we stack up and this will be a big week for us.”

(On what they learned from James Madison that helps against Pittsburg’s aggressive defense)

“Well, I think we learned a lot from James Madision; they brought the house multiple times and we did not make them pay. And when they did that and it worked, they kept doing it and we were not able to respond and act accordingly, and it affected the game and affected the confidence and ability to continue to be aggressive because we were getting pressure. I thought we had a better plan this past week. This past team didn’t do it; I thought that they would maybe take some things from the previous game and they did not. Pitt naturally plays aggressive. Now, I don’t know if it is all out overload protection and Zero, but they are playing downhill and they got a lot of guys in the box and they’re blitzing from all over. So, you have to kind of know where it is coming from and have some answers. When teams are doing that, how do we get the ball out quick and effectively is important. (Pitt secondary) press a lot more when they do that, so you aren’t going to have wide open passes. So you got to really study what we are working and what we’re not. So, this team has been working this package for a long time and its effective over a lot of teams. When they play good on offense, it merries up well with what they do and they were very effective last year. I think they started 7-0 then ran into a couple speed bumps and maybe had some injuries. So they know how to the play the game and it is definitely built around their defense and their attacking, aggressive style.”

(On special teams play)

“Well, we do work hard at it. Coach Greg Nore was over here last week, he helps us out on some things and was shocked we spent so much time on special teams because he was a special teams coach, I said ‘yeah, we spend all kinds of time on special teams’ which we do. But I think Coach [Karl] Maslowski’s done a good job. We study the trends, what’s worked and what’s not, I think our kicking game has been consistent. Our kickers have kicked well, the adjustments we made to improve that have been beneficial in protection wise and getting the ball down and being accurate. We put pressure on our kickers in practice everyday with pressure kicks, not just kicking it without pressure, but we’ll bring the whole team up and gassers or up-downs will be riding on their kicks, that’s important to do that, so we’ve been consistent there. Our kickers have worked hard, we’re able to kick the ball to the endzone which is very effective, we’ve got to this point a very accurate extra point and field goal kicker and then we have Nick [Keller] who can kick a long way, it’s just a little bit flatter but he can kick a long way which he showed in the game. And then I think with Caullin [Lacy] in the return game we have a dangerous weapon, and we blocked well. So those have been plusses, just like with our defense and overall, we’re going to face some teams just like this that have talent and are well coached and we’ll see how good we can continue to be, but I think we’re off to a good start.”

(On Caullin Lacy’s Explosiveness)

“Well, that’s what’s great about Caullin. He is a hard worker, he practices every day, he is tough. I remember last year when he had his injury, he came back against Notre Dame, the day of the game was the first day he could be back and he played and played well, so that says a lot. Then he came back in the bowl game after being out all year and played well. So, he does everything you want as far as his work habits, his practice habits, his toughness. So yes we’re going to continue to try and make sure he gets his touches because he’s a competitor, and I think when you have a guy like that it sets example for the team and it definitely helps us and we’re definitely going to try and get him the ball.”

Watch: Jeff Brohm, Karl Maslowski and Louisville Players Preview Pitt

Head Coach Jeff Brohm

Special Team Coordinator Karl Maslowski

Wide Receiver Dacari Collins and Defensive Tackle Rene Konga

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