Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. Pitt

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Coming off of a much needed bye week to kick off a three-game home stand, Louisville used a stout defensive performance to capture a 24-10 victory over Pitt Saturday at Cardinal Stadium, overcoming a slim fourth quarter deficit in the process.

Before we close the book on the game and transition into the bye week, I wanted to provide some closing thoughts and observations from the game:

First of all, I'll admit that I did not think Louisville was going to win this game. Not because that Pitt was by far and away the better team (both teams were actually pretty similar from a statistical standpoint), but because the Cardinals had not shown at any point this year that they were capable of stringing together wins and capitalize on momentum. Even watching it in real time, I thought it was trending towards a loss, mainly because they have never been able to mount a fourth quarter rally under head coach Scott Satterfield. In fact, entering this game, Louisville was 0-16 under Satterfield when trailing heading into the fourth quarter - and they went on a 17-0 run during the final 15 minutes. That's why this team and coaching staff deserves credit for being able to buck both of those trends, and take a much needed step in right direction. There's still a lot of football left in the season, and Satterfield still has an uphill climb in my opinion, but being able to show resiliency and generate tangible momentum - especially against a talented team like Pitt - deserves praise.
The defense has gotten a bit of a bad rap this season - some of it deservedly so with the amount of big plays they have given up this year - but there's no denying how dominant they were on Saturday night, and that they willed Louisville to a victory. Pitt might not have had Kenny Pickett or Jordan Addison, but the Panthers were still averaging 430.5 yards and 35.0 points per game on the year, and the Cardinals held them to 326 and 10 - both of which were season lows. Not to mention the four takeaways, which was the most Pitt had given up all year. Not only did they do a good job of getting after quarterback Kedon Slovis and making him uncomfortable in the pocket, but also did a relatively good job at containing running back Israel Abanikanda. His 179 total yards of offense might suggest otherwise, but he was coming off of a 320-yard and six-touchdown performance, and only had three plays from scrimmage that went 15 yards or longer. The constant harassment in the trenches also allowed the secondary to have one of their better performances of the season, with Slovis' 158 passing yards being the lowest Louisville has allowed from an ACC opponent since BC had 107 in their 2021 matchup. Complimentary football at its finest.
Give Yasir Abdullah his damn flowers already. He hasn't had as productive of a season as many expected he would heading into the Pitt game, mainly because of the amount of attention opposing offenses are giving him, but he nearly single-handedly won this game for Louisville. He was great in coverage, he was great in run support, he was great in pass rush, and he made plays when they mattered the most. Pitt was marching down the field on their first drive, and he was able to run stride-for-stride with a receiver who is 60 pounds lighter than him for an interception, which set the defensive tone early. He made two huge 3rd down tackles on Abanikanda in the final 20 minutes, one which forced Pitt to settle for the field goal and the other that forced a turnover on downs. Then the play of the game where his sack fumble resulted in a scoop and score by Kei'Trel Clark to ice the game. Just listen to this stat line: seven tackles, two for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, an interception, two pass break ups and three quarterback hurries. This was the best individual defensive performance from a Cardinal since Jaire Alexander's three turnover game against Clemson in 2016. He keeps playing like this, and he might play himself into a high round NFL Draft pick as well.
What made this defensive showcase even better was that it wasn't just Abdullah contributing to the effort in the front seven. While there were a couple moments were the tackling was subpar, overall the defense did a solid job when it came to wrapping up and gang tackling. YaYa Diaby continues to be a menace in the backfield and at the line of scrimmage, logging 2.5 tackles for loss, half a sack and a batted pass. Monty Montgomery has looked much better over the pass three games than he did to start the season, and MoMo Sanogo continues to compliment him well when it comes to run support. Mason Reiger has proved to be a valuable depth piece with his fumble. Louisville might have recovered two fumbles, but they actually forced four.
There were a couple early lapses in coverage, but the secondary did a solid job overall. Plus, the scheme in which Bryan Brown put together limited the amount of soft coverage at the line of scrimmage. If a wide receiver was able to make a play, more often than not, their man was able to tackle them and limit the yards after the catch. While there weren't a ton of "wow" plays by the secondary, no one defensive back really stood out when it comes to missed assignments or blown plays, and that's a huge step in the right direction.
M.J. Griffin looked great yet again. He might have been gifted an interception, but he still made the play regardless, and that's now two games in a row he's secured a pick. Though it is interesting that Kenderick Duncan, who was healthy, didn't play any snaps at all against Pitt.
Alright, now we have to talk about the offense. Considering this is a Pitt defense that is anchored by two (three depending on the publication) midseason All-Americans, I won't completely lambast this side of the ball. That being said, this wasn't their most efficient outing, and they're lucky the defense had such a phenomenal performance. The play calling, much like Louisville' season up to that point, was a roller coaster. It had great calls, such as the throwback from Smith to Cunningham with the entire O-line running with him, then there were head scratchers such as quarterback keeper when you're in the shadow of your own goal post. It truly was a mixed bag on that front. Not to mention the yo-yoing of quarterbacks in the second half, which didn't seem to have any rhyme or reason to it, unless there was an injury during this half that I don't know about. Doing that seemed to hamper any offensive rhythm in the third quarter, and it almost seemed like they were lucky to finally get something going in the fourth quarter.
I'll always have an appreciation for what quarterback Malik Cunningham brings to the football field, I do. But he was... okay in this game, and it wasn't just because of what Pitt was doing defensively. Chris Bell made his big play in spite of an under-thrown ball from Cunningham. The throw he made when thrust into a fourth down play was either not thrown with enough conviction or thrown just a tad too late, I can't tell which one. His immediate interception when re-inserted back into the game was also bad. Even his touchdown throw to Josh Lifson was under-thrown to the point where it was nearly tipped by a linebacker standing right in front of him, and that Lifson barely had room between him and the ground to catch it. I keep finding myself hoping that Cunningham will eventually overcome his tendency to be inaccurate throwing the ball at the most inopportune times, but I guess at this point we just have to embrace it for what it is.
Speaking of great catches, kudos to both Bell and Tyler Hudson. Bell looks like he will have a promising career at Louisville, and Hudson is starting to live up to his preseason billing. I still have a bit of an issue with the fact that Hudson got more than double the amount of targets that the next pass catcher got, especially with the game that Marshon Ford had against Virginia. At least Ford took advantage of his limited targets with a wide open touchdown.
I would like some clarity as to why exactly Ahmari Huggins-Bruce did not play. He's clearly not hurt, was fully dressed, participated in warmups... and didn't see the field at all. We should expect him to be out against Wake Forest as well considering that's what his now-deleted tweet said, but a little transparency from Satterfield regarding the subject would be nice.
I won't criticize the rushing attack for only getting 122 yards. Pitt's defense has two All-Americans in the front seven, and the supporting cast around them is just as good. Even with how good Louisville's offensive line has been over the past season and a half, that's a tall task for anyone. Considering Trevion Cooley still put up 76 yards on 11 carries, and the O-line allowed only two sacks, I'll take it. Let's just hope the injuries to Luke Kandra and Trevor Reid aren't serious.
Shoutout to James Turner for drilling a 48-yard field goal during a pivotal moment of the game. Seems like his struggles from last year are firmly in the rear view mirror.
I'll close with this thought: It might have come a little later in the season than many would have liked, but this was a team that finally proved that they are able to seize the moment, take advantage a great opportunity and build on the established momentum. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean they'll go out and beat a top-ten Wake Forest team, but you have to feel a lot better about their chances knowing that they were finally able to finish strong and close out a team with a fair amount of talent on it. Satterfield is starting to trend back in the direction of keeping his job, and if Louisville can channel this energy and use it to go out and beat a highly ranked opponent in front of what should be a big crowd, his job might be safe.

(Photo of Israel Abanikanda, Yasir Abdullah: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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