Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Pitt
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After heading into their bye week with momentum on their side, the Louisville football program returns to action this weekend, kicking off a three-game home stand against Pitt.
Here are some of the more notable storylines heading into Saturday's game:
Injury Report and Portal Update
As it turns out, both Louisville and Pitt have had plenty of news this week on the injury and transfer portal fronts.
For Louisville, they'll be getting back a few players. Quarterback Malik Cunningham had to miss the previous game due to "concussion-like symptoms, but is back to practice and is expected to start this weekend's game. Running back Tiyon Evans and safety Kenderick Duncan are also back at practice after having to miss the UVA game, although Evans is still a "question mark" to go. Running back Jalen Mitchell, who has been sidelined for roughly a month, is also back and healthy.
The Cardinals also took a slight hit at their secondary depth. After only playing 38 snaps in the first half of the season, safety Nicario Harper announced Thursday that he had put his name in the transfer portal. On their depth chart against Pitt, Harper had been bumped down to the No. 3 free safety behind Duncan and M.J. Griffin.
As for the Panthers, they took a pair of hits on each front this past week. Pitt announced earlier this week that starting left tackle Carter Warren, a captain who has been a mainstay at left tackle since 2019, had suffered a season-ending injury. The Panthers also lost wide receiver Jaden Bradley to the portal, who is tied for the most touchdowns receptions on the team with two. He has 19 receptions for 259 yards.
Wide receiver Konata Mumpfield, who leads the team in receptions and receiving touchdowns while being at second in yards, is also a game time decision after suffering a hand injury against Georgia Tech.
Louisville Gearing Up for Challenging Second Half of 2022 Season
As many know by now, the first half of the season for Louisville was far from what many would deem a success. With the various issues that have plagued Louisville at one point or another, Satterfield has already taken steps to ensure his program starts moving in the right direction.
It's a small sample size, but adjusting coaching responsibilities seems to have worked so far. With several key playmakers out, Louisville was able to overcome an early deficit and storm back to beat Virginia for their first win in ACC play. Satterfield believes, is indicative of Louisville upward trajectory.
"That’s huge for us," he said. "There were a lot of teams last week who played their backup quarterback and didn’t win. The ability to go out there and get those wins is crucial when you do have guys that are in backup roles, particularly when you get to this part of the season."
Of the six teams remaining on Louisville's schedule, four - Wake Forest, Clemson, NC State and Kentucky - are currently ranked in the AP Top 25. For Satterfield, it's important to draw lessons from past games but not get too caught up in the results, while simultaneously taking it one game at a time and not getting overwhelmed by the gauntlet of games on the horizon.
“It's a one-game season, everything we have is all on Pitt," he said. "We can't think about what we did in the past. Now we got to learn from the things we did, but we can't dwell on it.
Israel Parts The Red Sea
Louisville has already faced some prolific running backs this year, such as Sean Tucker and Brian Battie, and that isn't going to change when they face Pitt.
After being held back last season by a pass-heavy offense, running back Israel Abanikanda has exploded onto the scene. Through the first half of the season, his 830 rushing yards ranks sixth in the nation while his 12 rushing touchdowns are second to only Michigan's Blake Corum (13). As you can imagine, both marks lead the ACC.
"I think the strength of their offense is up front, probably the best offensive line that we've played this year," Satterfiel said. "A lot of experience there, I think all five starters are back from last year. They play probably seven or eight guys up front, and they do a great job with that. We saw what Israel Abanikanda did when he rushed for 320 yards in their last game with five or six touchdowns against Virginia Tech. He went off, had an incredible day."
What makes Izzy such a dynamic weapon is that he is a jack of all trades, and possesses all the traits that you want from the position, especially speed.
"Abanikanda’s has wonderful vision and strength but his game-breaking speed has been Pitt’s best weapon on offense this season," Inside The Panthers' Stephen Thompson told Louisville Report. "If you watch his touchdown runs this year - particularly the handful of 50 or 60-plus yard scores - he’s running untouched from handoff to goal line really frequently. A lot of that has to do with great play from the offensive line but the other side of it is that once Izzy sees daylight, there’s no one stopping him unless they’re right in front of him and in perfect position to make a tackle.
Louisville's Offensive Staff 'Starting to Gel'
With Cunningham and Evans out at Virginia due to injury, and facing a Cavaliers defense that was just outside of the top-50 in terms of production, the Cardinals still had one of their most efficient days from an offensive standpoint.
Of course, this wasn't due to play calling responsibilities being handed off, as the buck continues to stop at Satterfield. But if you ask offensive coordinator Lance Taylor, this was because the offensive staff as a whole is starting to find their stride when it comes to crafting a game plan together.
"We always collaborate, do it together, put the game plan together in game. ... Overall, we have done that each and every week," he said. "But I think as a new staff with some new pieces, we're just getting to know each other really well. I think that that bond and gel was just starting to gel as a unit and as a staff. I think that's what showed up at Virginia as a coaching staff."
With all the new faces getting together to craft offensive game plan on a week-to-week basis, such as himself, OL coach Nic Cardwell and TE coach Josh Stepp, Taylor says that it took a little bit of time for them to truly start clicking together.
"Just like any relationship that you cultivate and you build, you have to get to know the other person and they have to get to know you. That takes that takes time, especially when you don't have opportunities until it gets to live bullets in games. I think that's been a process. We've always gotten along, and it's always been great communication and back and forth dialogue."
Deadly Pitt Defense Awaiting Louisville
When you think of the Pitt Panthers in the Pat Narduzzi era, you usually think about a tough and ferocious defense. That's still the case with this year's squad.
While the defense hasn't been perfect at time, it is littered with talent, especially in the front seven. Defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, who leads the team in tackles for loss with 8.5 and also has 3.0 sacks, was recently voted a Midseason All-American by CBS Sports, The Athletic, Pro Football Focus and ESPN. Linebacker SirVocea Dennis is also a pass rushing force, posting a team-best 4.0 sacks to go with 5.0 tackles for loss.
"They have one of the best interior defensive tackles, (Calijah Kancey)," Satterfield said. "He's an outstanding player, hard to block, undersized but extremely quick, great with his hands, and causes havoc; he’s a big-time player. Their linebackers are aggressive. (Sirvocea Dennis) is an outstanding linebacker; he can play outside, can play inside, he can do a lot. He played against us two years ago and was a great player."
In the secondary, the Panthers have another midseason All-American in the form of Erick Hallett II. His three interceptions on the season tops the ACC and is tied for 11th nationally, and he also has 23 tackles, six pass deflections and two fumble recoveries.
"(Erick Hallett II) is an outstanding safety," Satterfield said."He does a wonderful job. He can really run, one of the fastest safeties we’ve played against. Then they play man-to-man on the corners on the outside so when they do blitz, they're a great blitzing team."
As a team, Pitt ranks 13th in FBS with 3.17 sacks per game and 25th in tackles for loss per game at 6.7. They only allow 337.2 yards per game, which is fourth in the ACC and 29th nationally.
(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Charles LeClaire - USA TODAY Sports)
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