Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Pitt
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The No. 21 Louisville Cardinals (1-1, 0-1 ACC) will hit the road for the first time during the 2020 season when they visit the No. 21 Pittsburgh Panthers (2-0, 1-0 ACC) on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 12:00 p.m. EST.
Here are some of the more notable storylines heading into this weekend's game:
Contain the Big Play
Louisville's defense collapsed against Miami last Saturday, as the Canes were able to pile up 485 yards in the Cardinals' conference opener. The primary catalyst for the 47-34 loss were three plays on defense where egregious breakdowns in coverage led to Miami touchdowns.
"That's 21 points right there and we lost by 13," head coach Scott Satterfield said Monday. "That was their big yardage plays and we have to get better at limiting those. We cannot just give up those big plays, the way that we were lined up and not doing what we were supposed to do."
While there is obvious work to be done, the second year head coach still believes that the defense will turn a corner and be better than last year.
“We're getting better. We just have to continue to prove it in the game on a game-by-game basis,” he said. “We are continuing to grow and we are getting better and I think at the end of the season when we look back on it, this will be a better defense than last year.
Louisville absolutely cannot afford to give up big plays on the defensive end if they have any shot to come out with a road victory, because Pitt knows good and well that this is a problem for the Cardinals.
"We have to capitalize on all the opportunities they give us," Pitt wide receiver Jared Wayne said Wednesday. "Miami got their fair share of big plays, so when we get those opportunities we just have to make plays and capitalize - put points on the board."
Steel Curtain
Pitt sports on of the best defenses in the ACC and perhaps the nation up to this point, as they boast top-10 national rankings in rushing defense (first, 26.0 avg.), total defense (third, 154.0 avg.), pass defense (fourth, 128.0 avg.) and scoring defense (sixth, 5.0 ppg.).
The Panthers feature a pair of preseason All-ACC defenders in strong safety Paris Ford & defensive end Patrick Jones II, as well as defensive end Rashad Weaver - who became the first Pitt player since Aaron Donald in 2013 to be named the Defensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
"They just continuously put pressure on offenses the whole game," Satterfield said Monday. "You can turn on any film, that's just a (head coach Pat) Narduzzi type defense. They do an outstanding job, and he's been doing it for many, many years."
Collectively, Pitt sports a defense where eight of their eleven starters are juniors or seniors - all of whom operate in near perfect cohesion.
"They have two big defensive ends that can rush the passer, the defensive tackles are very solid on the inside," Satterfield said. "They can lock you down on the outside with their corners. They play a lot of man to man and let the rest of the linebackers and safeties fit the run."
Fine Tuning Offenses
Louisville's offense may have put up 516 yards against Miami, but it was far from perfect. They failed to produce a touchdown in the first half, only the fourth time that Louisville did not find the end zone in a half under head coach Scott Satterfield, and went 4-14 on third down in the game including 0-6 in the first half.
"It was disappointing in the first half with our third downs conversations on offense and not picking up some of those first downs," Satterfield said Monday in his weekly press conference "We feel that if we picked those first downs, then we get at least three more downs and we have enough playmakers that we think we can go score."
Even quarterback Malik Cunningham did not have as sharp of a night as it seems, despite completing 26 of his 36 pass attempts and throwing for three touchdowns. He also accounted for three turnovers, one interception and two fumbles, and made some uncharacteristic throws including short-arming tight end Ean Pfeifer for what would have been an easy early touchdown.
Pitt was also far from crisp offensively in their 21-10 win over Syracuse. They accumulated just 342 total yards against a mediocre Orange defense, committed seven penalties, were 6-15 on third down and 2-4 in red zone drives.
“You have to execute. When you watch the tape, one guy didn't do this, whether it was a chip in a defensive end or tackle inside on pass protection so (quarterback) Kenny (Pickett) has time to throw it where it's supposed to be. Kenny missed a couple throws as well. He wasn't perfect,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said. “It’s just making plays when you're supposed to make them.”
More Kicking Woes
The Cardinals were able to overcome some of their special team blunders from their first game vs. WKU, but they were just beginning for the Panthers.
Part of the reason that Pitt went 2-4 in the red zone against Syracuse is because placekicker Alex Kessman went 0 for 3 on his field goal attempts for the game.
But like Satterfield did with punter Logan Lupo and his miscues, Narduzzi isn't ready to pull the plug on his kicker just yet.
"I got a ton of faith in Alex. He's a mature kid, smart, he gets it. He is the last guy that wants to let anybody down," Narduzzi said. "Like I told him, I'm not sweating it because I got faith in you. I know he'll get it fixed."
Not Your Normal Road Trip
This weekend's game is not only Louisville's first road game of the season, but the first one in which the Cardinals will not be playing in front of fan. While Cardinal Stadium is currently operating at 20% capacity, Heinz Field is not allowing any at all.
Of course crowd noise and music will be pumped from speakers during the game much like Louisville does, but Scott Satterfield says his team isn’t focused on the crowd, or lack thereof.
“When you're playing football or coaching football you really don't look up in the stands really,” Satterfield said. “We hope they'll just go out and play football and focus on their job, which is for them to make plays, and do their assignments.”
Under normal circumstances this would be a high energy game, as this will be the first top-25 matchup at Heinz Field since 2009. But Pitt has not had any trouble generating energy on the sideline so far this season.
"I feel like it's been good," Pitt offensive tackle Carter Warren said when asked how the energy has been in their first two games. "They've just been trying to get everybody going and riled up."
(Photo of Javian Hawkins: Atlantic Coast Conference)
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