Pitt Blows Multiple Leads, Loses to Louisville

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers blew multiple leads in the 34-27 loss to the Louisville Cardinals to open up ACC play.

Pitt jumped to an early 17-0 lead before Louisville quickly tied it up in the first half. The Panthers had a 27-17 lead at halftime, until the Cardinals scored 17 unanswered in the second half, where Pitt threw two interceptions and failed two fourth-down conversions.

The Panthers' offense looked impressive in the first half, though, and it started on the first drive of the game. Juelz Goff had two carries for 11 yards in place of Desmond Reid, and Eli Holstein hit Kenny Johnson on a 34-yard pass to get near the red zone.

However, the drive stalled after a Goff rush, a pass breakup and a dropped pass. Pitt settled for a Trey Butkowski 30-yard field goal.

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty stunted Louisville's first drive as the Cardinals went three-and-out. Pitt got the ball back at midfield and scored the first touchdown of the game two plays later.

True freshman running back Ja'Kyrian Turner rushed for 14 yards and Catarius "Blue" Hicks made another spectacular catch on a pass that was batted out of the air, but he somehow managed to grab it out of mid-air for a 39-yard touchdown.

Hello @SportsCenter #SCTop10 👋@eli_holstein10 to Blue and Pitt leads by 10‼️

📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/qOcCgILe7j
— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) September 27, 2025

The Cardinals got the ball back down 10-0. They put together a better drive with several pass completions from Miller Moss, accumulating 40 yards until a holding penalty on third down forced another punt.

Holstein hit Raphael "Poppi" Williams twice for five yards on the following drive, but a Louisville defensive lineman got a hand up at the line and tipped Holstein's pass incomplete on third down.

Miller got the Cardinals' offense moving again with 21 passing yards, and Isaac Brown had a 7-yard carry. A delay of game penalty pushed them back to a third-and-10. Moss looked over the middle, but Rasheem Biles intercepted the pass and took it 75 yards for Pitt's first defensive touchdown of the season.

The Pick: good
THE RETURN: GREAT

75 yard pick six 😎 @Rasheembiles

Pitt 17, Louisville 0 📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/0pYcXT2uil
— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) September 27, 2025

Louisville's offense continued to struggle after the pick-six. Moss completed a pass to Chris Bell for 18 yards and then to TreyShun Hurry for eight yards. But Blaine Spires stalled the drive with a sack.

A big turning point in the first half was on the following punt return. Kenny Johnson appeared to be interfered with on the return. However, the officials did not agree, and Louisville ended up covering a muffed punt by Johnson on the Pitt 3-yard line.

The ruling was that the Cardinal player who interfered with Johnson was blocked into him.

The Cardinals scored on a Moss quarterback sneak two plays later and capitalized on the controversial no-call on the punt return.

Sep 27, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi reacts on the field against the Louisville Cardinals during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Pitt proceeded to go three-and-out after a holding call on the kick return, setting the offense back to its own 23-yard line. Louisville put together a long drive of 15 plays for 65 yards, but two incompletions and a 3-yard reception by Brown made the Cardinals settle for a 35-yard field goal from Cooper Ranvier to make it 17-10.

The Panthers went three-and-out for a third consecutive drive. Pitt's punter, Caleb Junko, mishandled the snap, and Louisville recovered the fumble. One play later, Moss hit Bell for a 25-yard score.

Pitt started to move the ball again after a personal foul penalty on Louisville put the Panthers on the Cardinals' 40-yard line. A clutch fourth-down connection between Holstein and Johnson put the Panthers well into field goal range as the half was coming to a close.

The Panthers lined up to go for it on fourth down, but a false start forced them to settle for a field goal to regain the lead. The Cardinals attempted to put together a drive before halftime, but they went three-and-out.

Pitt started its seventh possession of the first half with 51 seconds remaining. Holstein completed three passes for 28 yards to get the Panthers into scoring position. A play later, he found Williams for a wide-open 38-yard touchdown with 19 seconds remaining for the 27-17 lead.

Sep 27, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) runs the ball against the Louisville Cardinals during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Louisville started the second half with two passes from Moss for 23 yards, but once again, a penalty stalled the drive. However, Nick Keller nailed a 57-yard attempt for the Cardinals to make it a one-score game.

The Panthers, once again, ran just three plays before punting. Louisville drove down to the Pitt 38-yard line to have Keller attempt a 56-yard field goal, but his kick came up short this time.

Pitt's left guard, Keith Gouviea, was carted off the field after suffering a right leg injury on the first play of the drive. Holstein dropped one in the bucket perfectly to Hicks on the next play, but Antonio Watts made an even better play when he intercepted Holstein's pass for Goff on the following play.

Moss completed a pass for 15 yards to get out of the shadow of the end zone, Duke Watson rushed for the same amount, but Biles sent the Cardinals back with a sack. A false start then made it third-and-22, and they subsequently punted.

Turner rushed three times for a gain of 19 yards, but the drive ended when he dropped a swing pass on fourth down at the Louisville 39-yard line. That decision to go for it ended up coming back to get Pitt as Louisville drove 61 yards in six plays to tie the game with another Moss passing touchdown.

Holstein was sacked and then threw an interception to TJ Quinn on the next Pitt possession. The Cardinals took over on the Panthers' 30-yard line and scored six plays later with a 9-yard touchdown from Moss to tight end Nate Kurisky.

Cole Gonzales came in at quarterback for the Panthers, and the offense couldn't convert a much-needed fourth-down conversion. Louisville regained possession with the 34-27 bled the clock to the final second.

Pitt got the ball back with seconds remaining, and Gonzales was intercepted to end the game.

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