Inside The Panthers

Two Pitt Defenders Earn PFF ACC Team of the Week Honors

The two Pitt Panthers had standout performances vs. the Louisville Cardinals.
Mitchell Corcoran|
Sep 6, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Rasheem Biles (3) takes the field to warm up against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Sep 6, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Rasheem Biles (3) takes the field to warm up against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH — Pitt Panthers star linebacker Rashseem Biles and defensive tackle Nick James were named to the Pro Football Focus ACC Team of the Week for their performances in the 34-27 loss to Louisville.

Biles led the Panthers in tackles for the third consecutive game this season. This time, he had 12 tackles, four for a loss, one sack and a 75-yard pick-six. The score helped extend the Panthers' lead to 17-0 in the first quarter and eventually to a 27-17 lead at halftime.

Biles also had the highest PFF grade on the team.

Biles has proved to be one of the top linebackers in the ACC so far this season. He currently leads the conference with 10.5 tackles per game and seven tackles for loss. Biles is already more than halfway to his tackle total from last season, just four games into this season.

So far this year, Biles has 42 total tackles, seven for a loss, a sack, three pass breakups and a pick-six.

Louisville Cardinals wide receiver Antonio Meeks (15) tackled after a catch by Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Rasheem Biles
Sep 27, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Louisville Cardinals wide receiver Antonio Meeks (15) is tackled after a catch by Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Rasheem Biles (3) and defensive back Shadarian Harrison (21) during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Against the Cardinals, James had just one tackle but had three hurries, one quarterback hit and batted one pass. He has eight tackles, one for a loss, two quarterback hits and a pass breakup so far this season.

James has just about surpassed his total of nine tackles and two tackles for a loss from a season ago.

Pitt's defense currently ranks No. 5 in the ACC in total defense, No. 1 in run defense, No. 7 in pass defense and No. 8 in scoring defense.

The only time the run defense was gashed this season was against West Virginia in Week 3 when Tye Edwards ran for 141 yards and three touchdowns. But the defense had a strong bounce-back performance against Louisville.

The Cardinals were held to just 53 rushing yards on 34 carries and one touchdown on a 1.6 yards per carry average. Louisville's star running back, who had two 100+ yard rushing games already and was averaging 7.1 yards per attempt coming into the game, was held to just 20 yards on 14 carries and 1.4 yards per attempt.

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Mitchell Corcoran
MITCHELL CORCORAN

Mitch is a passionate storyteller and college sports fanatic. Growing up 70 miles away in Johnstown, Pa., Mitch has followed Pittsburgh sports all his life. Mitch started his sports journalism career as an undergraduate at Penn State, covering several programs for the student-run blog, Onward State. He previously worked for NBC Sports, The Tribune-Democrat and the Altoona Mirror as a freelancer. Give him a follow on X @MitchCorc18.

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