Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. Pitt

The Cardinals ran over the Panthers in their final home game of the 2024 season.

Nov 23, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals running back Keyjuan Brown (22) runs against Pittsburgh Panthers defensive lineman Francis Brewu (95) during the second half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Louisville defeated Pittsburgh 37-9. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - On the heels of suffering a damaging loss at Stanford, the Louisville football program bounced back with authority against Pitt, thrashing them 37-9 in their final home game and conference matchup of the 2024 season.

Before we close the book on the game and transition to the matchup vs. Kentucky, I wanted to provide some closing thoughts and observations from the game against the Panthers:

• First of all, what a fantastic response from Louisville. Following their horrific performance against Stanford, I thought that one of two things would happen: either Louisville would use that games as motivation and lay the wood against a spiraling Pitt squad, or they would mail it in after seeing the potential for a "very good season" get thrown out the window - and I wasn't sure which one would actually show up. Fortunately, the latter did not come to pass, and Louisville performed at the level that many expected them to play at this season. Honestly, this and their game at Clemson were their two most complete games of the season. But of course, I couldn't help but think "where the hell was this team last week?" at times during this game, but that's water under the bridge at this point.
• Going back and rewatching the game, this might sound obvious, but the game plan/scheme by the coaches on both sides of the ball was a lot better than it was the previous week at Stanford. But to be honest, I think this game was mainly won because of high-level execution from the players as a whole. On the offensive side of things, there were just enough wrinkles thrown into the mix to keep Pitt's defense off balance, such as the fake reverse to Isaac Brown and the route on Ja'Corey Brooks' touchdown catch. But overall, I thought the play calling itself from Jeff Brohm was good, but maybe not great. The only true gripes I had was the clock management at the end of the first half and the drive where Louisville started basically on their own goal line. Over on defense, it was still a game plan where Louisville seemingly spent a bulk of the time in their base formation, although Ron English did mix in a little more pressure and exotic looks than he did vs. Stanford. As far as the coaching for this game goes, while it might not have been the most noteworthy play calling/scheme game, the entire staff certainly excelled in preparing the players for what they were going to run, and they deserve credit for that.
• I'm going to start with the offense, and because they were never going to get the credit they deserved in the last game (because, you know, it was a bad loss), the offensive line is getting the first shoutout. Every die hard football fan knows that games are won and lost in the trenches, and for this unit to perform like they have over the last few games given the amount of injuries and position shuffling they've had, it's an amazing feat. Sure, they might have given up a couple sacks, but the first one was partially due to an intentional grounding call, and the second one came when Louisville was already up 34-7. It's been an incredible turnaround for a unit that was struggling a little bit to start the season.
• QB Tyler Shough, while not perfect in the games, looked much better than he did the previous week. His sidearm touchdown throw to Chris Bell with pressure in his face was an excellent throw, as was his back shoulder throw to Ja'Corey Brooks midway through the second quarter. That being said, his throwing mechanics and decision making whenever he starts rolling out of the pocket have dipped in recent weeks, but it's not a massive detriment per se. Otherwise, he made good throws and decisions when firmly planted or not forced to make off-platform throws.
• As far as he pass catchers go, there were several notable performances. With Ja'Corey Brooks, he had an up-and-down day. His route on the touchdown throw was fantastic and the body control on his aforementioned back shoulder sideline catch were amazing, but he also had two uncharacteristic drops. Considering he's now over 1,000 yards for the season though, he gets a pass. Chris Bell has really grown in recent weeks as a big play wide receiver, and he showed great concentration to haul in a bobbled ball on his touchdown catch. Considering his maturity (or lack thereof) was a major talking point not too long ago, he's taken much needed steps forward. Additionally... hello, Cataurus Hicks! He doubled his season reception total in just *one* game, and nearly every time he caught the ball, he refused to go down on the first tackle attempt. That's a great development not only for the Kentucky game and the bowl, but for the position's outlook in 2025. I just wish that the tight end position got utilized a little bit more in the passing game, but at least it's not a non-factor like it was in 2023.
• It continues to amaze me that Louisville has not one, but two star true freshmen running backs. It was great to see that Isaac Brown's injury suffered vs. Stanford was not a major one, and he was in striking distance of logging yet another 100-yard game. On top of that, Duke Watson has really started to find his stride rushing for a combined 186 yards over the last two games. The lighting fast speed and underrated physicality from both of these running backs are unheard of for true freshmen, and the future of the position at Louisville is insanely bright. When it comes time for Brohm to re-evaluate his coaching staff in the offseason, he needs to find a way to make sure Chris Barclay stays for as long as he can.
• Now onto the defensive side of the ball. Before diving into specific positions, the tackling by Louisville as a whole was much, much better than it was the past week (and in spurts during their midseason slump). There were multiple phenomenal open field tackles, such as ones by Antonio Watts, Corey Thornton and Tahveon Nicholson, that showed that the Cardinals really did put a large emphasis in this area. Also, they played with much more poise - committing just four penalties vs. Pitt compared to the whopping 11 flags they drew against Stanford.
• I've been fairly critical of the linebacking corps this season (not without reason), but this collective unit played their best football all season long. This was a monster game from Stanquan Clark, who not once, but twice made great reads and leaped like the linebackers in old Madden games to make super athletic interceptions. He, T.J. Quinn and Watts not only played very well against the run, but perhaps more importantly, they looked great in pass coverage and didn't leave the middle of the field exposed like they have multiple times this season. Sure, it helps to have to face the backup quarterback and eventually the third stringer, but regardless, this was a great collective step forward.
• Speaking of pass coverage, what a turnaround for the secondary. Against Stanford, they were roasted and toasted all day long, letting a true freshman dice them up until nothing was left. Nate Yarnell might have been Pitt's backup, but he threw for 350 yards the week before against Clemson and nearly led the Panthers to an upset win over the Tigers. Louisville held him to less than 100 passing yards. Was some of this due to the disruptive front seven? Absolutely. But Quincy Riley looked much better (save for a couple plays), as did Thornton, Nicholson and Tamarion McDonald. Louisville's secondary has been suspect at times this season, but they certainly weren't in this game.
• A defense can't trult succeed if they don't play complementary football. Fortunately, not only did the back end perform very well in coverage, Louisville's defensive line and front seven as a whole did great at the point of attack. Outside of four chunk plays where Pitt totaled 57 rushing yards, the Cardinals held the Panthers to just 18 rushing yards on 23 attempts. That is a truly remarkable effort against the run, especially considering they were facing one of the more versatile running backs in the ACC in Desmond Reid. Plus, there were very few plays where a Pitt quarterback was able to be comfortable in the pocket. After a relatively slow start to the season, Ashton Gillotte has rounded back into his All-American form just in time to face Kentucky next week.
• Before wrapping things up, Louisville's efforts in special teams continue to be trending upwards. Brock Travelstead was a perfect three-for-three on field goal kicks, and Ja'Corey Brooks has looked great since taking over as the primary punt returner. Excelling in all three phases of the game is crucial, and Louisville looks much better on special teams now than they did last year and early in this season.
• I'll close with this thought: Like I mentioned early, I certainly had thoughts of "how come this team couldn't play like this at Stanford?" as the game unfolded. But regardless, Louisville's players had every opportunity to throw in the towel after that bad loss. Instead, the entire program still remained bought in, made adjustments, got to work, and played like they were capable of. "What could have been" will certainly be the theme of this season, but that's a conversation for a later time. Right now, I feel a lot more confident in Louisville's ability to march into Lexington and snap their losing streak to Kentucky than I did this time last week. They just have to go out there and do it.

(Photo of Keyjuan Brown: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter/X - @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram - @louisvilleonsi

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X