Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Pitt

Here are the more significant storylines to follow ahead of Louisville football's matchup vs. Pitt.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After capturing a massive win against Notre Dame in front of a record home crowd, the Louisville football program is heading back on the road and resuming conference play for another primetime matchup, traveling to the Steel City to face Pitt.

Here are some of the more notable storylines heading into Saturday's game:

Louisville Staying Focused Following Big Win

Louisville, with their win over Notre Dame, has their first taste of high-level success under head coach Jeff Brohm. That being said, while the fan base is still very much celebrating the Cardinals' massive win, Brohm knows that he and his program have to stay focused on their upcoming task at hand - a road matchup at Pitt - and not get too caught up in the moment.

"We’ve got to get back to reality and get back to work and understand that if we don’t put the work in, we’re not going to win. That’s just how it works," he said. "If we don’t understand that, it’ll bite us in the rear. ... We just have to concentrate on one game at a time and Pittsburgh is a great challenge ahead of us.”

Brohm knows the importance of staying grounded, because it was something that his teams had a tendency to struggle with while at Purdue. Brohm captured three wins against top-five opponents during his six years with the Boilermakers, and in the games proceeding them, Brohm lost all three. Overall at Purdue, he was 3-3 in games immediately played after a ranked opponent. 

Fast forward to this season, and so far, the Cardinals are sitting at 6-0 and ranked at No. 14 in the AP Top 25. The win over Notre Dame not only marked an important win, but in Brohm's eyes, it also elevated expectations. If Louisville is going to continually meet and then exceed said expectations, they can't let this first taste of success get to their heads.

"We've raised the bar here a little bit with this past win," he said. "If you want to be good, you've got to back it up every week. If you can’t back it up every week, then you're really not that good.”

Phil Jurkovec Out, Christian Veilleux In

While Pitt is coming off of their bye week, head coach Pat Narduzzi made a significant change during their off week. Starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who came over from Boston College during the offseason, has been benched in favor of backup signal caller Christian Veilleux.

"I’ve got a ton of confidence in Phil Jurkovec, even if you don’t or won’t," Narduzzi said. "I still do. But I felt like we needed a spark at that position so we’ll see how that goes. … So Christian will be the guy there and we expect to have a good week there.”

Pitt's offense is certainly in need of a spark. The Panthers currently sport the worst offense in the ACC, averaging only 23.4 points and 308.2 yards per game. Jurkovec played a key role in Pitt's offensive stagnation, completing only 50.9 percent of his passes for 818 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.

Veilleux, a transfer from Penn State, has seen limited on-field action so far this season. Playing in just two games, he's thrown 12-for-27 for 145 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Most of his production came against UNC when Jurkovec was knocked out due to injury.

"Our plan is good, our players are good, our plays are good, our coaching is good - we just got to execute," Veilluex said. At the end of the day, if you’re not executing, no matter what team you play for, you’re not going to win football games. So we’ve just got to go execute, believe in our plan, believe in our own ability and I think that’s going to make a huge difference.” 

Jawhar Jordan Starting to Compile Heisman Trophy Caliber Numbers

As we approach the midway point of the 2023 college football season, the race for the Heisman Trophy is starting to take shape. But with six weeks of college football under our belts, one player that is starting to insert his name into the discussion is Louisville running back Jawhar Jordan.

In six games, the 5-foot-10, 185-pound all-purpose back has collected 653 rushing yards on 87 attempts, as well as eight rushing touchdowns. The rushing yardage mark is good for fifth in the Power Five and ninth nationally, while he is tied for fourth nationally and is second in the Power Five in rushing touchdowns. Additionally, his astounding 7.51 yards per carry is ninth nationally and sixth in the Power Five among players with at least 50 rushing attempts.

As deadly as he is on the ground, he has proven to be a factor in the receiving game as well, hauling in nine receptions for 168 yards and a touchdown. With 821 yards from scrimmage so far this season, he is currently sixth nationally in this category, and third in the Power Five behind Texas running back Jonathan Brooks (847) and Davis (835). His nine touchdowns from scrimmage is also tied for fourth nationally, trailing only Jeanty (12), Davis (12) and Michigan's Blake Corum (10).

Additionally, he already has his "Heisman Moment." In front of a national television audience, facing one of the best teams in college football, Jordan took advantage of the moment. Against No. 10 Notre Dame, he tallied 143 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 21 attempts, helping give Louisville a 33-20 victory to move to 6-0.

"I'm just doing what God gave me the ability to do, and that's just go out there and play football, play fast and physical," Jordan said after the game. "I stand on what I said two weeks ago, I feel like I'm one of the best backs in the nation. We have one of the better running back rooms as well."

Pitt's Defense Still Productive Despite Losing Campaign

Up to this point, Pitt has been one of the more disappointing teams in college football. They were viewed as a team that could potentially be in the top five of the ACC, but are off to a paltry 1-4 start this season.

Even with the season they have had up to this point, the Panthers' defense is still playing at a moderately high level. For the season, despite allowing 26.0 points per game for the No. 70 scoring defense in the FBS, their 301.6 yards allowed per game is 20th nationally.

Despite losing multiple talented pieces in the front seven to the NFL, this area of the field is still their strong suit. They ranked in the top-25 in both sacks and tackles for loss per game, averaging 3.20 and 7.0, respectively, while only giving up 128.4 rushing yards per game. Linebacker Soloman DeShields leads the charge with 5.5 tackles for loss, while linebacker Shayne Simon and defensive lineman DeAndre Jules each have 4.0.

They also do solid work in the secondary as well, posting the 16th-best passing defense with 173.2 passing yards allowed per game. Safety Donovan McMillon leads all Pitt tacklers with 44.

Additionally, this is a defense that, despite being three game under .500, is very motivated to try and pull off a mammoth upset.

“It’ll be great to knock them off, mess up their whole season honestly because it would give them their first loss," DeShields said. "That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Louisville's Defense Surging Over Past Two Games

A large factor that plays into Louisville's undefeated start to 2023 has been the production they have gotten out of their defense. Specifically, that side of the ball has dramatically elevated their play over the last couple weeks.

Over the first month of the season, Louisville had been playing solid, albeit inconsistent defense. In their first four games, the Cardinals were averaging 19.0 points and 359.5 yards allowed per game. The former came in at 39th in the FBS, but the latter was 64th. While their run defense was a respectable 114.8 rushing yards allowed per game, which was 44th nationally, their 244.8 passing yards allowed was 94th.

But in the last two weeks, the defense has collectively taken off. Facing NC State on the road and hosting No. 10 Notre Dame, with both coming in primetime, the Cardinals have been dominant on the defensive side of the ball. In this two-game stretch, Louisville has allowed an average of just 15.0 points, 249.5 total yards, 183.0 passing yards and 66.5 rushing yards. That's a difference of four points, 110 total yards, 61.8 passing yards and 48.3 rushing yards.

Over Louisville's first four games, they had only seven sacks and 16 tackles for loss to their name. The Cardinals had seven combined sacks against the Wolfpack and Fighting Irish, matching what they had accomplished in the previous four games, and very nearly matched their tackle for loss mark with 16 tackles for loss in this two game stretch.

On top of that, the defense as a whole has done a much better job as generating turnovers. Over their first four games, Louisville has six turnovers forced: three interceptions and three recovered fumbles. Against NC State and Notre Dame alone, the Cardinals had eight: five interceptions and three recovered fumbles.

Narduzzi Calls Current Louisville Team "Very Similar" to Scott Satterfield's Squad

As any Louisville fan knows, the identities between Scott Satterfield's final team at Louisville and Jeff Brohm's current team are vastly different. The play calling is more creative, the defense isn't as aggressive, the passing game has more playmakers, and even their mental fortitude is improved.

But if you ask Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi, he believe that this current Cardinals teams is "very similar to the ones he faced when Satterfield was still in town.

“It’s very similar to Satterfield and what they did last year and what they did the year before during the COVID year — I forget what year we played them," he said. "They’ve got a lot of transfers in right now, that’s the first thing. They’ve got, I think a Jackson State and a Georgia State transfer. So they’ve got two hungry guys out there at receiver.

“The receivers are physical. They make plays. They’re quick. They get out of their breaks well. Again, they will block you. I’m impressed with their toughness. I just think Brohm does a great job scheming you up, but they’re a talented football team for sure.” 

(Photo via Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

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