Louisville Overwhelmed By Pitt, Fall 23-20

Cardinals fall to 1-2 and winless in conference play

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Even without fans in attendance, the hostile environment on the gridiron provided more than what Louisville could handle.

Embarking on their first road trip of the 2020 season, the No. 24 Cardinals were unable to overcome one of the best defenses in the nation, falling 23-20 to the No. 21 Pitt Panthers at Heinz Field.

Pitt (3-0, 2-0 ACC) came into this game ranked in the top 10 in most major defensive categories, and they showed every bit of it on Saturday. Louisville (1-2, 0-2 ACC) was held to just 223 total yards of offense and just 1-11 on third down conversions. The Panthers smothered Louisville any chance they could get, tallying 12 tackles for loss, seven sacks and a forced fumble.

Quarterback Malik Cunningham could only muster 107 passing yards and one touchdown on 9 of 21 passing attempts, while also tossing three interceptions. Of Louisville's 116 total rushing yards, 106 of them came on a 75-yard score from RB Javian Hawkins and a 31-yard fake punt run from defensive end Tabarius Paterson.

On the other side, the defense seemed to take some meaningful strides forward. While Kenny Pickett did throw for 220 yards and two scores and Pitt as a whole ran for 156 yards with 376 yards overall, three Pitt scoring drives end just with field goals and the Cards snagged their first interception of the season thanks to inside linebacker CJ Avery.

The Cardinals have been subject to some inauspicious starts so far in the 2020 season, and their road-opener against Pitt was no different. Taking notes from Louisville's previous game against Miami, the Panthers ran a mostly no-huddle offense to start the game and scored on their first three drives - two field goals and an 8-yard touchdown to WR Jordan Addison.

Additionally the offense had a little trouble getting their high-octane engine kickstarted, although a lot of that had to do with Pitt's stellar defensive line. The Cards would go three-and-out on their first two possessions, drives that featured a brutal third down drop from WR Justin Marshall and a punt from Logan Lupo that netted only 13 yards.

But after Pitt scored on three straight drives to take an early 13-point lead, Louisville then did the same to seize it. RB Javian Hawkins on the first play of the drive for a 75-yard scoring run, James Turner kicked a field goal, then WR Tutu Atwell beat the high safety to haul in a 21-yard touchdown.

While the defense did allow Pitt to put up 240 yards of offense and go 6-11 on third down in the first half, they had flashes of brilliance. Yasir Abdullah forced Kenny Pickett to fumble, setting up the field goal from Turner, and Dorian Etheridge was able to tally 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack during the half - finishing with 7 tackles (5 solo), 3.5 TFLs and 2.0 sacks for game. Abdullah also had Louisville's lone other sack in the game accompanied by 3.0 TFLs.

Louisville nearly took a lead into the half, but then defensive discipline came back to bite them. Appearing in his first game of the season, WR Taysir Mack scored on a 40-yard reception on a play where he should have been down. Yasir Abdullah tackled Mack more than 20 yards from the end zone, but his knees never touched the ground and Abdullah let him go after he presumed the play was over.

In the second half, neither team could string together much on offense while conversely each defense took a step up. The Cardinals & Panthers combined to generate just 225 yards of offense, and each team was held to just a field goal.

There was also a scary scene towards the end of the game. With time winding down and Louisville facing 4th and 4, Malik Cunningham scrambled out of the pocket to make something happen but threw an interception to seal the game for Pitt.

He took a nasty hit to his head and shoulder area as he was releasing the ball, and laid motionless on the field for several minutes before being carted off. Fortunately he gave the "thumbs up" signal as the cart was driving off, and was starting to move his extremities as he was being loaded on.

Louisville heads into their first bye week, and will pick up their three-game road trip on Friday, Oct. 9 at 12:00 p.m. vs. Georgia Tech

(Photo of Tutu Atwell: Atlantic Coast Conference)

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