Christian Veilleux Leads Pitt To Upset Win Over Louisville
PITTSBURGH -- With a four-game losing streak in hand, the Pitt Panthers entered Saturday's contest desperate for any sign of life against a red-hot ranked opponent in the Louisville Cardinals. Christian Veilleux, who was entrusted with the starting job for the first time this season, didn't let the conditions or pressure affect him as he showed total command of the offense while leading Pitt to a 38-21 win. The Panthers defense put together one of their strongest showings of the season as well, finishing the day with two interceptions and three sacks.
The Panthers opened with possession, putting the ball in Christian Veilleux's hands to open his first game as the starter. The drive didn't go quite as hoped, however, as a botched snap on the second play of the game derailed the series and led to a punt deep in Pitt territory. Louisville took over at the Panthers' 40-yard line and proceeded to connect on all four of their pass attempts en route to a seven-yard touchdown throw from Jack Plummer to Chris Bell that awarded the Cardinals an early 7-0 lead.
Pitt's lack of cohesion on the offensive end carried over into their ensuing possession as they went three-and-out, largely in part due to three incompletions. The Cardinals couldn't conjure up any magic either after a Caleb Junko punt and subsequent penalty on the return pinned them at their own 9-yard line.
Nothing was going for the Panthers yet again on their third drive of the game, leading to Junko's third punt of the game less than 10 minutes in. During the next series, Pitt's secondary forced several incompletions and held Louisville in check as part of a complete defensive effort that put the ball back in the offense's hands.
After a pair of strong runs to open the ensuing possession, Veilleux lofted a deep ball down the middle of the field that Bub Means secured for a 46-yard touchdown to tie the score at 7-7. The Cardinals were seemingly inconvenienced by the conditions during the following drive as evidenced by fumbles on consecutive plays, but a conversion on 3rd-and-18 allowed them to trudge on and cap it off with a one-yard rushing touchdown that made it 14-7 with 11:43 left in the first half.
Veilluex hit Gavin Bartholomew for a 24-yard completion on the first play of the ensuing series, but Pitt failed to parlay that into any further success and punted it back to Louisville. A 30-yard rush by Maurice Turner moved the Cardinals into Panther territory, but a strip sack and recovery by Samuel Okunlola gifted Pitt possession at their own 29-yard line.
From there, Veilleux engineered a 10-play, 71-yard drive with a bevy of impressive throws and catches that culminated in a one-yard rushing touchdown by C'Bo Flemister to tie things back up at 14-14 with 1:23 left in the second quarter. Louisville didn't leave their final possession of the first half empty-handed, though, as a five-yard rushing touchdown by Isaac Guerendo gave the Cardinals a 21-14 lead going into halftime.
Louisville was stuffed on a 4th-and-1 attempt from their own 34-yard line after receiving the opening kickoff of the second half, granting Pitt possession deep in Cardinal territory. The Panthers ultimately settled for a 46-yard field goal after going three-and-out, which made it a 21-17 contest.
Pitt's pass rush disrupted Louisville's flow on the following drive as Solomon Deshields sacked Plummer to force both a punt and three-and-out. The Panthers' offense kept humming on the ensuing series as they picked up 61 yards on 13 plays before C'Bo Flemister's second touchdown of the day gave the Panthers a 24-21 lead with 3:39 left in the third quarter.
Louisville was in the midst of a productive series on the ensuing possession as they worked their way into the red zone before M.J. Devonshire picked Plummer off and returned it for an 86-yard pick six that extended Pitt's lead to 31-21.
After an acrobatic 27-yard catch by Jimmy Calloway landed the Cardinals inside the Panthers' 25-yard line, A.J. Woods intercepted a pass that bounced off the hands of Calloway and returned it to Pitt's 16-yard line. The Panthers, opting to play it safe, were content with three-straight handoffs to Rodney Hammond Jr. that resulted in a three-and-out.
With starting field position at their own 40-yard line, Louisville once again drove their way deep into Pitt territory before missing a 47-yard field goal attempt with 7:56 left. The Panthers didn't do much in the way of chewing clock once getting the ball back, however, and punted it back to Louisville less than a minute later.
The Cardinals' woes on offense continued on the ensuing drive as Plummer threw three-straight incompletions in Pitt territory that led to a turnover on downs with 6:10 left. The Panthers took a minute-and-a-half off the clock upon getting the ball back before punting with 4:31 remaining in the game.
Louisville's next series came to a head with another turnover on downs, all but ending the Cardinals' chances with 3:28 left. Pitt put the icing on the cake during their next possession with a 31-yard touchdown throw from Veilleux to Mumpfield on fourth-down, growing their lead to 38-21.
The Cardinals finished the game with their third-consecutive turnover on downs, providing Pitt with its first win of the season against an ACC opponent.
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