The bye week is over, and a new-look Pitt team will host No. 14 Louisville at Acrisure Stadium Saturday night, kicking off the second half of the 2023 season.
In the midst of a four-game losing streak, Pitt has made a change at quarterback, and Pat Narduzzi and his Panthers will look to upset the Cardinals and attempt to get back on track on the football field.
“Our guys have had a really good week of practice preparing for all three phases, and the thing I love about football is you get another opportunity,” Pat Narduzzi said Thursday at his weekly press conference. “Whenever it is, you get another opportunity to go out there and show who you are and what you’re going to do.”
Pitt will bust out the royal blue against the Cardinals. The Panthers will wear a royal blue jersey with gold script and royal blue pants with a gold stripe down the side. A gold helmet with blue script and a blue stripe down the center of the helmet, too.
Pitt, as of late Friday night, is a touchdown underdog, a line that has held since the line was released over the weekend.
Louisville is the only ACC team currently sitting at 6-0, with wins over Georgia Tech, Boston College and North Carolina State in conference, and now, a big top-10 win over the Fighting Irish, it’s a Cardinals’ squad that suddenly in the conference mix.
It’s head coach Jeff Brohm’s first season as the Cardinals head coach, and former Purdue and Cal quarterback Jack Plummer has gotten off to a strong start this season — throwing for 1,550 yards and 12 touchdowns — but it’s Jawhar Jordan who leads the ACC in rushing, and he racked up 143 yards and two scores against Notre Dame.
Pitt has not been good in stopping the run at times this season, and that was on display against Virginia Tech over the weekend, so it will be a tough test for the Panthers.
Pitt is 10-9 all-time against Louisville, dating back to a 27-6 win in the first meeting in 1976. It’s been a series of runs all-time. Pitt won the first four meetings; Louisville won the next seven meetings between 1990-2007 and Pitt has won six of the last eight meetings.
Pitt won the second most recent matchup 23-20 in 2020, a performance in which Kenny Pickett threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns and the defense forced three Cunningham interceptions. But Louisville won last season’s matchup in Louisville off a poor performance from Kedon Slovis.
Louisville currently sits at the top of the conference while Pitt sits at the bottom, only ahead of Virginia, which is due to the fact UVa has lost five games to Pitt’s four. With an extra game played.
Louisville now is firmly in the mix, as the Cardinals have three ACC wins, with Florida State, North Carolina and Duke at the top of the conference.
Pitt has already lost to UNC, and FSU and Duke are still on the schedule in the month of November, but there’s a serious opportunity to come with the Cardinals. And it will come in Christian Veilleux’s first start at Pitt.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium, and for those who will not be making the trip to the North Shore, the ACC Network will have your broadcast.
Television — ACC Network
Tom Werme (play-by-play)
James Bates (analyst)
Treavor Scales (reporter)
Radio — 93.7 The Fan, Pitt Panthers Radio Network
Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play)
Pat Bostick (analyst)
Larry Richert and Dorin Dickerson (reporters)
SiriusXM Satellite Radio
Channels 146 or 205 or on the SiriusXM app
WPTS Radio (Pitt Student Station) — 92.1 FM
The team’s undisciplined behavior on the field has resulted in multiple penalties. This needs to be cleaned up today or we will get annihilated.
Karl has jokes today! Thanks for laugh I needed it this morning!