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3 Takeaways from Louisville’s Convincing Win over Pittsburgh

Posted on by L. Dreeye
3 Takeaways from Louisville’s Convincing Win over Pittsburgh

Louisville and Pittsburgh suffered heartbreaking, final-minute losses last week.

The Cardinals were stunned by Stanford on a field goal, aided by a 20-yard rash penalty, and the Panthers gave up the game-winning 50-yard touchdown to Clemson’s Cade Klubnik just seconds after they took the ball. lead to a clear victory on Senior Day.

Apparently, Louisville players have shorter memories than their Pittsburgh counterparts.

Because while the Panthers still looked dejected and defeated on Saturday, the Cardinals quickly put their disappointment behind them with a convincing 37-9 victory.

Tyler Shaw threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns and Isaac Brown rushed for 93 yards and a pair of scores as the Louisville defense absolutely shut down Pitt on its first possession, handing the Panthers their fourth straight loss after seven games. beginning of the season. winning streak.

Here are three takeaways from the win, which marked the Cardinals’ second straight winning season under coach Jeff Brohm.

Stanquan makes a statement

ACC commit Ashton Gillott gets most of the attention on Louisville’s defense. And he deserved it. But when it comes to playing on the field this season, linebacker Stanquan Clark has been the Cardinals’ best defensive player more often than not.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound sophomore, who had 13 tackles in an upset of Clemson two weeks ago, came into Saturday second on the team with 60 tackles. He added 7 stops against the Panthers, including a big hit on Panthers receiver Konate Mumpfield on the final play of the first half.

However, Clark’s biggest impact came when he returned to pass coverage. He recorded the first two interceptions of his college career, both in the first half, to help get the Cardinals going. His pick on the first series against Eli Holstein led to a field goal for Brock Travelstead. He recorded his second interception just before halftime, leading to a 15-yard touchdown run by Isaac Brown on the first play later.

The return of Holstein will not last long

Holstein cleared concussion protocol and returned to the starting lineup Saturday after missing last week’s game against Clemson. But the freshman guard didn’t stay on the roster long.

On first down from the Louisville 47 on Pitt’s second possession of the day, Holstein was sacked by the Cardinals’ Ashton Gillott for a 4-yard loss. But in doing so, Gillott rolled over Holstein’s leg, leaving Holstein lying on the ground, writhing in pain. He was wheeled to the locker room on a cart and later in the first half returned to the sideline on crutches, with a boot on his left foot.

Holstein was 3-of-5 passing for 51 yards and an interception before leaving. His replacement, Nate Yarnell, also had a tough time with both Louisville’s relentless defense and his own receivers, who had issues with drops. He finished 11 of 23 for 96 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Bell stays at 100

Chris Bell played 28 games during his three-year career at Louisville. However, until last week, the junior receiver had yet to record his first 100-yard game. He finally got there, catching nine balls for 112 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Stanford.

On Saturday, he reached the century mark for the second straight game, gaining 101 yards and a touchdown against Pitt. The most impressive part of the achievement is that he did it even though he was only attacked 3 times. That’s all he needed thanks to a 68-yard scoring interception on the third play of the second half.

Bell actually dodged Shaw’s short throw, but he was able to hold onto the ball and elude a weak tackle attempt by a Panther defender and raced to the near sideline for a score that extended his team’s lead to 34-0. His only other reception came for 33 yards midway through the second quarter.

Until last week, Bell’s biggest single-game performance was 85 yards in a win over NC State last year.