LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Jeff Brohm says Pittsburgh will be a dangerous opponent for the University of Louisville football team in Saturday’s game, even though the Panthers are playing in the top four with their starting quarterback on the bench. There is no need to fabricate materials to verify the concerns of – losing streak.
We don’t need Woodward or Bernstein to figure out why.
Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi specializes in delivering a victory over a ranked opponent like No. 14 Louisville, which will be played Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Acresure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
In last season’s Sun Bowl, they defeated 18th place UCLA despite trailing by eight points. Last season, they defeated 22nd place Syracuse by 10 points. No. 18 Wake Forest was throttled in the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference title game. In 2020, they defeated No. 24 Louisville.
Brohm can also talk about the transition from elation to exasperation his team experienced at Purdue.
It’s like beating No. 2 Ohio State by 29 points and then losing to Michigan State by 10 points in what was supposed to be a toss-up game. And a week after the Boilermakers beat No. 2 Iowa by 17 points, they lost to an unranked Wisconsin team by 17 points. After losing by double digits to No. 5 Michigan State, they lost to Ohio State by 28 points.
“If you want to get better, you have to back up every week,” Brohm said. “If you can’t back it up, you’re really not that good.”
This game and these situations will be a legitimate test of what Brohm has learned about preparing teams to handle success as effectively as they handle adversity. In six seasons at Purdue, his teams went 3-3 in games after defeating a ranked opponent.
Louisville moved up 11 spots in the Associated Press Top 25, ahead of Utah, Louisiana State, Tennessee and, of course, Notre Dame. Four voters rated the Cardinals 10th or 11th.
DraftKings.com lists Louisville as an eight-point road favorite. That was not expected in July. That wasn’t the case when Louisville was picked to finish eighth in the league behind Pitt in a media poll at ACC Football Media Day.
Phil Steele publishes one of the most respected preseason magazines in the industry. Steele placed Louisville in the standings to finish tied for sixth with North Carolina State, the team the Cards beat in their last road game.
pit?
Steele ranked the Panthers third behind Clemson University and Florida State University. In fact, Steele said, with Pitt only playing in three actual road games, the Panthers face a key home game against Florida State on Nov. 4 and a potential berth in the ACC title game. It says that there is.
Well, well, well.
The results were not. Pitt has lost back-to-back games against Cincinnati, West Virginia, North Carolina and Virginia Tech, which are ranked 39th, 43rd, 16th and 72nd on ESPN’s Football Power Index.
The 38-21 loss to Tech was so ugly that Narduzzi reportedly acquired tight end Phil Jurkovec, the quarterback who led Boston College to a win over Louisville last season.
Why not?
Pitt’s offense ranks either last or next to last in the ACC in scores, passing, rushing and yards. In those four losses (the only games Pitt played against an FBS opponent), the Panthers averaged an abysmal 262 yards and 18 points.
Jurkovec will reportedly be replaced by Christian Veilleux from Ottawa, Canada, who played in some of seven games this season at Penn State (2021 and 2022) and Pittsburgh. He has four touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Brohm backed up his claim that the 6-foot-4 Veilleux has skills by reminding questioners that he tried to recruit Veilleux to Purdue.
But even with a week off, Pitt’s offense is unlikely to beat Louisville. Pitt’s defense will likely win against Louisville. The Panthers have allowed fewer total yards and passing yards than the Cards this season, but that’s not surprising considering Narduzzi is known for his ability to coach defenses.
Of course, there’s one more chance Louisville could win. Louisville could beat Louisville if Coach Brohm’s players can’t handle the praise that surrounds them all week.
“If you don’t try, you can’t win,” Brohm said. “That’s how it works. … You can’t win unless you work hard behind closed doors to win every game.
“Unless you are in eternal power, you cannot forget other ideas.”
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