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The University of Pittsburgh has a tradition of excellence in football that dates back to 1890. The Pitt Panthers have won Nine National Championships and many of the greatest players in the history of football are proud to call Pitt their alma mater.

Pitt boasts 99 First Team All-Americans, 25 members in the College Football Hall of Fame and ten Panthers have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

NGSC Sports provides you the ultimate Pitt Game Day Preview, where true Panther fans come to find out about Pitt and their upcoming opponent! Mike Drakulich (@PghSportsNation) brings you inside the huddle for both teams, providing all fans with The Pittsburgh SportsNation Game Scoop, Score Prediction, Broadcast Information, and a complete breakdown of each team.

Heck, you’ll even know the weather at kickoff! The only thing you’re missing is a game uniform!

Pitt Panthers (1-4) vs #14 Louisville Cardinals (6-0)

NCAA Week 6

Game-time: Saturday, October 8th, at 6:30 PM

Vegas line: Louisville -7

Venue: Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA.

Field: Natural Grass

Weather at Kickoff: 54 with a 20% chance of rain. Winds out of the North at 8 MPH.

Tickets: Pitt Ticket Office

The Pittsburgh SportsNation Game Scoop

The Phil Jurkovec Era has come to an end after just five games into his final college season.

The struggling Pitt Panthers (1-4) have dropped four straight games, and have been so offensively inept, they make Matt Canada and his offense for the Pittsburgh Steelers look like the Rams Greatest Show on Earth by comparison.

With the #14 ranked Louisville Cardinals (6-0) coming to town this Saturday evening at Acrisure Stadium, the Panthers will try to jump start their offense with sophomore Christian Veilleux getting his first collegiate start.

Is Veilleux confident he can get Pitt’s offense back on track?

“I don’t want to answer that question by making it sound like I can do things better than what Phil was doing,” Veilleux said. “I think I bring my own personality and my own leadership style to the offense. Whether that’s beneficial or not, we’ll find out. But I do think I can definitely help this team win as being the starting quarterback.”

Pitt’s offense is scoring a paltry 23.4 points per game (180th), and averaging just 308.2 yards per game (216th). If Pitt has any hope of upsetting Louisville, Veilleux will have to take this team on his back and start putting up points on the scoreboard.

“Football is a game of execution. Coach Cignetti says it all the time,” he said. “Our plan is good. Our players are good. Plays are good. Coaching is good. We just have to execute. At the end of the day, if you’re not executing, no matter what team you play for, you’re not going to win football games.

“We just have to go execute, believe in our plan, believe in what we can do, believe in our own ability and I think that is going to make a huge difference this weekend.”

Louisville comes into this game on fire, fresh off a 33-20 pasting of Notre Dame.

As good as their undefeated record looks, the Cardinals have had to overcome three 2nd half deficits, and are looking to play a complete 60 minutes of football vs a Pitt team that has it’s back against the wall, and needs a win badly to turn their season around and keep their hopes alive for a Bowl Game.

The Cardinals have a bruising back by the name of Jawhar Jordan, who rumbled for 143 yards against the Irish.

“Really, I’m just doing what God gave me the ability to do, just go there and play football, play fast and physical,” said Jordan. “I stand on what I said two weeks ago, I feel like I’m one of the best backs in the nation and we have one of the best running back rooms as well.”

Jordan’s 653 yards rushing is 9th in FBS, and 4th in touchdowns with eight.

The Pitt defense will have to elevate their game to contain Jordan and the passing game of quarterback Jack Plummer, who has passed for 1,551 yards, with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. Plummer has been sacked six times.

Plummer’s main target is Jamari Thrash, who has caught 30 passes for 519 yards and six touchdowns. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Thrash is out vs Pitt, so players like wide receiver Ahmari Huggins-Bruce and tight end Joey Gatewood, to name a few, will have to step up in Thrash’s absence.

Louisville’s offense is pumping out 36.6 points per game.

It’s now or never for Pitt, who with another loss, could be staring one of the worst seasons in recent memory right in the eye, especially with games remaining against #21 Notre Dame, #4 Florida State, and #17 Duke. With seven games left, Pitt will need to win five to be Bowl eligible, and six to assure a finish over .500.

I think Veilleux can give the Pitt offense a spark, as Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi was looking for when the switch was made after the Virginia Tech game.

This will take an entire team effort to turn this season around, let alone win this game, from the offensive line coming together to provide time for Veilleux, to opening some holes for the running game behind Rodney Hammond and C’Bo Flemister. Louisville’s pass defense is their weak link.

The defense has to get back to their form, stopping the run and hunting down quarterbacks.

Louisville could be in for a letdown game after their impressive win over the Irish, which was before the largest crowd ever at a Cardinals home game. Going from nationally ranked Notre Dame to wounded Pitt team with one win on the season doesn’t exactly get the juices flowing. The Cardinals will also be without star receiver Jamari Thrash, creating a huge hole in their offense. Thrash’s 30 receptions is 16 more than what fellow receiver Huggins-Bruce has.

I’d like to think Pitt is much better than their 1-4 record, and all of their ills could’ve been fixed over the bye, but I need to see proof in the flesh. Come Saturday evening, I think Pitt will play their best game of the season offensively, but I’m still worried that the defense will have trouble containing Jawhar Johnson. If the defense does step up, they will send Louisville home with a heartbreaking loss. I think they will.

Prediction: Pitt 24 Louisville 23

Broadcast Information

TV: The CW (Xfinity: Channel 812)

Announcers: Tom Werme (play-by-play) James Bates (analyst) | Treavor Scales (reporter)

Local Radio: Pittsburgh- 93.7 The Fan

Announcers: Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play) Pat Bostick (analyst) | Larry Richert and Dorin Dickerson (reporters)

National Radio: N/A

Announcers:

Alternative Broadcasts

Online Radio: 937thefan.radio.com
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM channels 146 or 205

Scouting the Pitt Panthers

Overall Record: 1-4 | ACC Record: 0-2 | Rank: N/A

Previous Game: Virginia Tech 38 Pitt 21

Head Coach: Pat Narduzzi

9th Season with Pitt
Lifetime Record: 63-45
ACC Division Titles: 2
ACC Championships: 1

Pitt Team Links

Pitt Offense (Pro Style)

Offensive Stats

Points per game: 23.4 (180th)
Total offense yards per game: 308.2 (216th)
Passing yards per game: 192.6 (178th)
Rushing yards per game: 115.6 (205th)

Quarterbacks

Christian Veilleux | #11

Passing Yards: 145 | TD Passes: 1 | INT’s: 2 | Sacked: 1
Rushing Yards: 6 | Rushing TD’s: 0

Veilleux gets his first start as a Panther and will try to get this offense back on track.

Back-up: Nate Yarnell | #19

Passing Yards: 0 | TD Passes: 0 | INT’s: 0 | Sacked: 0
Rushing Yards: 0 | Rushing TD’s: 0

Running Backs

Rodney Hammond | #6

Rushing Yards: 196 | Rushing TD’s: 3
Receptions: 4 | Receiving Yards: 26 | Receiving TD’s: 0

Hammond is Pitt’s starting running back, but has yet to have a breakout game.

C’Bo Flemister | #24

Rushing Yards: 150 | Rushing TD’s: 0
Receptions: 5 | Receiving Yards: 92 | Receiving TD’s: 1

Flemister makes the most of any opportunity he gets, always finding a way to fall forward for positive yards.

Daniel Carter | #4

Rushing Yards: 104 | Rushing TD’s: 2
Receptions: 1 | Receiving Yards: 0 | Receiving TD’s: 0

Derrick Davis, Jr. | #34

Rushing Yards: 8 | Rushing TD’s: 0
Receptions: 0 | Receiving Yards: 0 | Receiving TD’s: 0

Wide Receivers

Konata Mumpfield | #9

Receptions: 20 | Receiving Yards: 240 | Receiving TD’s: 2

Mumpfield is first on the team with 20 catches for 240 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Bub Means | #0

Receptions: 7 | Receiving Yards: 146 | Receiving TD’s: 1

Means had plenty of preseason hype, but has been a bust so far in 2023. Seven catches for 146 yards in five games isn’t going to cut it. Perhaps under Veilleux he’ll find his game.

Daejon Reynolds | #3

Receptions: 8 | Receiving Yards: 90 | Receiving TD’s: 0

Reynolds, a transfer from Florida, has a catch in each game this year.

Kenny Johnson | #2

Receptions: 3 | Receiving Yards: 27 | Receiving TD’s: 0

Johnson has plenty of talent and it may be time for him to be featured in this offense.

Che Nwebuko | #21

Receptions: 0 | Receiving Yards: 0 | Receiving TD’s: 0
Rushing Yards: 23

Tight Ends

Gavin Bartholomew | #86

Receptions: 12 | Receiving Yards: 258 | Receiving TD’s: 1

Leads the team with 258 yards receiving. It would behoove the Panthers to utilize their tight ends more often.

Karter Johnson | #8

Receptions: 3 | Receiving Yards: 27 | Receiving TD’s: 1

Caught a touchdown pass in week one.

Malcolm Epps | #7

Receptions: 2 | Receiving Yards: 3 | Receiving TD’s: 0

Made a catch in opener but didn’t gain a yard.

Jake Renda | #88

Receptions: 2 | Receiving Yards: 14 | Receiving TD’s: 0

Offensive Line

LT: Ryan Baer #70 | LG: Blake Zubovic #68 | C: Jake Kradel #53 | RG: B.J. Williams #55 | RT: Branson Taylor #78

*Injured/Out

Pitt Defense (Base 4-3)

Defensive Stats

Points per game allowed: 26 (137th)
Total offense yards per game allowed: 301.6
Passing yards allowed: 173.2
Rushing yards allowed: 128.4
Sacks: 15
Interceptions: 1

Defensive Line

DE: Dayon Hayes | #50

Tackles: 14 | Sacks: 2

DT: Deandre Jules | #0

Tackles: 11 | Sacks: 1

DT: Devin Danielson | #95 or David Green | #2

Tackles: 6 | Sacks: 1.5 Tackles: 17 | Sacks: 1

DE: Nate Temple | #6

Tackles: 13 | Sacks: 0

Linebackers

Money: Bengally Kamara | #11

Tackles: 13 | Sacks: 1

MIKE: Shayne Simon | #32

Tackles: 19 | Sacks: 2

STAR: Solomon DeShields, Jr. |#23

Tackles: 29 | Sacks: 1

Secondary

CB: Marquis Williams | #14 or A.J. Woods | #9

Tackles: 9 | Sacks: 0 | INT: 1 Tackles: 13 | Sacks: 0 | INT: 0

SS: Donovan McMillon | #3

Tackles: 43 | Sacks: 0 | INT: 0

FS: Javon McIntyre | #7

Tackles: 28 | Sacks: 0 | INT: 0

CB: M.J. Devonshire | #12

Tackles: 10 | Sacks: 0 | INT: 0

Pitt Special Teams

Placekicker

Ben Sauls | #90

Extra Points: 14-14

Field Goals: 4-7

1-19 yards: 0-0
20-29 yards: 2-2
30-39 yards: 1-1
40-49 yards: 1-2
50+ yards: 0-2

Kickoff Returners

Konata Mumpfield | #9

Average: 20.0 | TD Returns: 0

Kenny Johnson | #2

Average: 35.5 | TD Returns: 1

Punt Returners

M.J. Devonshire | #12

Average: 2.8 | TD Returns: 0

As a senior at Aliquippa High School, Devonshire had eight kickoff or punt return touchdowns, one short of the national high school record, and would’ve had five more if not for penalties. Last year, Devonshire averaged an ACC best 9.7 yards per punt return.

Scouting the Louisville Cardinals

Overall Record: 6-0 | ACC Conference Record: 3-0 | Rank: #14

Previous Game: Louisville 33 Notre Dame 20

Head Coach: Jeff Brohm

1st Season with Louisville
Lifetime Record: 72-44 | 6-0 at Louisville

Links

Louisville Offense (Pro Style)

Offensive Stats

Points per game: 36.3
Total offense yards per game: 467.3
Passing yards per game: 275
Rushing yards per game: 192.3

Quarterbacks

Jack Plummer | #13

Passing Yards: 1,551 | TD Passes: 12 | INT’s: 6 | Sacked: 11
Rushing Yards: 67 | Rushing TD’s: 1

Plummer is averaging 258.5 yards per game passing. His best game was throwing for 388 yards and five touchdowns vs Boston College a few weeks ago, other wise, Plummer puts up good yards, but not many multiple TD games.

Back-up: Brock Domann | #19

Passing Yards: 34 | TD Passes: 0 | INT’s: 0 | Sacked: 0
Rushing Yards: 12 | Rushing TD’s: 0

Running Backs

Jawhar Jordan | #25

Rushing Yards: 653 | Rushing TD’s: 8
Receptions: 9 | Receiving Yards: 168 | Receiving TD’s: 1

Jordan is the lead back, averaging a solid 108.8 yards per game, and has added nine receptions for 168 yards and a score.

Maurice Turner | #4

Rushing Yards: 78 | Rushing TD’s: 1
Receptions: 5 | Receiving Yards: 41 | Receiving TD’s: 0

Isaac Guerendo | #23

Rushing Yards: 169 | Rushing TD’s: 1
Receptions: 9 | Receiving Yards: 102 | Receiving TD’s: 0

Wide Receivers

**Jamari Thrash* | #1**

Receptions: 30 | Receiving Yards: 519 | Receiving TD’s: 6

Thrash is Plummer’s main target, grabbing 30 receptions for 519 yards and six touchdowns, however, Thrash is out this week.

Ahmari Huggins-Bruce | #9

Receptions: 14 | Receiving Yards: 207 | Receiving TD’s: 2

Huggins-Bruce is 2nd on the team with 14 receptions for 207 yards.

Jimmy Calloway | #0

Receptions: 8 | Receiving Yards: 88 | Receiving TD’s: 0

Chris Bell | #0

Receptions: 7 | Receiving Yards: 175 | Receiving TD’s: 1

Kevin Coleman | #3

Receptions: 11 | Receiving Yards: 173 | Receiving TD’s: 1

Tight Ends

Joey Gatewood | #84

Receptions: 2 | Receiving Yards: 52 | Receiving TD’s: 1

Nate Kurisky | #85

Receptions: 5 | Receiving Yards: 34 | Receiving TD’s: 1

*Injured/Out

Louisville Defense (4-3)

Defensive Stats

Points per game allowed: 17.7
Total offense yards per game allowed: 322.8
Passing yards allowed: 224.2
Rushing yards allowed: 98.7
Sacks: 14
Interceptions: 8

Defensive Line

LDE: Ashton Gillotte | #9

Tackles: 20 | Sacks: 6.5

NT: Dezmond Tell | #99

Tackles: 11 | Sacks: 2

DT: Raymond Puryear | #41

Tackles: 12 | Sacks: 2 | INT: 1

LEO: Stephon Herron | #14

Tackles: 14 | Sacks:

Linebackers

WLB: TJ Quinn | #34

Tackles: 41 | Sacks: 0

MLB: Jaylin Alderman | #24

Tackles: 26 | Sacks: 1

STAR: Benjamin Perry | #10

Tackles: 21 | Sacks: 0

Secondary

CB: Jarvis Brownlee | #2

Tackles: 18 | Sacks: 0 | INT: 0

SS: Josh Minkins | #5

Tackles: 10 | Sacks: 0 | INT: 0

FS: Devin Neal | #27

Tackles: 32 | Sacks: 0 | INT: 3

CB: Quincy Riley | #3

Tackles: 26 | Sacks: 0 | INT: 2

CB: Cam’Ron Kelly | #11

Tackles: 27 | Sacks: 0 | INT: 2

Louisville Special Teams

Placekicker

Brock Travelstead | #40

Extra Points: 24-24

Field Goals: 10-13

1-19 yards: 0-0
20-29 yards: 1-1
30-39 yards: 6-7
40-49 yards: 2-3
50+ yards: 1-2

Kickoff Returners

Jawhar Jordan | #25

Average: 31.5 | TD Returns: 0

Punt Returners

Kevin Coleman | #3

Average: 5.6 | TD Returns: 0

Pitt vs Louisville History

Series Began: 1976

Overall Record: 10-9

At Home: 7-5
On Road: 3-4
Neutral Site: 0-0

ACC Series: 2-1

Streak: Louisville won the last game.

Last Game: Oct. 22, 2022 (UL 24, Pitt 10)

Injury Report (10/14/23)

Pitt Panthers

Out: LG Ryan Jacoby, LT Matt Goncalves
Doubtful: None
Questionable: LB Bengally Kamara, WR Bub Means

Louisville Cardinals

Out: WR Jamari Thrash
Doubtful: None
Questionable: None

ACC Standings

About Post Author

Mike Drakulich

From Midland, "The Basketball Capital of Pennsylvania", located 35 miles NW of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. This former steel town was home to storied athletes such as Dave Alston, Norm Van Lier, Simmie Hill, and the legendary 1965 Midland High School Basketball Team. There's nowhere on earth that is more dedicated to its sports teams like Western Pennsylvania and the city of Pittsburgh. The passion and pride of Pittsburgh's fan base is second to no one. From the NFL, NHL, MLB, NCAA football and basketball, to W.P.I.A.L. high school sports, "The City of Champions" has it all! As Editor of Pittsburgh SportsNation, Mike Drakulich provides top notch opinions and coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pitt Panthers football & basketball, Robert Morris Colonials basketball, and Duquesne Dukes basketball, as well as all sports teams that represent Western Pennsylvania, including WPIAL High School Football. For a refreshing view of sports, mixed with humor and uncensored opinions, check out Pittsburgh SportsNation today on Facebook, Twitter @PghSportsNation and videos with over 1,000,000 views on YouTube!

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http://ngscsports.com

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Mike DrakulichYour source for Pittsburgh sports!

From Midland, "The Basketball Capital of Pennsylvania", located 35 miles NW of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. This former steel town was home to storied athletes such as Dave Alston, Norm Van Lier, Simmie Hill, and the legendary 1965 Midland High School Basketball Team.

There's nowhere on earth that is more dedicated to its sports teams like Western Pennsylvania and the city of Pittsburgh. The passion and pride of Pittsburgh's fan base is second to no one. From the NFL, NHL, MLB, NCAA football and basketball, to W.P.I.A.L. high school sports, "The City of Champions" has it all!

As Editor of Pittsburgh SportsNation, Mike Drakulich provides top notch opinions and coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pitt Panthers football & basketball, Robert Morris Colonials basketball, and Duquesne Dukes basketball, as well as all sports teams that represent Western Pennsylvania, including WPIAL High School Football.

For a refreshing view of sports, mixed with humor and uncensored opinions, check out Pittsburgh SportsNation today on Facebook, Twitter @PghSportsNation and videos with over 1,000,000 views on YouTube!