Louisville football, plagued by injury and offensive miscues, upset on road at Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH — A combination of injuries, offensive mistakes and rain spelled trouble for No. 15 Louisville.
The Cardinals (6-1, 3-1 ACC) were shut out in the second half by Pitt and lost their first game of the season, 38-21, on Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium. U of L’s offense fumbled five times — losing one — and quarterback Jack Plummer was intercepted twice.
"The ball hit the ground a lot," Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said. "Luckily, we recovered a few, which can't happen, and then we started to turn the ball over. When we turn the ball over like that, it's hard to overcome. We couldn't overcome it. We worked wet-ball drill every day. We worked ball security, obviously not enough. And, that was the difference in the game is turning the ball over."
Louisville’s woes started when it lost three starters before and during the first half. Right guard Renato Brown slipped during pregame warmups and was ruled out. Running back Jawhar Jordan played only two series. Cornerback Jarvis Brownlee exited six minutes into the second quarter. Austin Collins replaced Brown on the line, and Storm Duck filled in for Brownlee. Maurice Turner and Isaac Guerendo carried the load for Jordan, though all three have rotated in the backfield this season.
"Those are three really good players without question," Brohm said. "Our two corners (Brownlee and Quincy Riley) have been really good to this point. I thought they did try to pick at Storm a little bit. He can play and get it done. We just got to be more aggressive, do a better job."
After Brownlee went out, Pitt threw the ball to Duck's side, which resulted in 16 yards on two catches by Panthers wide receiver Bub Means during the Panthers' second drive of the second quarter. At one point, Riley and Duck switched sides, putting Riley 1-on-1 with Means. But the Panthers found success on the ground with a 1-yard touchdown run from running back C'Bo Flemister to tie the game at 14.
Despite the injuries, U of L led, 21-14, at halftime thanks to two touchdown runs from Guerendo, who had scored once in the previous six games. He finished with 38 yards on 13 carries. Turner led the team with 81 yards on 12 carries.
The Cardinals’ lead didn’t last long, however. The offense stalled, allowing Pitt (2-4, 1-2) to score 17 unanswered points in the third quarter. Louisville turned the ball over on downs to start the second half, and the third quarter ended with an 86-yard pick six from Panthers defensive back M.J. Devonshire, giving the home squad a 31-21 advantage.
With any hope of preserving its unbeaten record, Louisville used a 27-yard catch from Jimmy Calloway to get near the red zone three minutes into the third quarter. But Calloway couldn’t come up with the pass from Plummer. It bounced out of Calloway’s hands and to Panthers defensive back A.J. Woods.
"Two picks were unfortunate," Plummer said. "One, we run a slant and guy gets bumped. I mean, I'm not gonna comment on it, but the dude got bumped, and then (the) ball going through the receiver's hand ends up right in (Pitt's) lap, so just two unfortunate plays there. We gotta take care of the ball."
The Cardinals’ defense held the Panthers scoreless for much of the fourth quarter before Pitt quarterback Christian Veilleux, who made his first collegiate start, threw a 31-yard touchdown to wide receiver Konata Mumpfield with 3:03 left. Louisville’s offense had no such luck, however, and came up empty over the next four series. A 46-yard field-goal try from Brock Travelstead was wide right with 7:56 to go, and the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs on the next three possessions.
Louisville will have two weeks to get healthy and prepare to rebound from the defeat. The Cardinals are off in Week 8 before hosting No. 18 Duke on Oct. 28.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville vs Pitt football: Jeff Brohm falls to 6-1 as U of L coach
