Louisville football looks to keep the momentum rolling as an aggressive Pittsburgh team comes to town. Everything you need to know.
First Down: What to know
Who: Pittsburgh at Louisville
Where: Cardinal Stadium | Louisville, KY (Capacity: 62,500)
When: 8 PM ET | Saturday, October 22nd, 2022
How to watch: ACC Network or Watch ESPN (Wes Durham, Tim Hasselbeck, Kelsey Riggs)
Radio: WLCL 93.9 FM and WGTK 970 AM in Louisville (Paul Rogers, Jody Demling, Preston Brown)
Series: Pitt leads 10-8
Last Meeting: Pitt won at home 23-20 in 2020
Win Streak: Pitt has won the previous two
Weather Check: 69 degrees at kickoff; 63 at midnight | Wind SSE 7 mph
Spread Check: Louisville -2.5
O/U: 56.5
Thread Check:
Giving the people what they want
— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) October 20, 2022
Homecoming threads l o a d i n g 😏#GoCards pic.twitter.com/zRFToy6NC0
Confidence level: Taylor Swift after a breakup
Podcast Preview:
Get primed with Jacob, Vince, Matt, and Pres, plus a bonus pod with the ACC Network’s Eric MacLain.
Second Down: Notable Stats
Pitt Offense
Total Offense: 430.5 ypg (52nd)
Scoring Offense: 35.0 ppg (34th)
Passing Offense: 237.5 ypg (70th)
Rushing Offense: 193.0 ypg (32nd)
Sacks Allowed: 2.17 (80th)
TFLs Allowed: 6.50 (104th)
Pitt Defense
Total Defense: 337.2 ypg (27th)
Scoring Defense: 26.2 ppg (66th)
Passing Defense: 211.8 ypg (41st)
Rushing Defense: 125.3 ypg (43rd)
Sacks: 3.17 (12th)
TFLs: 6.7 (25th)
Pitt Standouts
RB Israel Abanikanda: 830 yards (6.4 ypc), 12 rush TD
WR Jared Wayne: 390 yards, 1 TD
QB Kedon Slovis: 91-148 (61.5%) for 1,167 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT
DT Calijah Kancey: 21.0 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 3.0 sacks, 6 QBH
LB SirVocea Dennis: 44.0 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 4.0 sacks, 2 QBH
S Erick Hallett II: 23.0 tackles, 3 INT, 6 BU, 2 FR
Third Down: What to watch for
Pitt on the road
Pitt has won 7 consecutive games on the road.
2022- Western Michigan
2021- Syracuse, Duke, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Tennessee
Pitt also beat Wake Forest in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte last season.
All told that is seven consecutive wins in somewhat hostile territory.
However, this team is far removed from its last proper road environment.
Surmise it to say that UofL won’t have a packed crowd on Saturday, but it will be a far better environment than the 22k fans that visited Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo earlier this season.
This will be Pitt’s first true road test. How will it respond without many of the studs that led it to an ACC Title a season ago?
Louisville’s rush defense vs. Izzy
Louisville has been an excellent pass-rush defense this season. The best in power 5 football, in fact.
However, it can be susceptible in the run game. And the Cards face the breakout offensive player in the ACC this week in Izzy Abanikanda.
The junior averages 6.4 yards per carry en route to 12 TDs in basically 5 games played. He’s been a madman in the backfield for the Panthers.
In a loss to Georgia Tech, Abanikanda had 31 yards on 10 carries. The next week, he broke a school record, going for 320 yards and 6 TDs on 36 carries.
Look for Pitt to feed its stud back and make Louisville stop him.
Can Malik Cunningham find success early?
The Louisville football offense looked as fluid as it has all season under backup Brock Domann in the final three quarters at Virginia two weeks ago.
Star QB Malik Cunningham gets the keys back and will look to remind fans why he is the obvious choice as a starter.
Cunningham needs to leave no doubt, however, on Saturday.
Firstly, Louisville needs to do something it has not done this year by getting out to a multiple-possession lead. Cunningham needs this badly to regain the confidence and composure we often saw in 2020 and 2021.
Secondly, Cunningham needs to also prove that he can play with a lead. This staff gets conservative with late-game leads. But we saw Domann calmly and comfortably play keep-away when faced with the task of holding onto a lead in Charlottesville.
Cunningham needs to prove that he can make the right decisions and correct reads if his team gets out to a lead.
It’s time to string some wins together, and Cunningham will have to play a major factor if UofL wants to accomplish that.
Fourth Down: Predictions
ESPN FPI: Louisville 29, Pitt 26
Presley Meyer: Louisville 27, Pitt 21
Matt McGavic: Louisville 27, Pitt 28
Jacob Lane: Louisville 20, Pitt 28
Vincent Lococo: Louisville 24, Pitt 21
