By Derek DeBurger

Louisville will travel to Acrisure Stadium to play the Pittsburgh Panthers in their first road game of the season.

The Cards have had a particularly rough time in Pittsburgh in recent meeting, losing three straight and five of their last six in the Steel City.

It wins championships

The Panthers have developed an identity of tough defense under Pat Narduzzi’s watch, and that hasn’t changed one bit this year.

Pitt’s front seven is deadly, having racked up 12 sacks on the season in just three games.

Leading the front seven is the linebacking corps, and leading the linebackers is Kyle Louis. Louis is as close to a sure-fire NFL player waiting in the wings.

He had 101 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks and four interceptions in 2024, and he hasn’t slowed down in 2025. The junior has 19 tackles, two sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery through the first three games.

Rasheem Briles and Baylan Lovelace help to round out the rest of the linebacking corps, adding to what is arguably the best linebacker unit in the country.

Pitt loves to stack the box regardless of who they’re facing. Shutting down the run is their first priority. For a Louisville offense that has been a fairly easy scout, this is not a matchup that bodes well for the Cards.

Assuming Isaac Brown and Duke Watson are healthy, the pressure on Miller Moss’s shoulders will be turned up to 11.

Jeff Brohm is going to have to do something to open up the passing game that he hasn’t done in the first three games. Whether it be more option runs, screen passes or trick plays, Moss needs some sort of help.

If Brown and Watson are not healthy, Louisville can all but kiss scoring points goodbye.

Heavily dependent

The Pitt offense runs through Desmond Reid.

Reid is a do-it-all back who has a unique combination of speed and power. On top of being threats in both the passing and running game, Reid is dynamic in the return game with a punt return touchdown to his name this season.

Reid got hurt in Pitt’s game against West Virginia, and without him the Panthers looked anemic. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Reid’s status is questionable. If Pitt is forced to play without him, they’d be in the same boat at a Brown- and Watson-less Cardinals team.

Eli Holstein leads the Panthers from behind center. He’s a super high upside quarterback with a strong arm and decent mobility.

Holstein can push an offense down the field with his arm, but he tends to take unnecessary risks. In 2024, per Pro Football Focus, he threw the most interceptable passes in the ACC at 10. This season, he’s already thrown three picks with one bad pass dropped by a West Virginia defender.

Pitt has some improved receivers this season, with Louisville-transfer Cataurus Hicks among the group. But Holstein has had trouble at times finding those receivers because his offensive line hasn’t given him much help.

Holstein has been sacked eight times already and Pitt has only gained 186 rushing yards outside of Reid. Again, if Reid is not available the Panthers offense may be in for a long day against a strong Louisville front seven.

Saturday’s game will more than likely be a slugfest.

I do not expect a ton of points on either side, but the ex-factor of the game will be Reid.

If the star running back can play, I have a hard time seeing Louisville getting a tough road win. But if Reid is unavailable and Louisville can get in the backfield, the Cards may have the upper hand.

Photo by Harrison Plank