Louisville Cardinals at Pittsburgh Panthers

Miller Moss throws 3 TDs as Louisville rallies past Pitt 34-27

The Cardinals (4-0, 1-0 ACC) trailed by 17 points in the first quarter and 10 at halftime but dug their way out behind Moss and a defense that shut out the Panthers (2-2, 0-1) over the final two quarters.

“We got hit in the mouth a little, but we regrouped,” Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said. “And so I think that’s a sign of a team that understands what it’s going to take to win.”

Moss connected with tight end Jaleel Skinner for a 12-yard score to tie it at 27 with 10:49 remaining. Louisville linebacker T.J. Quinn then stepped in front of an Eli Rothstein pass in Pitt territory to give the Cardinals the ball back. It took Moss all of five plays to guide Louisville 30 yards, the last eight coming on a lob to the corner of the end zone to Nate Kurisky that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the day.

“I don’t know what the numbers are on being down 17-0 on the road, but I would assume they’re not very high,” said Moss, who bounced back after throwing a first-quarter interception that Pitt's Rasheem Biles returned 75 yards for a touchdown that put the Panthers up three scores. “So I’m really proud of the group in terms of their ability to just continue to play the next play, continue to fight. I think that’s the biggest takeaway from this game, just the character that we displayed.”

Quarterback Quandary? Holstein completed 14 of 26 for 226 yards with two touchdowns and two picks before being pulled in favor of Cole Gonzales after his second interception set up Louisville's go-ahead touchdown.

“I think anytime your quarterback throws two picks it gets in his head and we’re playing to win and I wanted to see if we can get a spark,” Narduzzi said.

Gonzales managed to produce one first down but not another, and the Cardinals bled most of the rest of the 2:46 remaining before picking off Gonzales in the waning seconds.

Narduzzi added that Holstein is “still our starting quarterback.”

Pivotal play The game turned early in the second quarter when Pitt punt returner Kenny Johnson signaled for a fair catch before being run into by Louisville's Antonio Meeks.

Johnson chased after the kick as it bounded toward the Panther end zone. He touched it but couldn't control it, and the Cardinals fell on it inside the Pitt five.

Officials initially threw a flag for fair catch interference but picked it up, saying Meeks had been blocked into Johnson.

Asked what exactly happened on that play, Narduzzi paused for several seconds before responding simply, “don't know.”

Moss then pushed over from 1 yard out to give the reeling Cardinals a needed boost.

“We played to the end,” Brohm said. “We could have not maybe even got on the punt thinking it was dead, but we did. And that got us the ball. So I just think those small details, they’re practiced. They are talked about. You've got to be locked in and focused and do them, because that helped us win the football game.”

The Takeaway Louisville: The Cardinals haven't exactly been aesthetically pleasing during their unbeaten start but found a way to pass their first test against a Power Four team, and an ACC rival at that.

Pitt: Given two weeks to recover from an upset loss at rival West Virginia — another game the Panthers appeared to have control of in the fourth quarter — Pitt met the same fate at home despite a fast start. The Panthers have dropped seven straight games against Power Four teams since a 7-0 start last season.

Up next Louisville: welcomes Virginia to L&N Cardinal Stadium next Saturday.

Pitt: hosts Boston College next Saturday.