For a half at least, the Pitt Panthers looked well underway to knocking off their second Top 25 team of the season.
The they came out of the locker room after halftime and everything changed.
No. 18 Louisville outscored Pitt 21-0 in the third quarter and turned a 21-17 halftime deficit into a 38-21 lead, cruising the rest of the way to a 45-35 victory, ruining Pitt’s homecoming.
Louisville’s Senorise Perry rushed for 101 yards and a career-high four touchdowns and Teddy Bridgewater passed for 304 yards for the Cardinals (6-0, 1-0 Big East), including a 75-yard score to DeVante Parker on the first play of the second half as Louisville continued its best start since 2006.
Pitt’s (2-4, 0-3) Tino Sunseri passed for 287 yards and two touchdown and freshman Rushel Shell rushed for 96 yards and a score, but the Panthers’ defense had a hard time slowing down the Louisville offense, which racked up 460 total yards of offense on the day.
Sunseri gave Pitt the lead with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Saddler to give Pitt a 7-0 lead, but Perry’s first touchdown of the game made it a 7-7 game after the first quarter.
After that the Pitt special teams made an impact when Todd Thomas, making his return to the lineup, blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. But Louisville came right back and tied the game on a four-yard run by Jeremy Wright. Shell scored from a yard out to give Pitt a 21-14 second quarter lead. That’s when Pitt lost all of the momentum.
Paul Chryst got greedy and Pitt got in trouble. Faced with a fourth-and-1 at the Louisville 42 late in the first half, Pitt opted to go for it. Shell was stuffed for a 1-yard loss and Louisville took over.
Bridgewater made a nice completion to DeVante Parker, creating enough room for John Wallace to hit a 45-yard field goal just before the gun and provide the Cardinals the jumpstart they would need.
On the opening play of the second half, Louisville built on the momentum they gained before the half.
Bridgewater dropped back and found a streaking Parker down the left sideline. The sophomore receiver hauled it in and beat a pair of defenders to the end zone to give Louisville its first lead.
It didn’t take long for that lead to grow.
Pitt went three-and-out and Louisville started again at its own 32. Eli Rodgers made a beautiful diving grab for a 29-yard gain on third-and-8 to move the Cardinals into Pitt territory and after a 35-yard strike from Bridgewater to Parker — who finished with four receptions for 153 yards and a score — Perry went over from 2 yards out to make it 31-21.
The Pitt kicking game then made it easy for the Cardinals.
Kevin Harper missed another field goal early in the game and the Panthers had difficulties in the punt game as well. A botched Pitt punt snap later in the third quarter gave Louisville the ball deep in Pitt territory, and Perry went up the middle from a yard out to put Louisville up 17.
The Panthers tried to rally and drew within 10 early in the fourth quarter on a quarterback sneak by Sunseri and drove to the Louisville 22 with 4:59 to go. Rather than attempt a 39-yard field goal to get within a touchdown, Pitt went for it and Sunseri threw incomplete to Cam Saddler.
Four plays later, Perry ripped down the sideline for his fourth trip to the end zone, a 59-yard dagger.
Sunseri added a meaningless two-yard touchdown pass to Devin Street with 40 seconds left to make it 45-35.
Photo Credit: CBS Sports
