Rundown: What stood out in Pitt's win over Louisville

No. 21 Pitt beat No. 24 Louisville 23-20 at Heinz Field on Saturday. Here’s a look at what was notable in the win.

Dominant defense
There will be a lot of talk this week about Pitt’s offense and how that unit struggled to make the most of its opportunities and let an opponent hang around in what should have been a blowout victory. But the real story is the Panthers’ defense, which continues to assert itself as one of the best in not just the ACC, but all of college football.

Louisville’s explosive offense managed just 223 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday. One touchdown came on a 75-yard run against a defensive bust. The other score came from a short field after a turnover. Otherwise, the Cardinals were held in check. Pitt’s defense held Louisville to 1-of-11 on third down, sacked quarterback Malik Cunningham seven times and picked off three of Cunningham’s passes.

All day long, Louisville’s offense was held in check, and in the matchup of strength vs. strength, there was never any question that Pitt’s defense was the strongest.

Emerging stars
On Saturday, Pitt got big performances from a large group of players on defense. There was the usual cast of suspects, like seniors Patrick Jones (three sacks) and Rashad Weaver (1.5 sacks) on the defensive line, or defensive backs like Jason Pinnock and Damar Hamlin, who each had an interception.

But the Panthers also have a crop of underclassmen emerging across the defense, and the early returns are promising. Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Calijah Kancey had two tackles, but they were all behind the line of scrimmage and he had a key pressure on Louisville’s final play. Sophomore linebacker SirVocea Dennis had four tackles and made a key stop on the Cardinals’ possession. And redshirt sophomore cornerback Marquis Williams had Pitt’s first interception of the game when he picked off a pass to end Louisville’s first drive of the second half.

The known commodities on Pitt’s defense have lived up to their billing, but the emergence of some younger players is encouraging for this season and beyond.

Missed opportunities
Pitt’s defense had a dominant performance against Louisville, but every bit of that was needed as Pitt’s offense struggled with consistency once again.

A week after missing more than a few opportunities to put Syracuse away, the Panthers scored just two touchdowns against Louisville despite moving the ball well on a number of drives. All told, Pitt got into the red zone three times but only scored a touchdown on one of those three.

Beyond that, the Panthers drove inside the Louisville 35 on seven of their first 12 drives and only got two touchdowns out of it. The special teams units cleaned up some of those possessions, but trading touchdowns for field goals is not a good recipe for success.

There were plenty of reasons for the issues, from procedure penalties (Pitt had three) to turnovers (Pitt had two) and, on occasion, curious calls. But the Panthers can’t expect to keep getting away with that kind of ineffectiveness offensively.

Special teams
The flip side of Pitt’s offensive struggles was that kicker Alex Kessman and the field goal unit got some extra work. And after Kessman missed three field goals in the first two games - and had a bobbled hold sabotage a third attempt last week - the redshirt senior kicker came through on Saturday.

Kessman converted all three of his attempts against Louisville, nailing kicks from 45, 41 and 42 yards with no issue. That was a big step in the right direction for Kessman and the field goal unit, particularly if Pitt’s offense is going to keep sputtering in the red zone.

Similarly, punter Kirk Christodoulou had a very strong performance on Saturday. The senior punter boomed his kicks, getting good hang time and continually pinning Louisville inside its own 30. Christodoulou punted four times against the Cardinals, and the ensuing drives started at the Louisville 12, 25, 26 and 17. Two of those four drives ended in field goals but the other two were scoreless possessions.

Notable stats
Kenny Pickett - 23/38, 220 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Vincent Davis - 14 carries, 47 yards
Israel Abanikanda - 9 carries, 41 yards
Jordan Addison - 7 receptions, 77 yards, 1 TD
Taysir Mack - 3 receptions, 62 yards, 1 TD
Paris Ford - 6 tackles
Patrick Jones - 6 tackles, 3 sacks
Rashad Weaver - 4 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2.5 TFL
Marquis Williams - 3 tackles, 1 INT
Damar Hamli - 2 tackles, 1 INT
Jason Pinnock - 1 tackle, 1 INT