The Louisville football team will have its biggest challenge yet this weekend against the Pitt Panthers. The Cardinals are 3-0 and have been dominant when the fans look at the scoreboard, but they know this game this weekend means a lot for their ACC chances.
With this showdown coming on the road, against an experienced squad, the Cardinals have had this game circled for a long time. Some experts entering the season predicted this game as a loss, but what they didn't expect was a dominant start from the Cardinals' defense.
This defense has been flying all over, and the biggest star so far is Clev Lubin. Louisville fans might be a bit worried about this road test, but when they review Lubin's film and the footage from last year's Cardinals vs Panthers game, they can only assume Lubin is poised for a breakout game against the Panthers.
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Louisville football has ultimate X-factor against Pitt this weekend
Last season, Louisville dominated Pitt 37-9, and a big reason was that the Cardinals took control of the trenches. Louisville logged seven tackles for loss and two sacks, with both sacks coming from Ashton Gillotte.
Gillotte finished the game with three tackles for a loss and two sacks, paving the perfect blueprint for Lubin to have a breakout game this Saturday. The Coastal Carolina transfer is coming off a dominant 2024 season, where they logged 43 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss, 9.5 sacks, and three pass deflections. Well, Lubin hasn't skipped a beat since joining Louisville and this defense, as he is having a dominant 2025 season through three games.
Lubin is leading Louisville in tackles with 19 total tackles, and also is leading the Cardinals with 3.5 sacks. On top of that, he has two pass deflections, which is second on the team, and one forced fumble, which resulted in a Cardinals touchdown.
Gillotte dominating the Panthers last year and putting pressure on Pitt's quarterback, Nate Yarnell, the entire game, makes it clear that Lubin should have similar results and is the ultimate game-changer heading into this ACC showdown.
Lubin has demonstrated pure dominance through three games with Louisville, and dating back to last season, he has proven himself to be one of the top game-changers on the defensive line. The Panthers' uncertainty with Preseason All-American Desmond Reid only helps the Cardinals and Lubin and gives Louisville fans hope that their edge rusher will be a nightmare for the Panthers' offense.
Related: Louisville just found its Ashton Gillotte replacement after transfer’s fiery message
Louisville and Pitt will kick off this Saturday at noon local time from the Acrisure Stadium. For all the latest on Louisville football's 2025 season, stay tuned.