Louisville football will look to earn their first Power 4 win of the 2025 season this weekend when the Cardinals take on the Pittsburgh Panthers. Louisville has dominated its three opponents so far, but with its ACC schedule now here, it is clear that Louisville fans will honestly know just how good this team is.
The Cardinals beat Pitt last year 37-9 and dominated just every phase of the ball. Now, they must do the same thing in 2025 with a new quarterback in Miller Moss and potentially a thin running back room, depending on whether Isaac Brown and Duke Watson are ready to go.
So, with Moss and Keyjuan Brown possibly leading this show this weekend, it is clear that Pitt will continue to play aggressively on defense. However, fans are a bit worried, as James Madison caused many problems with their blitz package. So, for Louisville to leave Acrisure Stadium, Jeff Brohm made it clear they must play better against the blitz and the pressure.
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Jeff Brohm answers questions on how Louisville will attack Pitt's aggressiveness
The Pitt Panthers enter this game coming off a bye, but the week prior, they fell short in a heated rivalry game to West Virginia. The Panthers are eager to get back on track and into the win column, and for that to happen, they will have to be successful on defense.
This defense is relentless and one of the more aggressive defenses in the nation. Entering the Week 5 matchup, Pitt has 12 sacks in just three games, averaging out to four sacks per game, which leads the nation. Louisville fans saw how much the Cardinals' offensive line struggled against an aggressive defense, but Brohm is letting the fans know now that they are more prepared.
"I think we learned a lot from James Madison," Brohm stated on Monday. "They brought the house multiple times, and we did not make them pay, and when they did that and it worked, they kept doing it, and we weren't able to respond and react accordingly, and it affected the game, and it affected the confidence in the ability to continue to be aggressive because we were getting pressured."
With Pitt being just as aggressive as JMU, and possibly drawing some plays from the Dukes' playbook, the Cardinals' offense must perform better under pressure. That goes to Moss, the offensive line, and even the running backs, who will help with blocking.
Moss has struggled this season against pressure, particularly when picking it up early on. With Pitt loading the box and sending multiple defenders to the quarterback, Moss has to remain calm and find a way to get the ball out quickly. So, Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy have to either run a quick route and break open or a slant across the field, or anywhere that allows Moss to get rid of the ball quickly and effectively.
The Panthers' defense features some solid linebackers in Rasheem Biles and Kyle Louis. Louisville must win the trenches Saturday with or without its two-star running backs if it wants to win this game.
"Pitt naturally plays aggressive," Brohm stated. "Now, I don't know if it is all out, overload protections, and zero. But they are playing downhill, they have a lot of guys in the box, and they are blitzing from all over, so you have to know where it is coming from and have some answers. When teams are doing that how do we get the ball out quit and effectivley is important."
The Cardinals gave up eight tackles for a loss and three sacks against James Madison, and with Pitt having an even better defense than the Dukes, Louisville needs to address this area and make sure they can protect Moss, but also that their quarterback can have a much better game this week than in Week 2.
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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.