It’s another week and another tough loss for Pitt football, which has now lost two straight games. There was some good, some bad and some ugly in the back-and-forth game against Louisville, but the team’s failure to put away another opponent will leave a bad taste in the mouth of any fan. 

The offense showed life early but needs more consistency

Through Pitt’s first three games of the season, the offense was efficient at times but started out sluggish and disjointed. This was especially an issue in the Backyard Brawl, when Pitt’s offense looked lifeless to begin the game. But Pitt woke up and even held a 10-point lead over West Virginia, though it lost in overtime. 

After a disappointing loss and subsequent bye week, the offense needed to provide some juice right out of the gate, and that’s exactly what they did against Louisville. Pitt opened the game with consecutive scoring drives before junior linebacker Rasheem Biles’ pick-six made it 17-0 in the first quarter. 

This was a great sign for a Pitt offense that has struggled to set the tone and take control of the game, but the offense ground to a halt after taking a commanding 17-point lead. Two punts and a turnover on downs let Louisville back in the game, who tied it at 17 after a 25-yard touchdown catch from senior wide receiver Chris Bell. Pitt’s quick three-and-outs shifted all the momentum to Louisville, which looked lost through the first 25 minutes of action. 

Pitt continued to give the Cardinals the ball back in the second half despite opportunities to build a two or even three-score lead. At the end of the third quarter, Pitt punted, threw an interception and turned the ball over on downs. In a game the Panthers should have won handily, Louisville hung around for way too long, eventually tying the game in the fourth quarter. 

Reid-less running back room not given a chance

Another issue that plagued Pitt was its abandonment of the run game throughout the middle of the first half. Pitt knew going in that redshirt senior Desmond Reid would miss the game, leading the Panthers to rely on first-years Juelz Goff and Ja’Kyrian Turner. But Goff, the starter, only had five carries in the first half, two of which came with under three minutes left in the second quarter. Even with Reid out, Pitt’s offense was more dynamic when they were running the ball. Goff and Turner both averaged over five yards a carry, but only combined for 13 carries. 

Holstein’s inconsistency costs Panthers

Finally, it wouldn’t feel like a 2025 Eli Holstein start without a couple of crucial turnovers. Leading by seven with five and a half minutes left in the third quarter, the redshirt sophomore quarterback Holstein floated a ball to Goff that was picked off on the one-yard line by junior linebacker Antonio Watts of Louisville. 

This came after a 56-yard deep shot to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Blue Hicks. Holstein has struggled with consistency so far in his second year, having stretches where he looks uncomfortable in the pocket and struggles with accuracy. Holstein then had another ugly pick on his own 30-yard line, with 10 minutes left in a tie game. Louisville took advantage of the miscue and took the lead just three minutes later. 

Holstein, as well as the offense, has sky-high potential with explosive players at multiple positions. Holstein’s arm and the speed of the skill positions could make an electric offense for Pitt, but the unit has not yet played cohesively enough through 60 minutes of game action. 

Biles with a big day, defense repeatedly stepping up

Panther fans got déjà vu in the first quarter when Rasheem Biles returned an interception 75 yards to the house, Pitt’s first since October of last year, when Biles had a pick-six against Syracuse. In another coincidence, Biles’s 75-yard return was the longest for a touchdown since October of 2023, when MJ Devonshire returned an interception 86 yards against — you guessed it — Louisville.

Biles led the team in total tackles with 12 — four of his tackles were for a loss and one was a sack. The sharks have picked up where they left off last year, darting around the field and dominating physically. Junior linebacker Braylan Lovelace had 10 tackles and redshirt junior linebacker Kyle Louis had six, while Blaine Spires chipped in with a sack. Another Panther who shone defensively was senior cornerback Rashad Battle, who had some great plays in coverage and made nine tackles, eight of them solo tackles. 

As a unit, the Panthers have 14 sacks through four games and have allowed just 108 rushing yards a game, with the majority against West Virginia when they allowed 174 rushing yards. The front seven for Pitt is stout, and it kept Pitt in the game all day long. But Louisville’s nearly 40 minutes of possession time wore out the blue and gold. 

Narduzzi makes a late change at quarterback, Holstein heads to the bench

After the interception on Pitt’s own 30-yard line that allowed Louisville to take the lead and never look back, Pitt fans saw a new face under center the next time the offense took the field. Senior quarterback Cole Gonzales took the field for two drives, going 3-for-6 with 53 yards and an interception. Narduzzi said he was “looking for a spark,” and Gonzales did not bring that. 

Narduzzi reinforced that Holstein would stay as the starting quarterback, but he will look at everything heading into next week against Boston College. 

Holstein’s turnovers have hurt the Panthers throughout the season. In two straight games, Holstein has thrown a pick on the goal line following a long drive in a crucial game situation. Whether the issue has become enough of a problem to lose his job is up to Narduzzi to decide.