Brown, Shough each have 2 touchdowns, Clark intercepts 2 passes as Louisville blows out Pitt 37-9
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- — Isaac Brown rushed for two touchdowns, Tyler Shough threw for two scores and Stanquan Clark had two of Louisville's three interceptions as the Cardinals routed Pittsburgh 37-9 on Saturday.The Cardinals (7-4, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored on four of their first six possessions for a 27-0 halftime cushion, boosted by 10 points off Clark's two interceptions. The linebacker's end-zone pickoff of Eli Holstein on the opening possession set up Brock Travelstead's 41-yard field goal before he laid out to snatch Nate Yarnell's second-quarter pass that resulted in Isaac Brown's 15-yard TD run one snap later.
Clark's critical takeaway came three plays after the Panthers denied Louisville on fourth-and-goal at the 1.
Yarnell was playing in place of quarterback Eli Holstein, who left the game on a cart with a serious left-leg injury sustained on a first-quarter sack by Ashton Gillotte. Holstein's leg was placed in a boot before being carted off, but he returned to the sideline by halftime.
Coach Pat Narduzzi said afterward that Holstein was “banged up” but did not elaborate.
Gillotte had both Louisville's sacks among three total stops as the Cardinals avenged last year's loss in Pittsburgh after a 6-0 start.
“Obviously, we lost to them last year, so (there was) a little chip on our shoulder, little comments that we try to use as fuel, but I think we just got it done," Gillotte said. "It’s just about finishing.”
Pitt (7-4, 3-4) avoided its first shutout loss in five years as Konata Mumpfield caught an 8-yard scoring pass from Yarnell in the third quarter. The Panthers also recorded a fourth-quarter safety but dropped their fourth straight after initially being in contention for the league title.
“The ACC is not easy," coach Pat . Getting seven wins is hard in the ACC. There’s no easy weeks. I think it’s a hell of a conference... The resolve in our locker room is good. Our kids, they understand where they are. We got to make more plays, and we just didn’t start off fast like we needed to. It’s going to happen in the game of football.”
Brown carried 13 times for 93 yards, while Shough completed 17 of 28 passes for 293 yards and scores of 15 yards to Ja'Corey Brooks and a 68-yard catch-and-run by Chris Bell down the right sideline.
“All I knew is that after he went for my legs and missed, I knew I was gone," said Bell, who had two catches for 101 yards. "I looked back one time, saw somebody about five yards away from me, and I was like ‘Yeah, I’m gone. It’s over with.’”
Louisville outgained Pitt 505-265 in bouncing back from a crushing 38-35 loss at Stanford in which it allowed the final 17 points and lost on a walk-off field goal.
Louisville: The Cardinals dismissed any questions about a hangover from last week's meltdown with aggression on both sides of the ball. Their defense was particularly stout in picking off three Pitt QBs, the last by Corey Thornton in the fourth quarter. They finished with seven tackles for loss and two sacks for seven yards.
“When we’re in position and playing what we need to play, using our technique and understand the concept of what we’re doing, I think we’re very effective," coach Jeff Brohm said. "And without question, we did a much better job.”
Louisville visits archrival Kentucky on Saturday, seeking to win the Governor's Cup for the first time since 2017.
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