Be honest. How many of you were thinking once Louisville recovered the onside kick that Pitt would find a way to lose? I know I did.
Fortunately, Pitt held on to beat the Cardinals on the road for their first road win of the season and extend their winning streak over Louisville to four games.
The first drive was a textbook example of how this offense should run - good decisions in the passing game, good blocking to open up the running game, and the biggest thing - no penalties. Pitt did not commit a penalty the entire game (although the Mike Shanahan deflection in the end zone to prevent the interception probably should've been interference).
The rushing game tore up Louisville's vaunted rush defense, running for 200 yards with Zach Brown leading the way with 86 yards. I think for the remainder of the season, we'll be seeing equal carries for the Brown and freshman Isaac Bennett, similar to last season with Dion Lewis and Ray Graham.
I was impressed with Tino's play this week. After his struggles in the second half of the Cincinnati game, he didn't let that affect his play today as he was perfect on the first drive and went 16 of 22 for 196 yards and a touchdown to Shanahan. He also ran for 31 yards and the touchdown that put Pitt ahead for good.
Yes, there were some mistakes. The decision to throw Mark Myers in for one play was questionable and nearly ended up with Myers throwing an interception in the end zone. Especially considering how well Tino was playing at the time of the substitution and it didn't appear as though Tino had suffered an injury. The Zach Brown fumble deep in Louisville territory was a poor hand-off from Sunseri nearly turned the momentum of the game over to the Cardinals. But the defense held and kept Louisville from establishing any rhythm. The Pitt defense also held Louisville to under 300 yards of total offense and forced two turnovers.
Pitt heads into the bye week with a little bit of momentum as they prepare for the Backyard Brawl in 13 days.