Seedy K’s GameCap: Pitt

What is it they say? It’s a game of runs. (Whoever “they” are.) Oh yeah, that’s basketball. Uh, never mind. But yeah, in a game that started out curious and morphed into something even curiouser — like an Unbirthday Party — there were definitely runs.

Pitt went on a 17-point streak. Louisville answered with 17 straight. Pitt responded with 10 in a row. And ladies and gents, that was all before intermission. After the break, the victorious Louisville Cardinals put together an unanswered 17-point run.

I don’t know. This was as mondo bizarro a gridiron encounter as one could possibly fathom. Frankly, to my long psychedelicized mind, it’s hard to make any sense of it. But it’s U of L’s fourth W of an unblemished — if hard to figure out — season. With a surprisingly good UVa coming to town next weekend.

I’ve presented random takes on Cardinal games in the past. Here we go again.

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Game Day morning, I got a missive from my gridiron whisperer expressing dismay with the Cardinals’ offensive line play after watching the film from last time out. We didn’t know until game time which, if any, of the Cards’ premier running backs were going to compete. Isaac Brown and Duke Watson both got some early action. Brown grimacing between plays. Watson injured and limping off the field. (Both were troopers in the second half.)

So, thanks to a combination of those two factors — hurt runners and egregiously underwhelming offensive line play — Louisville rambled for a grand total of 13 yards on 15 carries in the opening half. Frankly, one guy’s opinion, it was more about the lack of running lanes than the injuries.

The Cards yet again committed way too many penalties. Six infractions for 72 yards certainly contributed to Pitt’s 10-point halftime advantage. Not bad for the home team, which fumbled twice and was 0-for-6 on third downs before the break, finishing 1-for-10 for the game.

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I’m a bit surprised I’ve gotten this much into the game without mentioning the word “fluky.” Which this pigskin encounter most assuredly was. But for two Panther special teams gaffes, the Cards wouldn’t have survived.

That punt interference/fumble/flag/no-flag absurdity of a play gave the Cards — then down 0-17 — a 1st and goal at the Pitt three. After which U of L finally scored on a Miller Moss sneak. Tush push? Sort of. Then Pitt’s punter dropped a snap. On the very next play, Moss fired a strike to Chris Bell for a 30-yard tying touchdown toss.

Did I mention the Panthers scored earlier on a 75-yard pick-six? So I didn’t. This game would have worked as a Firesign Theater skit — written by Cheech and Chong. (If you’re too young to get the references, ask your stoned uncle.)

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At one point in the back-and-forth battle, Moss had attempted twice as many passes as there had been running plays. It evened out some in the second half, but it still ended up 51 air mails with 33 finding their destination for 339 yards, against 34 rushes for just enough to secure the victory at 53 yards. (Louisville’s clearly in-need-of-serious-work offensive line surrendered 10 tackles for loss and a couple of sacks.)

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Nick Keller kicked another 57-yard field goal and fell just short on another attempt.

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T.J. Quinn had two interceptions after dropping an opportunity earlier for another.

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Antonio Watts came up with a magnificent, Top 10-worthy one-handed pick, shortly after Eli Holstein had completed a 56-yard pass on the opening play of a drive to the Cardinals’ 4-yard line.

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Carter Schwartz’s 32-yard pooch punt with 18 seconds to go was a kick of beauty, going out of bounds at the Pittsburgh 8-yard line.

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U of L ended up with 92 yards in penalties. Not good.

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To underscore how very incomprehensible this win was, consider this: Miller Moss, it seems fairly obvious, likes to pass from the pocket. The Cards’ winning touchdown came on a Moss rollout to Nate Kurisky.

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I have no explanation for the game I just watched. What I do know: the Cards won. The Cards have a lot to clean up — a whole lot. Next week’s game against UVa is going to be a lot tougher than we ever expected.

— c d kaplan
https://www.cardchronicle.com/football/97682/seedy-ks-gamecap-pitt