Pitt Football: A Panthers Win Over Louisville on Saturday Will Even Series, 7-7

I remember in vivid detail that rainy October day in 1976, sitting on the hard wooden bleachers at Pitt Stadium watching Pitt put away Louisville 27-6. What a stark contrast, I thought, to the dreary years of the late 60s and early 70s. 

The stadium looked clean, the rain washing away the outer layers on grime on the concrete base and the new scoreboard was so much better than the black and white relic Pitt had used since the 50s.

I was on the bandwagon and fired up, thinking we are really big time now. Louisville was just a clog in our way, but every clog is critical when your team is building an undefeated season. Pitt dominated Louisville and the rest of the opposition to post a 12-0 record and won what probably will be the only Pitt national championship in my lifetime.

Pitt continued to wrack up big wins against the Cardinals in those stellar years of Panther football. Winning 41-23 in 1980, 63-14 in 1982 and 55-10 in 1983 in the first away game for Pitt in the series, the Panthers owned the Cards.

But things were about to change dramatically. Pitt would lose the next seven games in the series, a losing streak that continued into Big East play when Louisville joined the conference in 2005.

If Pitt wins on Saturday at Heinz Field, the series will be tied at seven wins a piece. Pitt fans should not assume Louisville is an easy touch. Steve Kragthorpe may have left a mess at Louisville, but Charlie Strong is doing a quick clean-up and has the 4-3 Cardinals ready to make a difference in the 2010 Big East race.

Pitt should prevail tomorrow and move to 3-0 in the conference but not without some haired moments. Strong's team has more potent weapons on offense than Syracuse and Rutgers.

Stopping Bilal Powell, who already has had two long touchdown runs this season, is the key for Pitt to win. Powell is ranked fourth in the nation with 1003 yards. Pitt's Top 10 rushing defense will get a good test Saturday.

Louisville quarterback Adam Froman, ranked fourth in the Big East, may not be setting any records yet, but he is good enough to mix it up on offense and keep the Panther defenders on the run. Froman has 196 attempts/119 completions for a completion rate of 60.7 percent.  He currently ranks No. 35 in the nation.

Tino Sunseri, the second best quarterback in the Big East, has a better completion rate than Froman at 67.4 percent (190 attempts/128 completions). And the best news for Pitt? Tino just keeps getting better every week. He's been able to hook up with Baldwin, Shanahan, Street and, last week, Mike Cruz in the red zone. Pitt fans have been clamoring for the long ball and Tino is beginning to deliver.

Both defenses are aggressive from the line of scrimmage. Froman will line up against a  Pitt defense which has recorded 21 sacks in 2010, 11th best in the nation. Sunseri will line up against a Louisville defense that is ranked right behind the panthers with 20 sacks and a national rank of 14.

What frame of mind with the Panthers be in tomorrow? Last week they came together after an unsteady first half to pull away in the second, reducing their game day penalty tally to 20 yards.

Will Sunseri have a big day? Pitt's relying more on its passing game (1593 yards for the season) than rushing (1118). If Sunseri keeps improving and the Lewis/Graham combo can produce 130 yards or so, Pitt should prevail, 31-23.

If Froman gets off to a hot start and Powell breaks away for some early scores to grab a big lead by the half, Pitt fans will have a chance to see if Wannstedt's comeback game has improved since Utah and Notre Dame.