Football: After loss last week Panthers looking to rebound tonight at Louisville

Pitt and Louisville are looking to rebound tonight during their lock-up at Papa John’s… Pitt and Louisville are looking to rebound tonight during their lock-up at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. The Panthers are looking to shake off the after-effects of a second-half collapse against North Carolina State, and the Cardinals are looking to get their entire football program back on track.

The Cardinals are 1-7 in their last eight contests, their lone win coming Sept. 5 against the now 0-5 Indiana State Sycamores. Despite its recent struggles, Louisville has still managed to sell out its home stadium for tonight’s ESPN2 national broadcast.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt expects the Louisville crowd will generate an unfriendly atmosphere. The Panthers haven’t won a game at Louisville since 1983.

“It’s going to be very, very tough,” Wannstedt said. “They’re going to have a full house, and it’s going to be an enthusiastic full house, you can bet on that. We’ve got to do a good job of not being distracted as a team and keeping our focus on the job at hand.”

Some people in Louisville are looking at tonight’s contest as a must-win game. Another poor showing in Big East play could spell doom for third-year Cardinal coach Steve Kragthorpe.

“We’re definitely in a position where we need to win this football game. It’s a big game for us. It’s on national television. It’s [our] first Big East conference game,” Kragthorpe said. “There’s no doubt this is a game that’s very important to us.”

Kragthorpe is 0-2 in Big East openers since leaving Tulsa in 2007. Overall, his Big East record is 4-10.

On the other sideline, Wannstedt is looking for his team to make a quick recovery after a disappointing road trip last weekend.

“This will be a big challenge for our team. Number one, to bounce back from last week’s game [and] two, to go down there and play in front of a very excited, hostile crowd on a Friday night,” Wannstedt said.

Against North Carolina State, the Panther defense gave up 530 yards of total offense, and the Pitt offense failed to convert a first down in the fourth quarter. Wannstedt said that he is glad this week’s game is on Friday instead of Saturday. It will get last week’s game out of everyone’s mind a day sooner.

“I’m just fortunate that last week wasn’t our last game,” Wannstedt said. “We’ve got another game this week and we’ve got another opportunity to go out and prove to ourselves and our fans that we’re a good football team.”

A successful start to Big East play would go a long way in replacing the memories of last Saturday’s contest.

Pitt’s task will be to shut down junior quarterback Justin Burke and talented sophomore running back Victor Andersen. Burke is coming off mixed performance against Utah, and Anderson has six 100-yard rushing games in his career but was held to 22 yards last week.

The Panther defense will also have to take advantage of a Louisville team that turned the ball over three times last week against the Utes. Up to this point, the Panthers have forced seven opposing team turnovers. Louisville ranks last in the Big East, averaging just 23.7 points a game. Pitt is third at 37.5 points a game.

On offense, the Panthers could look to run right by the Cardinals. Louisville is last in the Big East in rush defense, giving up 133.7 yards a game. The Cardinals are second in pass defense, though, giving up just 154 yards a game. The Panthers might need another big week for freshman Dion Lewis if they hope to pull out the road win.

Tonight, the opportunity for redemption will be presented to both teams. Either Pitt will make up for the victory that slipped through its fingers last week or Louisville will begin to recover from a prolonged stretch of disappointment.

WHERE TO FIND THE GAME:

TV – ESPN2

Radio – 92.1 (WPTS-FM), 94.5 (WWSW-FM), 970 (WBGG-AM), and the Pittsburgh ISP Sports Network.

Satellite Radio – Sirius 125, XM 102

Internet – “Panther All-Access” at PittsburghPanthers.com, ESPN360 at ESPN360.com