Pitt squandered a double-digit second-half lead as turnovers and missed chances fueled a 34–27 loss to Louisville.
Pat Narduzzi reacts as Pitt blows another second-half lead in loss to Louisville originally appeared on The Sporting News
Pittsburgh once again found itself in familiar territory, a double-digit second-half lead that ultimately slipped away. Louisville stormed back, handing the Panthers a 34–27 defeat at Acrisure Stadium.
Head coach Pat Narduzzi didn’t hide his frustration afterward. “Tough team loss. We did it all together out there. Not happy. Everybody deserves better than that. Players in that locker room deserve better,” he said.
The Panthers went into halftime holding the edge. “I thought the first half we executed pretty good. Had zero turnovers in the first half except for a punt return…we’re up at the half. It’s a back-and-forth game against a good football team, ACC competition.”
But turnovers proved fatal. “We didn’t execute well enough in the second half. We talked about finishing. And we didn’t finish. We had two turnovers, one in the red zone, one coming out. Two turnovers in the second half put the game away,” Narduzzi said.
Annnd Eli Holstein gets picked off by Antonio Watts on the very next play #Louisvillehttps://t.co/IrFNOEBpRKpic.twitter.com/9PvQFBHK39
— Im not a fan of your favorite team (@fsh733) September 27, 2025
Quarterback Eli Holstein threw two costly interceptions before being replaced by Cole. “I still say Eli is our starting quarterback. That’s what it is. Threw two picks in the second half. It’s tough…maybe we should have run it, keep it on the ground, whatever. I thought that when we did run it we had success,” Narduzzi explained.
Holstein, he added, handled the benching with maturity. “He’s fine. He’s a team guy. He gets it. He’s hard on himself. He understands what we expect.”
Possession proved lopsided. “They had the ball for 40 minutes. We had it for 20 minutes… Too many three-and-outs. Got to move the sticks. Puts our defense in a bad position,” Narduzzi said, noting the absence of safety Javon McIntyre didn’t help the defense late.
One bright spot emerged in linebacker Rasheem Biles, who recorded 12 tackles and a pick-six. “Unbelievable interception for a touchdown. He played well last week. He was a bright spot a week ago… plays with emotion, plays with an attitude. Love that guy.”
Despite the setback, Narduzzi stressed unity. “We’ll stick together. It’s one ACC game. You guys can watch the ACC and see who goes down. All our goals are still in front of us. That’s how we play. Gotta get better.”
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