Louisville Cardinals end perfect season after 38-21 loss to Pittsburgh

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Dreams of a perfect season were dashed as the Louisville Cardinals fell 38-21 at Pittsburgh to drop to 6-1 on the season Saturday.

The disappointing loss comes a week after the Cards upset Notre Dame and catapulted 11 spots in the AP Poll to land at No. 14.

UofL was without leading rusher Jawhar Jordan for all but one series and only got eight yards on two carries from him before he left the game with a hamstring injury. In his stead, Maurice Turner rushed for 81 yards on 12 carries, but it was Isaac Guerendo who found the end zone with a pair of rushing touchdowns and 38 yards on a team-high 13 carries.

Jack Plummer completed 29 of his 52 passing attempts, throwing for 350 yards and a touchdown while being picked off twice. Jamari Thrash caught eight of those passes for 113 yards and Chris Bell was on the receiving end of the touchdown.

Louisville fumbled five times, but only lost one and went 0-4 on fourth-down conversion attempts.

Pittsburgh (2-4) took the lead on a 13-play, 64-yard touchdown drive that ate up seven minutes in the third quarter and then expanded that to a 10-point lead when M.J. Devonshire picked off Plummer and took it 86 yards for the pick-six.

Offensively, the Panthers were led by QB Christian Veilleux’s 200 yards and two touchdowns, finding Jerrod Means for one and Konata Mumpfield for the other. Running back C’Bo Flemister led the team with 13 carries and two scores but Rodney Hammond, Jr. led the way with 50 yards.

The Cards get a week off before returning home for a matchup with No. 17 Duke who beat North Carolina State 24-3 Saturday night.

Copyright 2023 WAVE. All rights reserved.