Two ACC hopefuls jockeying for position behind Miami collide in a rivalry that's flipped hard toward Louisville the last two years — and this time both sidelines are trusting the outcome to a quarterback situation still finding its footing.
Bush’s Picks
PITTLOU
PITTLOU
OverUnder
Best BetLouisville
Louisville's the team with the résumé — a 3rd straight 9-win season, a bowl win over Toledo, and back-to-back victories in this series. History says lean on the more proven program until the newcomer proves it, and Kienholz still has to prove it every single week he starts.
Pittsburgh
+Heintschel returns, went 6-3 as true freshman starter
+RB Turner ran for 745 yards as a freshman
+best ACC finish since 2021, tied for 2nd
−lost Military Bowl, Narduzzi now 2-5 in bowls
−new DC Cory Sanders replaces retired Randy Bates
−lost last two meetings with Louisville
Louisville
+Brohm signed 8-year extension through 2033
+9-4 in 2025, won Boca Raton Bowl
+won last two meetings with Pitt
−Kienholz has zero career starts at QB
−WR Kris Hughes out for the season
−new starting QB for the 4th straight year
Mason Heintschel enters year two running Pitt's offense off a 6-3 mark as a true freshman starter, throwing for 2,354 yards and 16 touchdowns across 8 starts after taking over in Week 5 last season. Louisville hands the keys to Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz, who's thrown for all of 250 yards combined across 3 backup seasons in Columbus — the Cardinals' 4th different Week 1 starter in as many years.
Jeff Brohm just got paid to make sure that inexperience doesn't spook anyone. An 8-year, $64.8 million extension says Louisville isn't panicking about the quarterback spot, and it helps that edge rusher Clev Lubin and defensive end A.J. Green both pulled their names out of the transfer portal to stick around. Pitt's counting on stability of a different kind — running back Ja'Kyrian Turner ran for 745 yards as a true freshman, and Narduzzi has said hitting 150 rushing yards a game would make this offense a real problem.
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PITT Pittsburgh
LOU Louisville
That's the swing factor here — whichever team can lean on a proven ground game while its quarterback finds his rhythm probably controls the game script. Louisville's taken the last two meetings, outscoring Pitt 71-36 combined, but neither roster walking in on Friday, November 20 looks much like the ones that played those games.
Pittsburgh Panthers
Nov 13?vs Florida State—
Oct 30?vs Georgia Tech—
Oct 16?@ Boston College—
Oct 9?vs North Carolina—
Oct 2?@ Virginia Tech—
Sep 26?vs Bucknell—
Sep 17?vs Syracuse—
Sep 12?vs UCF—
Sep 5?vs Miami (OH)—
Louisville Cardinals
Nov 13?@ North Carolina—
Nov 6?@ Georgia Tech—
Oct 30?vs Stanford—
Oct 16?@ Syracuse—
Oct 9?vs Florida State—
Oct 2?@ NC State—
Sep 25?vs Wake Forest—
Sep 19?vs SMU—
Sep 11?vs Villanova—
Sep 6?@ Ole Miss—
Recent form.
Louisville's the safer bet on paper. A 3rd straight 9-win season, a Boca Raton Bowl win over Toledo, and a Brohm program that's found some rhythm. Pitt answered with an 8-5 finish and a Military Bowl loss to East Carolina, dropping Narduzzi to 2-5 in bowl games since the program's last postseason win in 2022. National previews have both programs tucked into the same 'chase Miami' tier for 2026, which says plenty about how thin the gap actually is.
Pittsburgh Panthers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Louisville Cardinals
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Louisville isn't walking in clean, either. Wide receiver Kris Hughes is expected to miss the entire season after a lower-body injury in spring, and defensive back Montavin Quisenberry is in the same boat — real subtractions for units that were already replacing pieces. Pitt spent its offseason doing wholesale renovation on the other side of the ball, bringing in 16 transfer additions including a Western Carolina wideout who caught 47 balls a year ago, betting that new blood beats the uncertainty of what's already on the roster.
Whichever quarterback blinks first probably decides it. Pitt's counting on Heintschel's head start; Louisville's counting on Brohm to have found another diamond in the portal like he did with Tyler Shough and Miller Moss before him. A rivalry that's swung hard toward Louisville the last two seasons doesn't look settled going into this one.
