Audio Interviews Following Nov. 8 Practice

Josh Chichester | Mario Benavides | Teddy Bridgewater

Senior tight end Josh Chichester, junior center Mario Benavides and freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater were among the selected Cardinal football players who spoke with the media following practice on Nov. 8, previewing Saturday’s noon BIG EAST contest against Pittsburgh. It is the final home game of the year for the Cardinals, who will honor their 17 seniors prior to kickoff.

Louisville, coming off a 38-35 victory at then-No. 24/21 West Virginia, enter Saturday’s game with a 5-4 overall record, going 3-1 in the BIG EAST. Pitt, meanwhile, stands at 4-5 overall, 2-2 in the league. The game will be televised on the BIG EAST Network (WHAS-TV in Louisville). Fans also can listen to the game on either WHAS 840AM or WKRD 790AM, or via satellite radio: SIRIUS Channel 134 and XM Channel 204.

Tuesday’s Report

Pittsburgh quarterback Tino Sunseri

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8

How do we handle success? That’s the message this week that head coach Charlie Strong is going to deliver to his team after a 38-35 win over West Virginia last Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va. It was Louisville’s first win in Morgantown since 1990 and the first victory over the Mountaineers since 2006.

This is the exact same position the Cardinals were in about six weeks ago. Louisville defeated intrastate rival Kentucky 24-17 at Commonwealth Stadium on Sept. 17, snapping a four-game losing streak to the Wildcats. It was one of the biggest wins in years for the Cardinals, and certainly put the squad on an emotional high.

After a bye week following the UK win, the Cardinals dropped a 17-13 decision at home to Marshall, where they wasted several opportunities late to win the game.

This time, the Cardinals are hosting Pittsburgh (4-5, 2-2 BIG EAST) on Saturday at noon. The Cardinals are looking to become bowl eligible with a win on Saturday and aren’t looking for a repeat performance that followed the Kentucky win.

It’s also the exact same position the team was in a year ago when, at 5-4, it played host to South Florida, only to lose 24-21 in overtime and then fell the following week at home to West Virginia.

“I haven’t even said anything about becoming bowl eligible,” said Strong. “I think our players are reading into it. But, I just want to make sure our focus stays on Pitt. Yesterday, what I said to them was, ‘We were in this position last year. We go lose to South Florida. Let’s just make sure we handle our business at home. It’s the last game for our seniors here at home, so let’s make sure we send them out the right way.”

The Cardinals will be looking both to avenge last year’s loss to the Panthers, where they were whipped on both sides of the football in a 20-3 loss.

Pittsburgh Leaders
Tino Sunseri (175-278-8, 1,841 yds, 8 TD)

Zach Brown (52 att., 183 yds, 4 TD)

Devin Street (33 rec., 471 yds, 2 TD)

Series
The series is tied at 7-7, but the Panthers have won the last three meetings in impressive fashion, winning by an average of 25 points per game, including last season’s 20-3 victory at Heinz Field.