M.J. Devonshire’s pick-6 leads Pitt to upset of undefeated Louisville
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At one point Saturday night during Pitt’s 38-21 victory against Louisville, Pitt greats Kenny Pickett and Tony Dorsett were pictured on the scoreboard seated side-by-side in the upper reaches of Acrisure Stadium.
Earlier in the game, Pitt (2-4, 1-2 ACC) honored another of its own, Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Darrelle Revis.
All three smiled during their big moments and waved to the announced crowd of 46,296. But in the third quarter, Pitt cornerback M.J. Devonshire really gave them something to cheer.
Devonshire, a Beaver County product like Dorsett and Revis, returned an interception 86 yards for a touchdown and a 31-21 lead, helping Pitt give No. 14 Louisville (6-1, 3-1) its first loss of the season. It was the third pick-6 of Devonshire’s career and the longest by a Pitt player since Chiffon Allen’s 97-yard return in 1997.
This one was especially fitting. Devonshire and Revis are Aliquippa High School graduates.
“He’ll probably call me when I get home. I’ll be waiting,” Devonshire said. “I always get really nervous when he comes around. Just being around that guy and knowing how humble he is and just seeing the path he took, being the guy who walked the same streets I walk. That’s motivating in itself.
“At the end of the day, where we come from, we win championships.”
Added coach Pat Narduzzi: “To do that in front of Tony Dorsett and Darrelle Revis, that’s big-time. I told him right before that series, `Hey, you’re going to take one to the house.’ Sure enough, he did.”
The victory stretched Narduzzi’s streak of defeating at least one Top-25 team to eight consecutive seasons (2016-23). It also ended Pitt’s four-game losing streak.
Narduzzi said he told his players during the week of practice they were destined to win.
“Our guys believed,” he said. “We talked about playing together and staying together. It just tells you what we have in that locker room.”
The losses — one after another — didn’t seem to deter the players.
”Everybody has to face adversity at some point in life,” Devonshire said. “There were some dark days, but when it stops raining, the sun’s gotta come out.”
Quarterback Christian Veilleux made his first collegiate start, replacing Phil Jurkovec. He completed 12 of 26 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. He punctuated the victory with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Konata Mumpfield with 3 minutes, 3 seconds left in the game.
Related:
• Analysis: Did Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi wait too long to change quarterbacks?
• Pitt notebook: Is Christian Veilleux the answer to the Panthers’ quarterback quandary?
Just as important, he won over his teammates with his leadership.
“That’s my dog,” Means said. “He’s got a little swag about him that a quarterback gotta have. I like his swag. I like his game. I like his preparation. I like his work ethic. Christian’s a baller. Christian, he does bring a different type of leadership to us.”
The outcome might have hinged on Louisville coach Jeff Brohm’s decision to go for the first down on fourth-and-1 from the Cardinals’ 34 while holding a 21-14 lead early in the third quarter. The Panthers’ Bangaly Kamara and Deandre Jules stopped Maurice Turner for no gain, giving the offense a big opportunity. Pitt answered with Ben Sauls’ 46-yard field goal, his longest of the season.
On the ensuing possession, Narduzzi matched Brohm, gamble-for-gamble, opting to convert a fourth-and-1 from the Pitt 48. C’Bo Flemister gained the necessary yard. “That was a man carrying it right there,” Narduzzi said.
Nine plays later, Pitt took its first second-half lead since the opener, 24-21, on Flemister’s 3-yard touchdown run. It was a lead the Panthers never surrendered.
Pitt rallied twice in the first half to create a 14-14 tie, but Louisville knifed through the Panthers defense for 223 yards and 21 points to lead by a touchdown at halftime.
But in the second half, Pitt shut out the Cardinals, intercepting quarterback Jack Plummer twice. A.J. Woods had an interception in the fourth quarter, and Pitt had four sacks — two in each half.
Louisville’s eight second-half possessions ended with four turnovers on downs, a punt, two interceptions and a missed field-goal try from 47 yards.
“They bent, but didn’t break,” Narduzzi said. “Three turnovers (including a strip sack by redshirt freshman Sam Okunlola), plus four fourth-down stops. That’s like seven turnovers, in my opinion.”
After a slow start — negative-4 yards on its first three possessions — Veilleux hit Means with a 46-yard touchdown pass to get the offense rolling. Means, who collected four receptions for 71 yards, said the touchdown was the product of practice.
”We’d been talking about it (on the sideline),” he said. “To see it come out the very next play and we throw a touchdown, that’s crazy. Almost like we spoke it up into existence. He threw me the ball, and I had to make play.”
As the game progressed, Devonshire kept pumping up his teammates with his words and one special deed.
“I told the guys, `Make a play for yourself. You’ll feel so much better when you rest your head on your pillow.’ ”