LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jeff Brohm does not have to fabricate material to validate his concerns that Pittsburgh will be a dangerous opponent for his University of Louisville football team Saturday, even though the Panthers have benched their starting quarterback and are battling a four-game losing streak.

You don't need Woodward nor Bernstein to uncover the reasons.

Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi specializes in delivering victories against ranked opponents like Louisville, which is ranked No. 14 for its game at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Beat No. 18 UCLA as an eight-point underdog in the Sun Bowl last season. Beat No. 22 Syracuse by 10 last season. Throttled No. 18 Wake Forest in the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference title game. Defeated No. 24 Louisville in 2020.

Brohm can also talk about trips from exhilaration to exasperation that his teams suffered at Purdue.

Like following up a 29-point win over No. 2 Ohio State by losing by 10 to Michigan State in a game that was supposed to be a toss up. And losing by 17 to an unranked Wisconsin squad a week after defeating No. 2 Iowa by 17 with the Boilermakers. And losing by 28 points to Ohio State after handling No. 5 Michigan State by double figures.

"If you want to be good, you have to back it up every week," Brohm said. "If you can't back it up, you're really not that good."

This game and these conditions will be a legitimate test of what Brohm learned about preparing a team to deal with success as effectively as a team deals with adversity. It's easy to play the disrespect card. Try getting juiced when everybody is patting you on the back.

In six seasons at Purdue, his teams went 3-3 in games after defeating a ranked opponent.

Louisville jumped 11 spots in the Associated Press Top 25. They're ranked ahead of Utah, Louisiana State, Tennessee and, of course, Notre Dame. Four voters put the Cardinals as high as No. 10 or No. 11 on their ballots.

At DraftKings.com, Louisville sits as an eight-point road favorite. That was not the outlook in July. Not when Louisville was picked to finish eighth in the league, behind Pitt, in a media poll at ACC Football Media Day.

Phil Steele publishes one of the most respected preseason magazines in the business. Steele had Louisville pegged to finish tied for sixth with North Carolina State, a team the Cards beat in their last road game.

Pitt?

Steele ranked the Panthers third, behind only Clemson and Florida State. In fact, Steele wrote that, with Pitt playing only three true road games, the Panthers would face a key home game against Florida State on Nov. 4 that could put them in the ACC title game.

Well, well, well. Louisville? I'm guessing Steele had that one safely in the Pitt column.

That's not how it has played out. Pitt has lost back-to-back-to-back-to-back games against Cincinnati, West Virginia, North Carolina and Virginia Tech, teams ranked 39th, 43rd, 16th and 72nd in ESPN's Football Power Index.

The 38-21 loss to Tech was so ugly that Narduzzi has reportedly made a tight end out of quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who led Boston College to a win over Louisville last season.

Why not?

Pitt's offense ranks either last or next to last in the ACC in scoring, passing, rushing or yardage. In those four defeats — the only games Pitt has played against FBS opponents — the Panthers averaged a ghastly 262 yards and 18 points.

Jurkovec's replacement will reportedly by Christian Veilleux, a native of Ottawa, Canada, who has thrown four touchdown passes and two interceptions while playing in parts of seven games at Penn State (in 2021 and 2022) and Pittsburgh this season.

Brohm backed up his argument that Veilleux, who stands 6 feet, 4 inches tall, has skills by reminding questioners that he tried to recruit Veilleux to Purdue.

But Pitt's offense is unlikely to beat Louisville, even after an off week. Pitt's defense is more likely to beat Louisville. The Panthers have allowed fewer total yards and passing yards than the Cards have this season, which is not surprising considering Narduzzi is known for his ability to coach defense.

Of course, there is one other thing that could beat Louisville: Louisville could beat Louisville if Brohm's players are unable to process the praise that will surround them all week.

"If we don't put the work in, we're not going to win," Brohm said. "That's just how it works. ... If you don't, behind closed doors, work your butt off to try to win one game at a time, you're not going to win.

"Unless you're a perennial powerhouse, you're not going to get away with any other thoughts."

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