Pitt notebook: Is Christian Veilleux the answer to the Panthers' quarterback quandary?

On a night when Christian Veilleux’s completion percentage was worse than his benched predecessor’s, two pretty touchdown passes trumped everything else.

Veilleux made his first collegiate start Saturday night, leading Pitt (2-4, 1-2 ACC) to a 38-21 victory against previously undefeated Louisville (6-1, 3-1), which fell from its No. 14 national ranking to No. 21.

The sophomore from Ottawa, Ontario, completed 12 of 26 passes (46.1%), slightly under former starter Phil Jurkovec’s 50.9%. Yet it didn’t matter. His touchdown passes — one early, one late — gave Pitt the cushion it needed. Just as important, it told Veilleux he could handle the pressure that comes with playing quarterback in the Power 5.

“I was missing throws, being too antsy,” said Veilleux, who missed his first five pass attempts. On the sixth, he got the protection he needed from the sixth version of Pitt’s banged-up and scrambled offensive line, waited for wide receiver Bub Means to beat his man and lofted a 46-yard touchdown pass.

“I definitely missed a lot of throws which I want to have back, especially some wide-open ones,” Veilleux said. “Definitely getting that throw off settled me down and made me feel comfortable.”

Then, in the fourth quarter, with Pitt protecting a 10-point lead in the final four minutes of the game, he hit Konata Mumpfield for a 31-yard touchdown that created the 17-point margin of victory. Overall, Pitt’s offensive unit scored four touchdowns for the first time in five games against Power 5 opponents.

“Great call,” Veilleux said. “When I heard the call from the headsets, I was all for it.”

Louisville was in a cover-zero defense, designed to pressure the passer with extra rushers but leave the cornerbacks in one-on-one coverage.

“We worked it all week,” Veilleux said. “There’s a lot of testament to the program (Penn State) I was at before to be comfortable and know how to handle cover zero. These (Pitt) coaches really helped me out to really feel comfortable with our plan. Our O-line knew exactly what to do.”

Veilleux didn’t run much, but his 11-yard run to the Louisville 3 in the third quarter helped set up Pitt’s go-ahead touchdown. After Veilleux was run out of bounds, he forgot what the next play was supposed to be.

“I completely forgot what I just got. I called my own play, which was a great play,” he said, laughing.

Instead, Pitt called a timeout to erase the confusion. When play resumed, C’Bo Flemister scored from the 3 and Pitt never trailed again.

Another new O-line

Senior guard Blake Zubovic, who had started every game this season, was in uniform but did not play against Louisville. Senior Jason Collier and freshman B.J. Williams played left and right guard, and Veilleux was sacked only once.

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“The media, you guys, have been tough on them. We as players and coaches have been tough on them,” Veilleux said. “They know the expectations, and they delivered. They played their best game, for sure.”

Center Jake Kradel missed his third consecutive game with an unspecified injury.

Defense takes charge

Louisville collected more first downs (28-13) and won time of possession (33-27 minutes), but Pitt’s defense rose up and stopped the Cardinals on 5 of 17 third- or fourth-down plays and pitched a second-half shutout.

Having linebacker Bangally Kamara back from injury helped.

“He’s one of our leaders,” linebacker Shayne Simon said. “Having his energy, having his confidence back means a lot.”

Simon, Brandon George, Sam Okunlola and Solomon DeShields recorded sacks. Okunlola’s was a strip sack with Louisville on the Pitt 15-yard line in the second quarter. Simon dropped Cardinals quarterback Jack Plummer in the first quarter, using a design Pitt hadn’t used all season, Narduzzi said.

“Our coaches do a great job of seeing what works against our opponents. It was cool to see,” Simon said.

Said Narduzzi: “It comes down to execution. There’s no magic in it. You have to stick with it. I told the defense, ‘I don’t care how long you’re out there. If you’re out there for 55 minutes, we’re going to play championship defense.’ That’s really what you saw.

“I told them at halftime, ‘Defense, you’re shutting them out in the second half.’ We said they’re not scoring. If they don’t score we win, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Vase tale

If an inanimate object can be a motivational force for a football team, Pitt has one in a blue vase that was displayed prominently in the lobby of the practice facility last week.

The story stems from a 1921 book, “The Go-Getter,” which has sold more than 500,000 copies world-wide and tells the inspirational story of a war veteran facing many hurdles in trying to find a blue vase at his boss’ request.

Each Pitt player was handed a miniature blue vase before the game Saturday. Offensive tackle Branson Taylor folded his inside a sock he wore all night. Narduzzi carried the original into his postgame news conference and set it down in front of him while he answered questions.

The message, as Narduzzi likes to tell it, is “just find a way to get it done.”

Mom gets the trophy football

M.J. Devonshire told his teammates to make the game personal, and the Aliquippa graduate certainly did that on his own after his decisive Pick 6.

After he scored, he handed the football to his mother, Theresa.

“Being able to give her a moment and seeing her on that Jumbotron and knowing how much that meant to her, I couldn’t wait,” Devonshire said.

“I love my mom so much. We’ve been through so much, and we keep going and going. She’s one of my best friends. We talk all the time. I’ve been practicing all week, when I get a touchdown — it’s going to come one day, whether it’s this week or another week — how high do I have to reach to give her that ball? Seeing her crying. That’s the best feeling.”

Devonshire listened intently to fellow Aliquippa graduate Darrelle Revis’ pregame speech that encouraged the team not to waste the limited opportunities they have as college players.

“If your eyes are open and you’re respecting it, you take advantage of those opportunities,” Devonshire said.