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Louisville concludes road slate at Pittsburgh

Nov 22, 2006 - 1:37 AM No. 8 Louisville (9-1) at Pittsburgh (6-5), 3:30 pm EST

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) - A Bowl Championship Series berth is in Louisville's sights. But first, the eighth-ranked Cardinals must remain focused.

Louisville looks to remain in contention for the Big East Conference title when it visits Pittsburgh on Saturday.

The Cardinals (9-1, 4-1 Big East) are in a three-way tie for first place in the conference with West Virginia and Rutgers. While Louisville hosts middling Connecticut next week, the Mountaineers host the Scarlet Knights.

Were Louisville and West Virginia to finish tied for first, the Cardinals would win the conference's automatic BCS bid by virtue of their 44-34 win on November 2.

Louisville extended its home winning streak to 17 games with a 31-8 rout of South Florida last Saturday.

Brian Brohm threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns to Harry Douglas for the Cardinals, who also received two rushing touchdowns from freshman running back Anthony Allen.

Pitt (6-5, 2-4) has lost four straight games, including a 45-27 home setback to West Virginia on November 16 in the "Backyard Brawl."

Tyler Palko threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns but was sacked eight times for the Panthers, who allowed both West Virginia quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton to rush for 200 yards.

Louisville lost the first four meetings in the series but has won five straight since, including a 42-20 triumph last year.