Saturday’s ACC clash at Acrisure Stadium had a lot of talking points. The Panthers lost 27-34 to the Cardinals, meaning Louisville continued its winning ways and rose to 2nd. But that wasn’t all that happened. The game delivered a particular moment that has now become viral on social media. The cause? A bizarre scuffle between 2 Pittsburgh players and a Louisville ball boy. Dave Portnoy, along with T-Bob and Brandon Walker, welcomed the young ball boy onto the Wake Up Barstool podcast to share his side of the moment.

It seemed like simulation theory is real. When have you seen a ball boy fight off two football players? The viral moment happened when Zephian Wade, the ball boy in question, tried to get the ball back from Pitt players after Panthers defensive back Rasheem Biles scored on a 75-yard pick-six. After the play, Biles and defensive lineman Isaiah Neal grabbed the ball from Wade and tossed it back and forth, refusing to give it back. The moment spread like wildfire, which led Wade to come to Dave Portnoy’s podcast to explain it all.

As the Cardinals’ equipment manager, it’s his job to make sure the ball doesn’t get thrown away. “I’m running down the sideline, and I’m just waiting for him to get to the sideline. He walks right past me. I knock the ball out for a quick second, and I have it in my hand, and then next thing you know, I just feel arms and hands and everything just on me, grabbing me, and I’m like, what is going on? I’m trying to move around. I’m trying to get out of there, and then they’re grabbing me, and then you see number two here. He just throws it behind, and at that point, it was kind of out of my hands,” said Wade.

He emphasized that he was “just trying to do the job,” and that he “wasn’t trying to start a commotion.” Well, whatever his reasoning might be, he did in fact get the ball back, a feat that impressed many.

T-Bob, in particular, was so impressed that he said Wade needs to get a NIL deal for his grit in front of 50K viewers. “Somebody give this man an NIL deal. Okay, if you need somebody who’s going to fight for you. If you need somebody who’s going to fight for you and get you and your customers what they need, that’s our guy, Zeph,” said Bob. Wade responded with “I got you. I will. And remember, that’s our ball, baby.” A cheeky reply by the young equipment manager.

Basically, Louisville went home with three victories on Saturday. The comeback win against the Panthers, cementing themselves in the 2nd position, and Wade’s viral heroics. The Cardinals are 4-0 this season and will face Virginia in another ACC clash this week.

Wade tells Dave Portnoy his reason behind the ‘viral’ moment

Despite Miller Moss not having a great game, the Cardinals made a comeback. Nobody thought the win on the field could be topped until Zephian Wade showed up. Many people called his actions heroic, but the real question is: why did he do it? Wade told Portnoy about the reasoning behind his actions and why he had to step in between the two Pittsburgh players.

Wade gave a background on his actions and why it was his job to protect the ball. “The last time Louisville went to Pittsburgh was two years ago in 2023, and we had lost a bunch of football. We lost about three or four footballs to them, throwing them into the stands,” said Wade. “Our boss, Ed Conn, had made a big emphasis on making sure that we get those footballs back.” Players often throw the ball to the crowd after making big plays. While it may not be an issue for them, it is for an equipment manager like Wade.

His actions went viral on social media, amassing over 2.1 million views on X. Even head coach Jeff Brohm smiled at Zephian Wade’s heroics. He said, “It was enjoyable to see someone fight for our ball back even though we gave it to them for a touchdown.”