Tag: Louisville Cardinals

Nov 16, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal place kicker Emmet Kenney (13) kicks a field goal during the first quarter against the Louisville Cardinals at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

Stanford beats No. 19 Louisville on final-play field goal

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Emmet Kenney kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired to lift host Stanford to a 38-35 upset of No. 19 Louisville on Saturday.

The senior’s heroics led to the crowd rushing to the field and snapped a six-game losing skid for the Cardinal (3-7, 2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference). It also capped a sensational comeback for Stanford, which trailed by 14 with less than 10 minutes remaining.

The game-winning kick was set up after Louisville (6-4, 4-3) turned it over on downs at the Stanford 45 with 5 seconds left. Louisville then committed unsportsmanlike conduct and offsides penalties to get Kenney closer.

Stanford got a season-high 298 yards passing and three touchdowns from Ashton Daniels, while freshman receiver Emmett Mosley V had 13 catches for 168 yards and three TDs.

Mosley caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Justin Lamson on a fourth-and-1 with 45 seconds left to tie the game.

Louisville appeared to have the game in hand after a 5-yard touchdown run from Duke Watson to make it 35-21 with 9:44 left. It was part of a career day for the true freshman, who stepped up after leading rusher Isaac Brown left with a shoulder injury in the first quarter.

Watson ran for 117 yards and three scores on 11 carries for the Cardinals, who rallied and appeared to take control of the game in the second half.

Stanford jumped out early. Gaethan Bernadel intercepted a Tyler Shough pass at the Louisville 25 thanks to a Zach Rowell deflection, and that led to a 41-yard field goal by Emmet Kenney.

After forcing a three and out, Daniels connected with Mosley for a 62-yard touchdown to give the hosts a 10-0 lead with 6:12 left in the opening quarter.

Watson’s 5-yard touchdown with 4:06 left in the first half gave the Cardinals their first lead at 14-13. He added a 68-yard touchdown with 4:48 left in the third quarter to extend the lead to 28-13.

According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, Brown suffered a shoulder contusion while being tackled on his second carry in the first quarter. The true freshman entered Saturday with the third-best rushing average in FBS at 7.6 yards per carry.

Shough finished 26-of-39 passing for 270 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Chris Bell caught nine of those passes for 112 yards and one score, while JaCorey Brooks made nine receptions for 104 yards.

–Field Level Media

Oct 5, 2024; Berkeley, California, USA; Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal gestures after defeating the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

After players-only meeting, No. 6 Miami braces for Louisville

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The Miami Hurricanes had a players-only meeting a few days ago.

What makes this interesting is that the Hurricanes don’t have the criteria usually associated with players-only meetings. They don’t have a losing record, they’re not coming off a loss and their coach is not on the hot seat.

Instead, the sixth-ranked Hurricanes (6-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) are on a roll as they get set to visit Louisville (4-2, 2-1) on Saturday afternoon.

Miami, which is led by Heisman Trophy contender Cam Ward at quarterback, has scored at least 38 points in every game this season.

However, the Hurricanes had to rally from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against Virginia Tech and overcome a 20-point hole at Cal.

The Hurricanes received good news this week when it was announced that star left tackle Jalen Rivers will return from injury on Saturday for the first time since the season opener.

“He’s full go,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said of Rivers.

Miami leads this series 11-4-1, but Louisville went on the road last year and posted a 38-31 victory. Miami is 5-2 in Louisville, but the Cardinals have won four of the past six matchups.

The Cardinals, who went 10-4 last season while reaching the ACC title game, reloaded this year by signing 15 prep recruits and bringing in 26 transfers.

Among the transfers are quarterback Tyler Shough and running back Donald Chaney Jr.

Shough started his career at Oregon, where he initially sat behind now-Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. In 2020, after Herbert went to the NFL, Shough won the starting job and led Cristobal’s Ducks to the Pac-12 title.

However, Shough lost his job in the bowl game, and he transferred to Texas Tech and now Louisville.

This is Slough’s seventh college season. He has played 36 games. This season, he is completing 63.4 percent of his passes for 1,674 yards with 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Chaney, playing his fifth college season, has 110 yards on 33 carries this season. He played his first four seasons at Miami.

Louisville’s leading rusher also has Miami ties — Isaac Brown is a true freshman from Homestead High. Brown leads the Cardinals in rushing yards (508), rushing average (8.6) and scrimmage yards (600).

Defensively, Louisville’s big name is end Ashton Gillotte. Prior to the start of this season, Gillotte was named by Lindy’s magazine as the ACC’s second-best NFL prospect. He has 24 career sacks in 45 games, including 11 last season and two in 2024.

The Cardinals, after consecutive losses to then-No. 16 Notre Dame and SMU, beat Virginia 24-20 on Saturday.

“It was a hard, workmanlike job,” Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said.

The Hurricanes, coming off a bye week, lead the nation in scoring average (47.7 points per game). Ward leads the nation in passing yards (369.8). Xavier Restrepo leads the ACC in receiving yards (585). He also has five TDs and an 18.3 average.

“We have a lot to prove,” Cristobal said this week. “We have to look at the first half of the season with humility. But, fortunately, we have some alpha leaders.”

That was proven this week during that players-only meeting.

–Field Level Media

Oct 5, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough (9) looks to pass against Southern Methodist Mustangs defensive end Elijah Roberts (5) during the second half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Louisville seeks bounce-back performance vs. Virginia

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After falling out of the Top 25 with back-to-back seven-point losses, Louisville will visit a surging Virginia squad Saturday afternoon for an Atlantic Coast Conference contest in Charlottesville, Va.

Coach Jeff Brohm believes that better communication on defense is crucial if his Cardinals (3-2, 1-1) hope to keep the Cavaliers (4-1, 2-0) from running up and down the court, er, field.

“Just like when you’re playing defense in basketball, you have to talk,” Brohm said. “It’s going to be loud, so we have to be better at communicating.”

Louisville climbed to No. 15 in the Associated Press poll before losing 31-24 at then-No. 16 Notre Dame on Sept. 28 and 34-27 at home last weekend against SMU.

After falling behind 21-7 in the first quarter vs. the Fighting Irish, the Cardinals trailed by 11 at halftime against the Mustangs.

“I think it’s a hodgepodge of things that happen here and there that need to be cleaned up to make sure we don’t put ourselves in those situations,” Brohm said. “We all need to play better. We all need to coach better. It starts with me and goes all the way down.”

While Louisville’s rallies have fallen short, Virginia successfully engineered another comeback last weekend against Boston College. The Cavaliers scored 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for a 24-14 victory.

It was similar to Virginia’s ACC opener on Sept. 7 at Wake Forest, when the Cavaliers outscored the Demon Deacons 14-0 in the fourth quarter for a 31-30 win.

Picked to finish 16th in the 17-team ACC in the preseason after consecutive three-win campaigns, Virginia began this week as one of five unbeaten schools in league play.

“It’s a great feeling, obviously, to be 4-1,” defensive end Chico Bennett Jr. said. “But overall, we know what we’ve got to do, because Coach (Tony) Elliott always emphasizes reload, recalibrate and attack. And so that’s the mindset.”

Louisville has won the last two meetings to take a 7-5 lead in the series. The Cardinals outscored the Cavaliers 17-3 in the fourth quarter to pull out a 31-24 home win last November.

–Field Level Media

Oct 5, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough (9) throws a pass against the Southern Methodist Mustangs during the first half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

LJ Johnson scores go-ahead TD to lift SMU past No. 22 Louisville

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LJ Johnson’s 1-yard touchdown run with 6:39 remaining in the fourth quarter lifted visiting SMU to a 34-27 win over No. 22 LSU on Saturday in an Atlantic Coast Conference game.

The Mustangs (5-1, 2-0 ACC) drove 89 yards in 11 plays for the winning score. Quarterback Kevin Jennings, who accounted for 394 total yards, converted a key third down with a 6-yard run.

The Cardinals’ last possession ended when Isaiah Nwokobia intercepted Tyler Shough’s pass in the end zone with 2:29 remaining.

Jennings hit 21 of 27 passes for 281 yards and added 113 yards on the ground.

Shough completed 22 of 35 for 329 yards with two touchdowns and the late pick.

Ja’Corey Brooks had three catches for 121 yards and Ahmari Huggins-Bruce had five grabs for 82 yards for the Cardinals.

Isaac Brown rushed for 117 yards for Louisville, which fell to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. The Cards are likely to fall out of the Top 25 when the new poll is released Sunday afternoon.

In a game many expected to be high-scoring, SMU controlled the first half as Jennings played almost flawlessly while its defense kept Louisville under wraps for the most part.

Each team scored on its first two possessions. The Mustangs got a 5-yard touchdown run from Roderick Daniels and a 10-yard scoring strike from backup quarterback Preston Stone to Key’Shawn Smith.

The Cardinals countered with Shough’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Brooks and Brock Travelstead’s 46-yard field goal.

SMU made it 21-10 when Jennings, who completed 12 straight passes to open the game, ripped off a 59-yard scoring jaunt with 6:56 left in the half.

After Travelstead’s 41-yard field goal nudged Louisville within eight points, Collin Rogers drilled a 55-yarder 23 seconds before halftime for a 24-13 Mustangs lead at the break.

–Field Level Media

Sep 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) runs the ball as Miami Redhawks defensive end Josh Lukusa (94) defends in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

No. 16 Notre Dame has score to settle with No. 15 Louisville

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Louisville coach Jeff Brohm knows that revenge will be a motivating factor when No. 16 Notre Dame hosts the No. 15 Cardinals on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.

Last October, Louisville posted a 33-20 upset at home over then-No. 10 Notre Dame. This time, the Cardinals (3-0) will head to Notre Dame Stadium, where the Fighting Irish (3-1) are eager to avoid another loss in front of a national audience.

“We expect their best,” Brohm said. “They will be ready to play, and they will be fired up to win this football game. So that’s why we have to worry about ourselves, have a great week of practice, and come ready to play. We can’t have a lot of mistakes.”

This season, Louisville has avoided crucial errors. The Cardinals have victories against Austin Peay, Jacksonville State and Georgia Tech in their first three contests.

Notre Dame already has had one major stumble, a stunning 16-14 home loss against Northern Illinois on Sept. 7. The Fighting Irish have rebounded with two straight wins against Purdue and Miami (Ohio) by a combined margin of 94-10.

Quarterback Riley Leonard has helped the Fighting Irish find their footing. Leonard has six rushing touchdowns and one passing TD and is averaging 7.0 yards per carry. He has completed 63.1 percent of his passes.

Leonard threw for 154 yards and ran for 143 in a 28-3 win over Miami last week.

“I’m really proud of him,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “He was the player of the game for our offense (last week) in terms of what he did. … And there is always room to grow. We’re never satisfied. We’re greedy people.”

Leonard and several other key players are new to the Fighting Irish this season, but Freeman said he would show clips of last year’s defeat to Louisville to help motivate his team.

“It’s a lot like therapy,” Freeman said. “Sometimes, you’ve got to revisit some of those dark places to kind of get out of it what you need to. So we’re definitely going to revisit last year, but my intentions are to make sure we gain the wisdom and the learning opportunities that the film of last year will truly tell us.”

Meanwhile, Louisville is eyeing a 4-0 start one year after opening the season with six straight wins. The Cardinals are led by Tyler Shough, a senior who has completed 68.4 percent of his passes for 850 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions this season.

Ja’Corey Brooks is Shough’s top target with 17 catches for 297 yards and two scores.

Brohm said he understands the high stakes surrounding this week’s matchup.

“This is a huge stage for our team,” he said. “To go up there and play in this atmosphere against a really good opponent can be a huge momentum swing in our direction if we can find a way to win, without question. It gives your team credibility and definitely elevates your program, so this is one of those games that you’ve got to take advantage of.”

–Field Level Media

Louisville Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough (9) throws the ball during their game against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Ky.

No. 19 Louisville puts high-output offense up against Georgia Tech

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No. 19 Louisville will play host to Georgia Tech on Saturday in a battle of ACC teams intent on having a say in who wins the conference title.

Georgia Tech (3-1, 1-1 ACC) is coming off a 59-7 blowout victory over VMI last Saturday. The Yellow Jackets were picked ninth in the ACC preseason poll but already have knocked off preseason No. 1 pick Florida State in their opener, while falling 31-28 at Syracuse on Sept. 7.

“We’ll have our hands full,” Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said of Georgia Tech. “We’re going against a team that’s very efficient on offense, in the passing and running game. They’re physical at the point of attack, control the football and play solid defense.”

Louisville (2-0) had time to prepare for its conference opener, as it is coming off the first of two bye weeks. The Cardinals have shown some early offense in victories over FCS opponent Austin Peay 62-0 and Jacksonville State 49-14. Louisville was picked fifth in the ACC preseason poll.

“We have two bye weeks this year, which I don’t love, but they’re there, so we try and get our guys fresh and healthy, which we did,” Brohm said. “It’s important that they know that we have an important stretch of games coming up that we have to be ready for. We have to continue to progress to reach our ultimate goal, and you’ve got to be sharp each week.”

The Yellow Jackets are ranked 36th in total offense at 446.2 yards per game and have averaged 36.5 points per game. The defense has allowed 317.5 yards (66th) and 17.8 points per game (51st).

Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King has 962 passing yards and six touchdowns, while he has rushed for 158 yards and three more TDs. King has thrown only one interception and has completed 76.4 percent of his passes.

“They’re battle-tested, without question,” Brohm said. “They’ve proven that they can play some good football, so I give the credit where credit is due. They’ve done a really good job.”

While Louisville rolled to victories in two games against heavy underdogs, Georgia Tech coach Brent Key knows this week’s opponent can be a scoring threat.

“We have a big challenge in front of us,” Key said. “A very good Louisville team. Coach Brohm, Jeff does a great job. Not just coaching and developing his team, but, you know, as a game manager as well. … They’re a talented team.”

Louisville went 10-4 last season in the first year under Brohm, a former Cardinals quarterback. Louisville beat Georgia Tech 39-34 last season in the opening game for both teams and eventually lost to Florida State 16-6 in the ACC championship game.

Even with 41 newcomers on the roster, the Cardinals are third-best in the nation with 55.5 points per game and are fourth with 590.5 yards per game. Quarterback Tyler Shough has passed for 581 yards and six TDs. The Louisville defense is allowing just seven points and 198 yards per game, which rank 10th and eighth, respectively.

It’s the fourth all-time meeting between Louisville and Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets won the first two games, 66-31 in 2018 and 46-27 in 2020.

–Field Level Media

Louisville Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough (9) catches the ball during their game against the Austin Peay Governors on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Ky.

No. 22 Louisville hosts ‘well-coached’ Jacksonville State

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Ranked in the Top 25 in September for the first time since 2020, No. 22 Louisville looks to continue its strong start on Saturday at home against Jacksonville State.

The visiting Gamecocks were favored in last week’s opener against Coastal Carolina, but coach Rich Rodriguez’s team turned the ball over three times, allowed 552 yards of total offense and dropped a 55-27 decision at home.

On the flip side, the Cardinals were heavily favored at home last week and decked Austin Peay 62-0, allowing just 106 yards of total offense.

“(It’s) a great opportunity for our players be in a great venue against a really good team,” Rodriguez said. “Our guys know the challenge in front of them, and I think they’ll give great effort, great focus all week by getting the chance to play Louisville, who I think is, probably the best team in the ACC, at least one of the best teams.”

Louisville has 41 newcomers on the roster after going 10-4 last season, making it to the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game for the first time in school history. Second-year coach Jeff Brohm has warned his team that Jacksonville State “will be ready for this opportunity.”

Brohm and Rodriguez met once before, when the former’s Purdue squad edged Arizona 38-35 in the 2017 Foster Farms Bowl.

“He’s very good and he’s been doing this a long time,” Brohm said of Rodriguez, who also coached at West Virginia and Michigan.

“You know when you are going against him there’s a lot to prepare for. He understands the game, he gets it, he’s done it and he knows how to take players and maximize their talent level. So, we’ll have our hands full. This is a well-coached team and they’re going to be hungry coming off a loss at home.”

Louisville’s Tyler Shough, a transfer from Texas Tech, passed for 232 yards and four touchdowns in one half of play against Austin Peay. The Cardinals saw 15 players catch at least one pass and were led in rushing by true freshman Isaac Brown, who had 123 yards and one TD on five carries. Brown’s rushing total was the most by a true freshman in a debut in school history.

On defense, the Cardinals had 14 tackles for a loss and seven sacks.

The Gamecocks rotated two quarterbacks against Coastal Carolina and Rodriguez said that will likely continue, with Logan Smothers starting and Tyler Huff also playing. Huff completed 7 of 14 passes for 173 yards and one TD but two interceptions. Smothers had 61 yards on 7-of-13 passing.

“It’ll be a very, very talented team that plays hard, and like I said, they’ve got good players across the board, but we do too,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve got good players and it’ll be a fun game.”

This will be the first time Jacksonville State, a member of Conference USA, has played an ACC foe since upsetting Florida State in 2021.

–Field Level Media

Louisville Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough (9) catches the ball during their game against the Austin Peay Governors on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Ky.

Tyler Shough leads Louisville in rout of Austin Peay

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Tyler Shough threw for 232 yards and four touchdowns to lead Louisville to a 62-0 season-opening home win over Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon.

Shough, a transfer from Texas Tech, completed 18 of 24 passes in his debut for the Cardinals.

Louisville left no doubt from the start, taking a 31-0 lead midway though the second quarter and a 38-0 advantage at halftime.

The Cardinals opened the scoring on their opening drive of the game, capping a 7-play, 62-yard drive with a 30-yard field goal by Brock Travelstead.

Following a 29-yard punt return by Quincy Riley to the Austin Peay 33-yard line, Louisville took advantage of the field position. The Cardinals claimed a 10-0 lead with 8:10 left in the first quarter on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Shough to Ja’Corey Brooks.

On the first play of the second quarter, Keyjuan Brown scored from 4 yards out.

The Cardinals extended their lead to 24-0 with 10:55 to go in the first half on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Shough to Jadon Thompson.

Following a blocked punt by Devin Neal that gave Louisville the ball at the Austin Peay 35, the Cardinals grabbed a 31-0 lead on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Shough to Mark Redman with 7:17 remaining in the second quarter.

In the final minute of the first half, Louisville’s Austin Smith intercepted a pass and returned it to the Austin Peay 13-yard line.

Shough then hit Thompson on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining to give Louisville a 38-0 lead heading into intermission.

The Cardinals added three touchdowns in the third quarter — including a 77-yard scoring run by Isaac Brown and a 22-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Ramon Puryear — to take a 59-0 lead.

–Field Level Media

University of Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough (9) runs a drill during their second practice on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.

Louisville opens with Austin Peay, aims to build on last season

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Jeff Brohm’s first season as head coach of Louisville was a rousing success.

The Cardinals finished with 10 victories — winning double-digit games in a season for the first time since 2013 — and advanced to the ACC Championship game.

The quest to build on those accomplishments in Brohm’s second season will begin Saturday afternoon when Louisville hosts Austin Peay in a nonconference game.

Brohm was well aware of what happened with some notable upsets in last week’s opening NCAA games and doesn’t want his heavily-favored team to take anything for granted.

“You had two upsets last weekend, so it just goes to show the parity in college football,” Brohm said. “When you step on the field and you don’t play your best game, you’re going to lose.”

The biggest newcomer for Louisville this year is quarterback Tyler Shough, a transfer from Texas Tech who has taken over the starting job.

Shough completed 67 of 111 passes for 746 yards and seven touchdowns over four games for the Red Raiders last season, with four interceptions.

“Every day he continues to go out there and make plays,” Brohm said. “He has great command of the offense and the pocket. He knows how to deliver the ball up the field to our playmakers.”

Brohm said the defensive line is his team’s deepest position, highlighting Ashton Gillotte as one player who has had a “tremendous” camp.

Austin Peay has a first-year head coach in Jeff Faris, who came from UCLA after serving as the tight ends coach under Chip Kelly.

The Governors won the United Athletic Conference title last year, but only 43 players from last year’s roster are back this season.

The leading returning players for Austin Peay are offensive lineman Chandler Kirton and defensive lineman Hosea Knifeley Jr.

“It takes time to get used to a whole new coaching staff,” Kirton told the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. “But I think coach Faris has done a great job of bringing in coaches that are going to coach you hard.”

–Field Level Media