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Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheLouisvilleCardinalSports

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<title>Cardinals beat Hokies 34-3, improve to 8-1 and 2nd place in ACC standings</title>
<link>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/11/cardinals-beat-hokies-34-3-improve-to-8-1-and-2nd-place-in-acc-standings/</link>
<comments>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/11/cardinals-beat-hokies-34-3-improve-to-8-1-and-2nd-place-in-acc-standings/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Derek DeBurger]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 05 Nov 2023 14:15:02 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ACC Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Brock Domann]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jack Plummer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[L&N Stadium]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Louisvill]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Louisville Cardinals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[stephon herron]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[U of L]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Virginia Tech]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/?p=83711</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger The Cards now sit alone in second place in the ACC when they took care of business at home against the Virginia Tech Hokies Saturday afternoon. Louisville proved once again that they have elite depth on the roster; starting cornerback Jarvis Brownlee and star wide receiver Jamari Thrash were ruled out before]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger
The Cards now sit alone in second place in the ACC when they took care of business at home against the Virginia Tech Hokies Saturday afternoon.
Louisville proved once again that they have elite depth on the roster; starting cornerback Jarvis Brownlee and star wide receiver Jamari Thrash were ruled out before the game started, and star running back Jawhar Jordan, starting left tackle Willie Tyler, and center Bryon Hudson were all game-time decisions.
Despite the roster limitations, the Cards jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. After stopping the Hokies offense—one that had been firing on all cylinders—on their first drive, the Cards marched down the field and scored an opening drive touchdown.
After another defensive stop, the Cards took advantage of the momentum with a 39-yard touchdown from running back Isaac Guerendo. A drive later saw a 60-yard touchdown run from Guerendo get called back on a holding call that would’ve brought the lead to 21-0. The Cards were forced to kick a field goal but missed. The Hokies would then take the field position and kick a field goal right before the half to go to the locker rooms down 14-3.
That field goal would be the only ounce of momentum that Tech would hold in the game, as the Cards would come out in the second half the way they have almost all season long.
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Quarterback Jack Plummer would throw a 37-yard touchdown to wide receiver Jadon Thompson early on in the third quarter to take a 21-3 lead. This score is just the first touchdown of the season for Thompson, and it would be the only touchdown through the air for the Cards on the day. The offense would lean heavily on the running game, but Plummer still had an extremely efficient game going 11-for-12 passing with 141 yards and one touchdown before getting benched in the fourth for backup Brock Domann.
On defense, the Cards held opposing quarterback Kyron Drones to just 69 yards through the air and one interception. Tech’s leading rusher, running back Bhayshul Tuten, was held to just 57 yards as the Hokies were forced to become one-dimensional on offense to try and cut into their deficit.
Isaac Guerendo had a career day, with 146 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries. He helped the Cards wrap this game by the start of the fourth quarter, as head coach Jeff Brohm subbed in all the backups with just under seven minutes left in the game. The Cards came away with the win 34-3, and it was never close.
With such a resounding victory, the Cards improved to 8-1 on the season and 5-1 in the ACC, one step closer to the first ACC title game in program history. Such a convincing win, too, should help to sell Louisville to the Playoff Selection Committee as the Cards still have an outside chance at making the Playoffs this year.
There’s no other way to make it out in a special season for the Cards in Brohm’s first year as head coach.
Photo Courtesy // Taris Smith, Rachel Klotz, U of L Athletics
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<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
</item>
<item>
<title>Louisville women’s basketball to take on Bearcats in season opener</title>
<link>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/11/louisville-womens-basketball-to-take-on-bearcats-in-season-opener/</link>
<comments>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/11/louisville-womens-basketball-to-take-on-bearcats-in-season-opener/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Derek DeBurger]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 04 Nov 2023 02:41:35 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Basketball]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[bearcats]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cincinnati]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[jeff walz]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Louisville Women's]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Merissah Russell]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Nyla Harris]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Olivia Cochran]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[U of L]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[women's basketball]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/?p=83648</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger On Monday Nov. 6, the Louisville Cardinals will take on rival the Cincinnati Bearcats in the season opener. Louisville opened up the previous season with the Bearcats at home, this year the Cards will have to travel to Cincinnati to complete the home-and-home. Coming off of a season where the Cards made]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger 
On Monday Nov. 6, the Louisville Cardinals will take on rival the Cincinnati Bearcats in the season opener.
Louisville opened up the previous season with the Bearcats at home, this year the Cards will have to travel to Cincinnati to complete the home-and-home.
Coming off of a season where the Cards made an unexpected elite eight run and ranked No. 17 in the preseason AP poll, there’s a lot of optimism for the Cards this season.
Head coach Jeff Walz lost a lot of talent to graduation and the transfer portal, but he brought in a ton of talent to reload the roster immediately. Highlighted by who some saw as the best player in the transfer portal this offseason, Cal transfer Jayda Curry will look to provide instant impact and leadership for the Cards after averaging 15.5 points per game and 3.2 assists per game in her last season at Cal.
In the past two seasons coach Walz has relied heavily on Transfers to fit into his system and make a splash, and in the past two years they’ve delivered big with a Final Four and Elite Eight run respectively.
Walz will be bringing back some great productive players as well. Olivia Cochran and Merissah Russell are two impact seniors looking to finish out their careers with a bang, and Nyla Harris is a sophomore looking to take a big step forward after being a pleasant surprise last year.
Last year, Louisville kept it way too close for comfort against a Cincinnati team that ended up winning nine games. We didn’t know it at the time, but Coach Walz was struggling to get all the new pieces to mesh together. Once again, there’s a lot of roster movement that Walz will have to navigate, but if you ask me the toys that Walz has to play with this year are a whole lot shinier than last year.
We’ll need to see how everything meshes, but I’m expecting a win against the Bearcats and I’m excited to see how far the Cards can go this year.
Photo Courtesy // Louisville Athletics
]]></content:encoded>
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<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
</item>
<item>
<title>Louisville Men’s basketball to open season vs UMBC Retrievers</title>
<link>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/11/louisville-mens-basketball-to-open-season-vs-umbc-retrievers/</link>
<comments>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/11/louisville-mens-basketball-to-open-season-vs-umbc-retrievers/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Derek DeBurger]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 03 Nov 2023 19:29:58 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Basketball]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[basketball]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cardinals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Curtis Williams]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dennis Evans]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kaleb Glenn]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kenny Payne]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[louisville]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[louisville basketball]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Skyy Clark]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tre White]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ty-Laur Johnson]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[UMBC]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/?p=83646</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger After having the worst season in program history—going a whopping 4-28—head coach Kenny Payne and the Louisville Cardinals will kick off the 2023-2024 men’s basketball season with a matchup against the UMBC Retrievers. A complete roster revamp Lucky for the Cards, Payne spent the offseason completely revamping this roster. According to 247]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger
After having the worst season in program history—going a whopping 4-28—head coach Kenny Payne and the Louisville Cardinals will kick off the 2023-2024 men’s basketball season with a matchup against the UMBC Retrievers.
<h3>A complete roster revamp</h3>
Lucky for the Cards, Payne spent the offseason completely revamping this roster. According to 247 Sports, Louisville brought in the sixth-ranked freshman recruiting class and the 29th-ranked transfer portal class.
While the transfer portal class is headlined by Illinois transfer and former five-star recruit Skyy Clark, the best new player on Louisville’s roster might actually be USC transfer Tre White. White was touted as someone who might have been able to go pro after his one season at USC, and now he’s getting similar buzz at Louisville going into his sophomore year.
Louisville’s incoming freshmen are all really exciting, too, starting with five-star recruit Dennis Evans, a center with great defensive instincts who stands at a staggering 7’1”. Come Monday, Evans will officially become the tallest player in Cardinals history. Curtis Williams is an exciting guard/forward who can shoot the absolute lights out. Ty-Laur Johnson is a point guard out of Brooklyn with a high motor and a lot of potential, and Kaleb Glenn is a local freshman with a lot of upside that reminds you of past fan favorites like Dwayne Sutton.
On top of the roster talent being vastly upgraded, the roster construction is night and day compared to last year: there are multiple points guards on the team. Last season Louisville was forced to play El Ellis at point guard despite that not being his natural position, and only sub him out when he was in foul trouble or he desperately needed a breather.
Last year, Louisville made far too many simple mistakes, including countless moments of dribbling the ball off of a foot, not boxing out a rebounder, zero communication on defense and so much more. Louisville already looks vastly improved in several areas from their two exhibitions. However, there’s still a lot of room to grow as for the second year in a row the Cards have dropped an exhibition game to a Division II opponent.
<h3>UMBC</h3>
UMBC, the Cards’ first opponent of the season, is bad. UMBC is really bad. Last year, they finished 239 in the NET rankings out of 363 schools. That’s awful, but the Cards finished 314 out of 363 schools. Historically, this matchup is a breeze, but Louisville has given no indication that they’ll win the game besides the talent.
By virtue of having the pedigree that Louisville has and playing in the ACC, the Cards will play several very talented teams this year, including five or six (depending on how the Empire Classic plays out) teams ranked in the AP Top 25 preseason poll.
The team is better, bigger, and more athletic, but none of it means anything if Payne doesn’t also improve. There’s a lot of optimism for how the Cards might fair this year, but it’s also likely that fans are in for another long season, much less if they want a chance at the tournament this spring.
Photo Courtesy // Caleb Jones, U of L Athletics
]]></content:encoded>
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<item>
<title>PREVIEW: No. 13 Cardinals will face Virginia Tech Saturday</title>
<link>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/11/preview-no-13-cardinals-will-face-virginia-tech-saturday/</link>
<comments>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/11/preview-no-13-cardinals-will-face-virginia-tech-saturday/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Derek DeBurger]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 03 Nov 2023 19:25:30 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cardinals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[College Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[duke]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[hokies]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jawhar Jordan]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[jeff brohm]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[louisville]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[preview]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[UofL Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Virginia Tech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[VT]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/?p=83644</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger On Saturday, the No. 13 Louisville Cardinals will face off against the Virginia Tech Hokies in what is becoming one of the most sneakily important games of the college football season. The Cards and the Hokies are both sitting at one loss in ACC play, and the winner of this matchup will]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger
On Saturday, the No. 13 Louisville Cardinals will face off against the Virginia Tech Hokies in what is becoming one of the most sneakily important games of the college football season.
The Cards and the Hokies are both sitting at one loss in ACC play, and the winner of this matchup will be in the driver’s seat to compete in the ACC title game.
The Hokies pose a similar threat to the Cards: stout defense with an offense that tries to keep up.
<h3>Pass rush opponents</h3>
Tech will pose the best pass rush the Cards will face all year: they are currently tied for the fourth-most team sacks in the entire country, with 30 sacks after eight games. The Hokies also have the leader in sacks and tackles-for-loss in the ACC in defensive end Antwuan Powell-Ryland. Tech’s secondary has not been as good as the front seven, only intercepting four passes while allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 60% of passes. The relentless pass rush more than makes up for this.
While the pass rush has been All-Conference for the Hokies, their run defense has been far less threatening.
Tech has given up 200 or more rushing yards in four games this season earning them the ranking of 127th best run defense by Pro Football Focus. It’s been on the upswing, however. They gave up a total of zero team rushing yards to Syracuse in their last game and 35 team rushing yards to Wake Forest the time before that.
It should be noted that yards lost on sacks count towards team rushing yards, so these numbers might be slightly misleading, but there is improvement nevertheless.
<h3>An offense scheme we’ve seen before</h3>
The Hokies’ offense is much like their run defense this year, in that they too have been on the upswing. Despite the improvements, Tech is mainly a “ground-and-pound” offense due to their inability to consistently attack through the air. Louisville is going to see something very similar to how Duke’s offense was, and if the Cards can successfully make them one-dimensional then it should be smooth sailing. Because of the limitations of the Hokies offense, they’ve really leaned into it and just tried to play keep away while limiting the opposing offensive possessions.
<h3>Some analysis</h3>
This is going to be a much tougher matchup than originally thought. The Hokies are 3-1 in their last four games, and they’ve won those three in dominant fashion.
There are a few keys for the Cardinals if they want to come away with a win in this one: first, the Cards have to run the ball well. Running back Jawhar Jordan is one of the best backs in the country and is coming off the best performance of his career. Teams are going to start keying in on him and stacking the box. Louisville needs to continue to run well and pick up chunk yards on the ground despite the extra attention defenses will give.
Second, the Cards need to take advantage of possessions when they get them. The Hokies will try to limit possessions and make the game as low-scoring as possible, the Cards need to score when they get the ball and try not to turn it over. Field goals are welcome in a game like this — points are points.
Finally, the Card will need to take away the Hokies running game and make them pass-happy. This is going to be a more holistic approach, Louisville will need to show up on offense and defense to put the pressure on quarterback Kyron Drones and the receiving corps.
I’m expecting the Cards to win this one to inch closer to their first-ever ACC championship appearance.
Photo Courtesy // Taris Smith, U of L Athletics
]]></content:encoded>
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</item>
<item>
<title>Louisville Football shuts out Blue Devils 23-0, improves to 7-1 after bye week</title>
<link>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/10/louisville-football-shuts-out-blue-devils-23-0-improves-to-7-1-after-bye-week/</link>
<comments>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/10/louisville-football-shuts-out-blue-devils-23-0-improves-to-7-1-after-bye-week/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Derek DeBurger]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 29 Oct 2023 02:52:41 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[duke blue devils]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Duke football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[homecoming]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jack Plummer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jawhar Jordan]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[jeff brohm]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[louisville]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[louisville football]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/?p=83630</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger The No. 18 Louisville Cardinals take one step closer to the ACC title game with a resounding victory against the No. 20 Duke Blue Devils. Total domination from start to finish Louisville won this game in the trenches, dominating on both the offensive and defensive lines. Runningback Jawhar Jordan had one of]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger 
The No. 18 Louisville Cardinals take one step closer to the ACC title game with a resounding victory against the No. 20 Duke Blue Devils.
<h3>Total domination from start to finish</h3>
Louisville won this game in the trenches, dominating on both the offensive and defensive lines. Runningback Jawhar Jordan had one of the best games of his career behind a great performance from the O-line.
From the very first offensive possession, the Cards picked up chunk-yards at will against the best scoring defense in the ACC. The Cards capped off a ten-play, 72-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown run by Jordan — his first of two for the day.
Louisville then marched right down the field on their next drive and scored off of a 21-yard touchdown from Jordan to take a 14-0 lead. Jordan would finish the game with a career-high 163 yards and two touchdowns.
On defense, Louisville took advantage of injuries on the Blue Devils offense. Starting left tackle Graham Barton was out with an injury, and starting guard Jacob Monk — the most experienced player on Duke’s offense — got knocked out of the game early with an injury. Star quarterback Riley Leonard did play this game after being considered questionable all week, but the high ankle sprain was still a factor.
The entire day Louisville was successfully able to get into the backfield and disrupt the Blue Devil’s rhythm. Coupled with an early double-digit deficit, Duke was never able to do what they wanted both in play calling and execution. The Cards finished with four total sacks, two quarterback hits, and several holding calls against Duke’s O-line on what would have been sacks.
Duke’s running backs were never able to get going either, as the Louisville front seven did a great job diagnosing plays and filling up running lanes. Duke finished the game with just 51 team rushing yards.
Kicker Brock Travelstead had another great game under his belt going three-for-three on field goals, including one right before the half to give the Cards a 17-0 lead.
Coming out of the half the Cards remained focused. Upon receiving the second-half kickoff, quarterback Jack Plummer helped march the Cards on a 14-play seven-minute 28-second drive that ended in a made Travelstead field goal to go up 20-0.
On the very next Duke possession, Leonard threw what became the only turnover of the game to linebacker Gilbert Frierson. This led to another field goal, ballooning the lead to 23-0. After that, Duke lost almost all drive and Louisville went conservative to wrap the game up.
The final score would be 23-0 Cards.
<div id="attachment_83635" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-83635" decoding="async" class="wp-image-83635 size-medium" src="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/homecoming-kingqueen-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/homecoming-kingqueen-66x66.jpg 66w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/homecoming-kingqueen-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/homecoming-kingqueen-200x200.jpg 200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/homecoming-kingqueen-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/homecoming-kingqueen-400x400.jpg 400w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/homecoming-kingqueen-600x600.jpg 600w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/homecoming-kingqueen-768x768.jpg 768w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/homecoming-kingqueen-800x800.jpg 800w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/homecoming-kingqueen-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/homecoming-kingqueen-1200x1200.jpg 1200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/homecoming-kingqueen-1536x1536.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Homecoming Queen Paighton Brooks and King Prince Chenou (Center), posed at halftime with last year’s king and queen (right), President Kim Schatzel, and Dean of Students Michael Mardis Photo Courtesy // U of L Athletics</div>
<h3>Staying in the Top 25</h3>
Louisville bounced back from their lone loss of the season in a big way, burying an in-conference opponent in a crucial matchup for the race to the ACC title game.
Louisville reminded everyone exactly why they were ranked 18 in the AP Top 25, and what is still to come this season. Jeff Brohm-coached teams are known for high-flying offenses, but the Cards defense put on the show today. This marks the second shutout of the season for the Cards and the first against an FBS opponent.
The Cards have another massively important ACC matchup against Virginia Tech up next, but for now, they’ve got to be enjoying sitting at 7-1 and 4-1 in the ACC in Brohm’s first season as coach.
Photo Courtesy // Taris Smith, U of L Athletics
]]></content:encoded>
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<title>PREVIEW: No. 20 Duke comes to take on No. 18 Cards after bye week</title>
<link>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/10/preview-no-20-dukes-comes-to-take-on-no-18-cards-after-bye-week/</link>
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<dc:creator><![CDATA[Derek DeBurger]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 28 Oct 2023 01:43:26 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ACC Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[blue devils]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[duke]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Duke football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Football preview]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jack Plummer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jaquez Moore]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jarvis Brownlee]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jawhar Jordan]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Notre Dame]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Renato Brown]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Riley Leonard]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[U of L football]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/?p=83618</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger On Saturday, Oct. 28 at 3:30 pm the No. 18 Louisville Cardinals will face the No. 20 Duke Blue Devils at L&N Stadium. Saturday’s game will mark the first time in program history that multiple ranked matchups will be played at home in a single season. The Blue Devils will present a]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger
On Saturday, Oct. 28 at 3:30 pm the No. 18 Louisville Cardinals will face the No. 20 Duke Blue Devils at L&N Stadium.
Saturday’s game will mark the first time in program history that multiple ranked matchups will be played at home in a single season.
The Blue Devils will present a very similar situation that Louisville has faced many times this year: a fantastic defense coupled with an offense that likes to grind things out on the ground. The difference is Duke’s talent and coaching.
<h3>A defensive mind at the helm</h3>
Duke’s head coach, Mike Elko, may be the best coach Louisville will see across the sideline the entire regular season. In just 20 games as the Blue Devils’ coach, Elko has a record of 14-6 with a win in the 2022 Military Bowl. Compared to the 5-15 record in the previous 20 games before he was hired, Elko has already done an amazing job turning around that program.
Elko is also a defensive-minded coach. Duke has one of the stingiest defenses in the ACC, front and back. Up front, Duke does a great job of getting in the backfield by both disguising and sending complex blitzes that quarterbacks and offensive linemen have trouble picking up. This could very easily cause problems for Jack Plummer, as teams have begun sending pressure his way — and he has not handled it well. In the secondary, there are guys all over that shut down opposing wide receiving corps.
Duke has not given up a play of 40 yards or more this season, and those such plays are something Louisville has lived to this point in the year.
<h3>A run first offense with a few lingering questions</h3>
On offense, Duke is pretty stereotypical: run the ball to shorten the game and limit possessions. Duke does this very well, with 18 team rushing touchdowns so far in the season. That’s a lot for an entire season, let alone seven games. Duke has a great one-two-punch in the backfield with running backs Jordan Waters and Jaquez Moore. The two have completely different skill sets, forcing defenses to stay alert to who’s on the field or pay the consequences.
The passing game is less of a threat, but that’s just because they don’t pass if they don’t have to. There are two standout targets in the passing game: wide receivers Jalon Calhoun and Jordan Moore. They are number one and two on the team in catches, yards, and touchdowns, and by a pretty wide margin.
The real key to this offense is star quarterback Riley Leonard, but the question is will he play? If he does play, how effective will he be?
Riley Leonard suffered a high ankle sprain in the Blue Devils’ loss to Notre Dame. The injury kept him out of their next contest against NC State and he was listed as doubtful against Florida State, but ended up starting against them until he reaggravated the ankle in the third quarter. With Leonard on the field, Duke has been effective in nearly everything they attempt on offense. Without Leonard, Duke has looked anemic. Leonard, who is still a game-time decision, could be one that could completely sway the outcome of the game.
Louisville has some injuries of its own coming off of their bye week. Running back Jawhar Jordan is still day-to-day with a hamstring injury that kept him from competing against Pittsburgh; cornerback Jarvis Brownlee is questionable with an injury suffered against Pittsburgh, and guard Renato Brown—who slipped and fell during warm-ups for Pittsburgh—now needs season-ending surgery. This game could very likely come down to who’s healthier, or better yet who’s less unhealthy, as late-season games often do.
This is going to be a close, ugly tightly contested game whether Leonard plays or not. If he does play, the Cards need to play a clean game to come away with a win. If he doesn’t play, it becomes much easier but it’s still not guaranteed.
It’s hard to say what the outcome will be, but coming off of a bye and a humiliating loss, I believe head coach Jeff Brohm will have this team ready to play and keep their ACC dreams alive.
File Photo // Tate Luckey, The Louisville Cardinal
]]></content:encoded>
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<title>Halfway through the season, what’s left for Louisville football’s playoff hopes?</title>
<link>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/10/halfway-through-the-season-whats-left-for-louisville-footballs-playoff-hopes/</link>
<comments>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/10/halfway-through-the-season-whats-left-for-louisville-footballs-playoff-hopes/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Derek DeBurger]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Oct 2023 02:15:07 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ACC]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[acc championship]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Atlantic Coast Conference]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[bye week]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Clemson]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Conference play]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Florida State football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[jeff broh]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[jeff brohm]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[louisville]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[louisville football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Pittsburgh]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[unc football]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/?p=83463</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger The No. 21 Louisville Cardinals are on a bye week this week after starting the season 6-1. The most recent game against Pittsburgh may have been disheartening, but there’s still a lot left that Louisville could accomplish this season. To make up for the lack of a game day, I'm taking this]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger
The No. 21 Louisville Cardinals are on a bye week this week after starting the season 6-1.
<a href="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/10/louisville-stunned-in-first-loss-of-brohm-era-to-pittsburgh-panthers-21-38/">The most recent game against Pittsburgh may have been disheartening</a>, but there’s still a lot left that Louisville could accomplish this season. To make up for the lack of a game day, I’m taking this week to let you know which games impact the Cards this season.
<h3 style="font-weight: 400;">College Football Playoffs? </h3>
With the loss to Pitt, Louisville is virtually eliminated from the College Football playoffs this year.
Louisville’s strength of schedule, which is currently ranked 64th by Jeff Sagarin, is not going to be an impressive enough resume. The only real chance the Cards have at making the playoffs in the last year of the four-team format is if almost every team with a better or same record, and every team currently ranked above the Cards in the AP Poll, lose one or more games.
Chaos is just about the only path forward. If you want to root for chaos more power to you — but I’m not holding my breath.
<h3 style="font-weight: 400;">ACC Title Game</h3>
A scenario that is very much still in play for the Cards is a berth in the ACC Championship.
Generally, the two teams with the best conference record compete in the title game. If there is a tie in records, then head-to-head winning percentages determine selection. If that doesn’t solve it, then the winning percentage against common opponents is used. If that still doesn’t solve it, then the in-conference winning percentage against the conference opponents played is used.
If all of that somehow doesn’t narrow it down to two teams, the ACC commissioner Jim Phillips will draw names out of a hat.
<div id="attachment_83491" style="width: 301px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-83491" decoding="async" class="wp-image-83491 size-medium" src="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Screenshot-310-291x300.png" alt="" width="291" height="300" srcset="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Screenshot-310-146x150.png 146w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Screenshot-310-200x206.png 200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Screenshot-310-291x300.png 291w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Screenshot-310-400x412.png 400w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Screenshot-310-600x618.png 600w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Screenshot-310.png 606w" sizes="(max-width: 291px) 100vw, 291px" />The current Atlantic Coast Conference standings as of week 8. (W-L = Win/Loss; PF = Points For; PA = Points Against) Photo Courtesy // ESPN</div>
The loss to Pitt complicates this — Louisville is now 3-1 in ACC play, <a href="https://theacc.com/standings.aspx?path=football">but the Cards are currently sitting at fourth in the ACC standings behind No. 4 Florida State, </a><a href="https://theacc.com/standings.aspx?path=football">No. 10 North Carolina, </a><a href="https://theacc.com/standings.aspx?path=football">and No. 16 Duke</a>. All the teams currently ranked above the Cards are undefeated in ACC play, but Duke plays Florida State, North Carolina, and Louisville this season. There’s a chance that Duke could knock off Florida State and North Carolina and then lose to Louisville.
While this would help the Cards, it would mainly serve to muddy the waters.
Say Duke does upset Florida State and North Carolina but loses to Louisville. That would only serve to even up Louisville, Florida State, and North Carolina in the standings because of the common opponent in Pittsburgh. Florida State has yet to play Pitt, but I doubt they’ll have the same shortcomings as the Cards in that matchup.
Louisville at this point doesn’t control its own destiny in the ACC, so there are so many games that are important to the Cards this season.
This week of the college football season there are five ACC games, and all of them are potentially important. Listed below are the games and who fans should root to win to give the Cardinals the best chance to stay on top of the conference standings.
<blockquote>
Boston College plays at Georgia Tech; root for Georgia Tech;
Pittsburgh plays at Wake Forest; root for Pittsburgh;
Virginia plays at No. 10 North Carolina; root for Virginia;
No. 16 Duke plays at No. 4 Florida State; root for Duke;
Clemson plays at Miami; root for Miami.
</blockquote>
Louisville does not have Clemson, Wake Forest, or Syracuse on their schedule this year, so for every game they play Cards fans need to root against them. That is, unless they’re playing Florida State, North Carolina, or Duke. Every game Florida State, North Carolina, or Duke plays Cards fans need to root against them.
If it sounds really complicated it’s only because it is really complicated, but there’s still hope. And hope can be a hell of a drug.
The Cardinals will play their next game on Saturday, Oct. 28 against the No. 16 Duke Blue Devils.
Photo Courtesy // Taris Smith, Louisville Athletics
]]></content:encoded>
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<title>Louisville stunned in first loss of Brohm era to Pittsburgh Panthers, 21-38</title>
<link>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/10/louisville-stunned-in-first-loss-of-brohm-era-to-pittsburgh-panthers-21-38/</link>
<comments>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/10/louisville-stunned-in-first-loss-of-brohm-era-to-pittsburgh-panthers-21-38/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Derek DeBurger]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 15 Oct 2023 16:04:56 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cardinals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jack Plummer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jamari Thrash]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jawhar Jordan]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[jeff brohm]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[louisville]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[louisville football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Pittsburgh]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[pittsburgh football]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/?p=83448</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger The Louisville Cardinals fell for the trap against the Pittsburgh Panthers to suffer their first loss of the season. All the wrong conditions From early on Saturday night, the conditions were right for an upset. It was revealed right before the game that stars Jawhar Jordan and Jamari Thrash were nursing injuries]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger
The Louisville Cardinals fell for the trap against the Pittsburgh Panthers to suffer their first loss of the season.
<h3>All the wrong conditions</h3>
From early on Saturday night, the conditions were right for an upset. It was revealed right before the game that stars Jawhar Jordan and Jamari Thrash were nursing injuries and Pitt was starting a new quarterback, Christian Veilleux, with next to no film for head coach Jeff Brohm and company to prepare.
Louisville started off the rainy evening great, forcing Pitt to punt on their first drive and then going right down the field to score a touchdown. Louisville showed right out of the gate that they were the superior talent, 7-0.
The weather would prove to be a real issue in the next few drives for the Cards. On one drive, Louisville fumbled the ball twice and recovered both times, but the damage was already done and the Cards were forced to punt.
These offensive mishaps gave Pitt just enough confidence to keep their heads up. Veilleux threw a 46-yard touchdown at the end of the first quarter to tie the game up.
Louisville marched down the field and scored on the next drive to take back the lead, with Pitt failing to respond on their next drive. Louisville kept shooting themselves in the foot, with slip-ups and penalties keeping Pitt in the game.
Quarterback Jack Plummer ended a promising Louisville drive when he fumbled the ball in Pittsburgh territory. Pitt would then take the momentum from that turnover, and tie the game up again.
Louisville, however, had three timeouts remaining, using them to score right before halftime. The Cards led 21-14 going into the half.
<h3>A second-half collapse</h3>
Louisville was set to receive the kickoff in the second half of the game, giving the Cards a real opportunity to put the game out of reach. After going three-and-out at the start of the half, Brohm decided to go for it on fourth down inside their own 35-yard line and failed to convert. Pitt would then take over on downs, and end up kicking a field goal to cut the lead to four.
The next drive for Louisville was another three-and-out. The punt by Brock Travelstead drew a running into the kicker flag but was negated by an unnecessary roughness penalty on Louisville. Travelstead came up limping on the play as the penalties offset.
After punting the ball away again, Pitt methodically moved the ball 61 yards down the field in 13 plays to take the lead for the first time of the night. On the next drive, Plummer threw his first interception of the night, and the Panthers never looked back.
Plummer would then throw another interception on the next drive off of a dropped pass from wide receiver Jimmy Calloway.
The Cards continued to have opportunities to come back into the game down 10 points, but they weren’t able to capitalize when it mattered most. There were several promising drives throughout that resulted in no points. The Cards came away empty after a nine-play drive ended with a missed field goal from Travelstead.
Louisville was never able to get anything going, losing the game 21-38.
<h3 style="font-weight: 400;">Takeaways</h3>
Louisville dominated the game statistically.
Louisville had 430 total yards to Pittsburgh’s 288, had 29 first downs to Pitt’s 13, had fewer penalties (five to Pitt’s eight), and even had a better third down percentage (5-13 to Pitt’s 3-14). The difference in the game was turnovers and defensive pressure.
Louisville turned the ball over three times and had four turnovers on downs. Pittsburgh had zero the entire game.
Pitt was also able to get pressure in the backfield—something they have not done all year long—and kept a consistently clean pocket for Veilleux.
While this game stings, Louisville still has a lot to play for. The Cardinals can still put together a great season and still have hope to make the ACC championship game for the first time in school history.
The Cards have a much-needed bye-week coming up, as they fall to 6-1 on the year.
Photo Courtesy // Pittsburgh Athletics
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<title>PREVIEW: Trap game alert? #14 Louisville takes on Pittsburgh Saturday</title>
<link>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/10/preview-trap-game-alert-14-louisville-takes-on-pittsburgh-saturday/</link>
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<dc:creator><![CDATA[Derek DeBurger]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Oct 2023 18:01:48 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ACC]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cards]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cfb]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[college football playoff]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[FBS]]></category>
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<category><![CDATA[Jawhar Jordan]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[jeff brohm]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[louisville]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[louisville football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[pitt]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Pittsburgh]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[purdue]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Wofford]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/?p=83400</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger This Saturday, Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m. the Louisville Cardinals will play the Pittsburgh Panthers in what can only be described as a trap game. Last Saturday, the Cards had a statement win against Notre Dame in the biggest game of the season. Pitt will be the most important game of the]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger 
This Saturday, Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m. the Louisville Cardinals will play the Pittsburgh Panthers in what can only be described as a trap game.
Last Saturday, the Cards had a statement win against Notre Dame in the biggest game of the season. Pitt will be the most important game of the season.
<h3>Keeping the momentum in the rankings</h3>
After improving to 6-0 on the year and 3-0 in the ACC, Louisville is now ranked No. 14 in the most recent AP poll and No. 15 in the coaches poll. Louisville is not only a legitimate dark horse contender for the ACC Championship game, but the College Football Playoff. If Louisville loses to Pitt, those hopes don’t die, but they certainly do dim.
That’s why this game is so important.
In 2006, after Louisville won their top-five matchup against West Virginia, the Cards turned around the next week and lost their only game of the year to Rutgers. The loss to Rutgers ended up being the only reason the Cards didn’t compete in the National Championship game that year against an inferior Ohio State team.
Jeff Brohm is well-versed in letdown performances following historic wins. He was 0-3 in each of the weeks following his wins over top-five teams while at Purdue.
He addressed this directly in his press conference Monday, saying “We’ve got to get back to reality and get back to work and understand that if we don’t put the work in, we’re not going to win. We just have to concentrate on one game at a time.”
<h3>Pitiful Pittsburgh</h3>
Pittsburgh has been a woefully bad team this year. Their 1-4 record is backed by a lone win over FCS opponent Wofford.
<h4>An abysmal offense</h4>
On the ground, Pitt’s running backs collectively are averaging less than 100 yards per game behind what Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranks as the 111th-best run-blocking offensive line out of 133 schools at the FBS level. The passing attack has been equally as bad. Pitt’s leading receiver, tight end Gavin Bartholomew, only has 258 yards and one touchdown in five games; their O-line’s pass-blocking ranks 110 with PFF.
The cherry on top of this abysmal offense is that their quarterback, Boston College transfer Phil Jurkovec, has been benched and moved to tight end. Taking his spot is backup quarterback Christian Veilleux, a former four-star recruit from Penn State that Jeff Brohm actually recruited while he was at Purdue.
Backup quarterbacks, even when they have not looked impressive, are always scary to play against due to all the unknowns surrounding them and the lack of film you can use to prepare with. Veilleux played just as poorly as Jurkovec when he got in the game against North Carolina, completing just 39% of his passes with two interceptions and a fumble.
<h4>A decent defense</h4>
Pitt’s defense, however, has been good this year. They haven’t been great like Pitt fans have become accustomed to under head coach Pat Narduzzi, but they’ve been good. Defenses of the past have had game-wreckers in the front seven that can snuff out a running attack or bully a quarterback. This year, Pitt has not been able to pressure opposing O-lines, which has added huge amounts of stress to their secondary as the design of the defense is to leave corners in man-coverage situations a lot.
If you’re not worried about getting sacked as a quarterback, one-on-one coverage looks pretty appealing. Pittsburgh will still have one of the better defenses Louisville will play this year, but if the Cards can get the running game going with standout running back Jawhar Jordan they should have no issues dictating the terms of engagement on offense.
Pittsburgh is bad. This should be a game where Louisville dominates and looks to work out some of their kinks in the process. However, the historical context of this type of game should force the Cards to take this matchup very seriously and play their most fundamentally sound game of the season.
While I am very nervous about this game, I’m expecting Louisville to move to 7-0 on the year for the first time since 2012, and 4-0 in the ACC for the first time in school history to keep the magical season alive.
File Photo // Tate Luckey, The Louisville Cardinal
]]></content:encoded>
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<title>Louisville football rattles Notre Dame and Hartman, improves to 6-0</title>
<link>https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2023/10/louisville-football-rattles-notre-dame-and-hartman-improves-to-6-0/</link>
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<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tate Luckey]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 08 Oct 2023 16:30:14 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cardinal stadium]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cards]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[College Football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[jack harlow]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jack Plummer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jawhar Jordan]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[jeff brohm]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Louisville Cardinals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Notre Dame]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[notre dame football]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Peyton Siva]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sam Hartman]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/?p=83349</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger On Saturday, the Louisville Cardinals let the college football world know one thing: we’re here. In front of a record crowd of 59,081, the Cards shocked the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and reached bowl eligibility in just six games. Even before the opening kickoff, fans in attendance were ready to make their]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Derek DeBurger
On Saturday, the Louisville Cardinals let the college football world know one thing: we’re here. In front of a record crowd of 59,081, the Cards shocked the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and reached bowl eligibility in just six games.
Even before the opening kickoff, fans in attendance were ready to make their presence known. The crowd even burst into applause upon winning the coin toss.
“Our fans were the twelfth man. We felt them. We felt them all week. Without question, taking the field and seeing all the seats filled– that’s what college football’s all about. This is a great city that wants to win championships, be relevant, and do a lot of fun things and we want to try to provide that,” Head Coach Jeff Brohm said in his postgame interview.
<div id="attachment_83354" style="width: 460px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-83354" decoding="async" class="wp-image-83354 size-medium" src="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/agatewoodcatch-450x300.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="300" srcset="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/agatewoodcatch-150x100.jpg 150w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/agatewoodcatch-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/agatewoodcatch-400x267.jpg 400w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/agatewoodcatch-450x300.jpg 450w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/agatewoodcatch-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/agatewoodcatch-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/agatewoodcatch-800x533.jpg 800w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/agatewoodcatch-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/agatewoodcatch-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/agatewoodcatch-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px" />Joey Gatewood (84) jumps to catch a pass.</div>
<h3>First half pressure</h3>
After the opening kickoff, the Cards showed they were just as ready as the fans by getting early pressure on quarterback Sam Hartman and forcing him to throw his first interception of the season. Quarterback Jack Plummer would then use that great field position to march down the field and score on the opening drive.
The rest of the first half was more of a slugfest, as Notre Dame would put seven points up on the scoreboard and Louisville did little to respond. Louisville had the chance to put some more points on the board going into the half, but kicker Brock Travelstead just barely pushed the 42-yard field goal wide right. The game was tied 7-7 going into the half.
The lack of offense in the first half wasn’t due to poor offensive effort, but a great defensive effort by both sides. Notre Dame did a great job limiting big plays from Louisville, and the Cards got constant pressure in the backfield. The pressure on Hartman stymied the Irish offense and even saw linebacker Mason Reiger get past future NFL star Joe Alt to sack Hartman. The sack given up by Alt was the first sack he had given up in two years.
<div id="attachment_83353" style="width: 620px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-83353" decoding="async" class="wp-image-83353 size-medium" src="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Abigsack-610x300.jpg" alt="" width="610" height="300" srcset="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Abigsack-150x74.jpg 150w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Abigsack-200x98.jpg 200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Abigsack-400x197.jpg 400w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Abigsack-600x295.jpg 600w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Abigsack-610x300.jpg 610w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Abigsack-768x378.jpg 768w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Abigsack-800x394.jpg 800w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Abigsack-1024x504.jpg 1024w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Abigsack-1200x591.jpg 1200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/Abigsack-1536x756.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px" />ND QB Sam Hartman is sacked!</div>
<h3>Hartman goofs, Louisville gains</h3>
Louisville was set to receive the kickoff to start the second half, but wide receiver Jamari Thrash fumbled the ball on the first offensive play. The resulting Irish possession ended in a 53-yard field goal — Notre Dame’s first lead of the game.
After back-to-back deflating possessions, it would’ve been easy for the Cards to hang their heads and submit, but the opposite happened. The Cards went on a 9-play, 48-yard drive to tie the game back up at 10-10.
After a three-and-out, Louisville went 64 yards in two plays to score a touchdown on a 45-yard run from running back Jawhar Jordan.
<div id="attachment_83362" style="width: 460px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-83362" decoding="async" class="wp-image-83362 size-medium" src="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/asivagood-450x300.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="300" srcset="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/asivagood-150x100.jpg 150w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/asivagood-200x133.jpg 200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/asivagood-400x267.jpg 400w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/asivagood-450x300.jpg 450w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/asivagood-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/asivagood-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/asivagood-800x533.jpg 800w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/asivagood-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/asivagood-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/asivagood-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px" />Alumni Peyton Siva signals the kick is good.</div>
<div id="attachment_83355" style="width: 283px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-83355" decoding="async" class="wp-image-83355 size-medium" src="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/ajawhartd-273x300.jpg" alt="" width="273" height="300" srcset="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/ajawhartd-136x150.jpg 136w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/ajawhartd-200x220.jpg 200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/ajawhartd-273x300.jpg 273w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/ajawhartd-400x440.jpg 400w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/ajawhartd-600x660.jpg 600w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/ajawhartd-768x845.jpg 768w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/ajawhartd-800x880.jpg 800w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/ajawhartd-931x1024.jpg 931w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/ajawhartd-1200x1321.jpg 1200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/ajawhartd-1396x1536.jpg 1396w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/ajawhartd.jpg 1861w" sizes="(max-width: 273px) 100vw, 273px" />Running back Jawhar Jordan runs in the ball for a score.</div>
The Irish then responded with a field goal, but the Cards came right back down the field again with a 21-yard touchdown by Jawhar Jordan.
The next Notre Dame possession came down to a fourth-and-11 with 9:49 left in the fourth quarter where the Irish—for some strange reason—decided to go for it, but ultimately failed. That set off a string of drives where Louisville would kick a field goal, then another turnover by Sam Hartman, and then another Louisville field goal.
Notre Dame tried to make it interesting by scoring a touchdown and recovering an onside kick, but Hartman couldn’t handle the Louisville blitz and threw one final interception. Hartman finished the game with three interceptions and two fumbles after having none going into the game. Hartman will also finish his college career going 0-3 as a starting quarterback at Louisville, with nine total turnovers in those games.
The final score: 33-20 Cards.
<h3>Big time adjustments</h3>
As seen all season long, whatever head coach Jeff Brohm says/does in the locker room at halftime works. While Plummer noted post-game that this halftime was a lot calmer than others, they came out and were visibly the better, stronger, faster, more physical, and more aggressive team.
A lot of this can be attributed to better coaching from defensive coaches Ron English and Mark Hagan, according to Brohm.
“Every week we tweak that package to guard people tighter, get our hands on people more, challenge receivers and seam routes more, and allow that defensive line a little more time to get in there. At the same time, I think the blitz package has been a little more aggressive, and that comes from coaching and planning. The key is applying pressure to the quarterback and making him feel uncomfortable and not giving up easy completions and making them earn it,” he said post-game.
What was most likely the biggest difference was the use of each team’s top rusher in the second half. For Louisville, Jawhar Jordan came alive in the last 30 minutes, finishing the game with 143 yards and two touchdowns. Notre Dame’s top rusher, running back Audric Estime, disappeared in the second half—and that was by design. Despite being the nation’s leading rusher heading into Saturday’s game, the Irish inexplicably stopped calling running plays in the second half. This allowed Louisville’s relentless pass rush to wear down Notre Dame’s talented offensive line. Estime finished the game with only 20 yards and zero touchdowns.
<div id="attachment_83357" style="width: 544px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-83357" decoding="async" class="wp-image-83357 size-medium" src="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/aharlowsmile-534x300.jpg" alt="" width="534" height="300" srcset="https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/aharlowsmile-150x84.jpg 150w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/aharlowsmile-200x112.jpg 200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/aharlowsmile-400x225.jpg 400w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/aharlowsmile-534x300.jpg 534w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/aharlowsmile-600x337.jpg 600w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/aharlowsmile-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/aharlowsmile-800x450.jpg 800w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/aharlowsmile-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/aharlowsmile-1200x674.jpg 1200w, https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/media/2023/10/aharlowsmile-1536x863.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 534px) 100vw, 534px" />Louisville superstar Jack Harlow throws up his L’s.</div>
<h3>One game season each week</h3>
Louisville, in six ranked-on-ranked matchups at home, is now 4-2 in such matchups. Louisville also ended what was a 30-game winning streak for Notre Dame against regular season ACC opponents.
At 6-0 on the season for the first time since 2013, and in Jeff Brohm’s first year as head coach, the sky certainly feels like the limit for this Cardinals team. They aren’t letting it get to their heads, however.
“Right now we’ve won six games and lost none, and we’re just trying to keep adding to that, one game at a time. Coach always preaches a one-game season, so we’re only focused on the next opponent and that’s it,” Plummer said.
With a top-10 win now under their belt, and a very manageable schedule for the rest of the year, prepare to hear a lot of pundits talk about Louisville as ACC Championship and even College Football Playoff contenders.
File Photos // Tate Luckey, The Louisville Cardinal
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