Louisville fell 38-6 to SMU — its third straight loss and worst since a 45-13 thrashing at Kentucky in 2019. For a team that was a handful of plays away from coming into this game undefeated, this flat spin in November is as stunning as it is painful.

But the problem with the Cardinals — after an exhaustive taste test — isn’t the ice cream. It’s the specks. The small, foul, momentum-killing specks.

It wasn’t just that Virginia beat Louisville. It’s how.

If Kentucky was going to spark any real enthusiasm for the rest of its season, it needed to happen here.

After Louisville's 51-17 blowout of Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, coach Jeff Brohm couldn't find much to kick about.

Only one team in the nation (Duke) has lost more turnovers than Louisville’s 24.