LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — This was the game that would determine how active The Excitement Meter will be for the University of Louisville football team for the rest of the 2024 season.
Beat Virginia and the Cards would get their chance to climb back into the Atlantic Coast Conference race when No. 6 Miami visits L&N Cardinal Stadium next Saturday.
Lose to Virginia and you can turn the Excitement Meter off. With upcoming games against Miami, Clemson and Kentucky, the Cardinals would be straining to deliver a winning season.
"I feel like it was a must win, just for ourselves because we know what we can do," U of L quarterback Tyler Shough said.
You can plug in the Excitement Meter for another week. At times, the Cards tried to give Virginia a game Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, but the Cavaliers refused to take it.
Shough connected with tight end Jamari Johnson for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 1:57 to play and the Cards’ defense forced four consecutive incompletions by Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea on the next drive.
That enabled the Cards to escape with a 24-20 victory. The win ended a two-game losing streak and bumped the Cards record to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC.
It wasn't the kind of win that will push Louisville back into the Top 25 in the human polls but after losing a pair of one-score games it was a start in the winning direction. And Louisville held its spot at No. 16 in ESPN's Football Power Index. The Cards are also ranked 21st in Jeff Sagarin's computer predictor rankingts.
"I'm really proud of our football team to come on the road and beat a team that's 2-0 in the conference," U of L coach Jeff Brohm said. "It was a back and forth game that wasn't pretty by any means, but it was a hard, workman-like job that our team did."
"We had to win this game" said U of L halfback Isaac Brown, who flashed to 146 yards and two touchdowns despite missing time with an injury.
The Cards were fortunate to survive the first half with a tie at 7. Virginia matched 75 yards to score on its opening possession. Louisville looked unprepared to stop Cavaliers quarterback Anthony Colandrea from running the ball. He ripped off runs of 18 and 13 yards on his first two carries.
Brohm brought defensive coordinator Ron English to the sidelines from the press box so English could have a better feel for the tempo of the game. Brohm was perturbed by his team's defense in the loss to SMU last week. Perhaps it worked. Colandrea managed only 23 rushing yards in the second half.
"I thought our defense, other than a few plays here and there, played better," Brohm said. "We were ready for most of the plays when they were snapped."
Add in five Louisville first-half penalties. Plus another failed running play on fourth-and-one, a strategy Brohm said the offense had sworn off. Plus, the Cards came up on the wrong side of a questionable replay review and an even more questionable spot on what appeared to be a Louisville first down.
Of course, Virginia coach Tony Elliott made an absurd decision to bypass a field goal and attack the Cards on fourth-and-three late in the second quarter. That drive ended with an incomplete pass and both teams had to be miffed that it ws 7-7 at halftime.
Louisville surged to a 17-7 lead in the third quarter. Brock Travelstead completed the opening drive with a 31-yard field goal. Then, on the first play after Virginia’s second botched punt of the game, Isaac Brown crackled 14 yards for a touchdown, his second of the game.
Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough (9)looks to make a pass against Virginia during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Charlottesville, Va. (AP Photo/Mike Kropf)
A pair of Virginia field goals cut the lead to 17-13. The Cavaliers were not finished. They scored five minutes into the fourth quarter, attacking an all-out third-down Louisville blitz for a 46-yard touchdown pass from Colondrea to the elusive Xavier Brown.
Virginia intercepted a Shough pass at its 3 yard line but the Cards forced a punt with 6 1/2 minutes to play. Shough needed 4 1/2 minutes to direct Louisville 67 yards on 11 plays for the go-ahead touchdown.
"Let's go win it," Shough said was his message in the huddle. "Let's go be champions right here."
The Cards won while being out-gained 449 to 408 with Virginia also having the edge in first downs, 22-18.
Shough finished 18 for 31 and 231 yards while Brown ran for a career-best 146 yards on 20 carries. Ja'Corey Brooks had five catches for 83 yards.
"If you want to get to the prize at the end of the season, all of them are must wins," Brohm said. "But it's how you handle the losses and the adversity that's going to determine if you can win the next one.
"We have many, many tough games left, starting next week against a really, really good team."
Now the Cards have a week to prepare for Miami, which enjoyed a bye this weekend. The Hurricanes are 6-0 but have won back-to-back one-possession, controversial games against Virginia Tech and California.
Related Stories:
- BOZICH | Louisville losing ground in ACC football power rankings
- BOZICH | Louisville can't keep swimming 'in the mess' against Virginia
- CRAWFORD | 4 thoughts on Louisville football after back-to-back losses
- BOZICH | Cards crumble at crunch time in 34-27 loss to SMU
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