LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The University of Louisville football team overcame a dismal first half against Georgia Tech. They survived a scoreless second half against Indiana.
Friday night against North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C., the Cards continued their season of (occasionally) living dangerously by overcoming a scoreless first half to defeat the Wolfpack, 13-10, at Carter-Finley Stadium.
The winning points came on a 53-yard field goal by Brock Travelstead, the longest of his career, in the final 6 minutes.
The winning play came when U of L cornerback Quincy Riley intercepted a pass by N.C. State’s Brennan Armstrong with 1:33 to play. The Cards ran out the final 93 seconds.
The victory bumped Jeff Brohm’s first U of L team to 5-0 overall. They also sit atop the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 3-0 record, that includes a pair of road victories. Not bad for a team that only has 2 road games remaining on its schedule.
"You can't complain about 5-0," U of L quarterback Jack Plummer said. "You played 5 games and you win them all. You can't do much better than that."
Louisville showed it can win on a night when its offense stalled. The Cards averaged 237 yards rushing in their first 4 games. Louisville finished with 20 rushing yards against the Wolfpack.
The Cards' defense limited N.C. State without any points in the second half and to 201 total yards for the game. Armstrong, a quarterback who threw for 487 yards against Louisville in 2021, completed only 13 of 25 passes and 112 yards. Only one of N.C. State's 56 offensive snaps went for more than 20 yards.
"If that wasn't a dogfight, I don't know what is," said U of L defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte. "We've been tested. We knew what we had to do."
The Cards made it difficult on themselves from the first possession. After losing the coin toss for the first time this season, they drove to N.C. State 41 and stalled. They punted.
Just like they punted on their next drive. And their next drive. Then Louisville missed a field goal. Then Plummer fumbled while trying to attempt a pass. Then Plummer threw an interception.
For only the second time this season, the Cardinals finished a complete half without a point. They trailed 10-0, failing to advance past the North Carolina State 35-yard line.
It could not have been worse, but was not because the Louisville defense limited N.C. State to 86 yards. The Cards allowed only 30 passing yards and 56 rushing yards. The Wolfpack earned 5 first downs — 3 by penalty.
The Cards figured it out in the third quarter. They outscored the Wolfpack, 10-0, by forcing a pair of turnovers. Both plays involved Cam’Ron Kelly. He intercepted an Armstrong pass in the end zone and then knocked the ball away from Armstrong for a fumble than Ramon Puryear recovered.
"Our defense was aggressive in our approach all day," Brohm said.
Louisville’s first points came on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Plummer to Chris Bell. He caught the ball nearly sitting on the turf and had to battle Shyheim Battle, who tried to take the ball away from him.
"When I saw the ball in the air, I knew I had to go get it," Bell said. "I had it first."
The next 3 points were delivered on a Travelstead field goal from 33 yards. On his final kick, Travelstead delivered the kick of his life with the game in the balance.
"I wanted to be there for my team," he said.
What was he thinking, in the seconds before the kick?
"That I was the guy to do it," he said. "If you go out there with any doubts, it's not going to go in."
It went in -- with ease.
The Cards survived on a night when Plummer threw a pair of interceptions and lost a fumble. He completed 21 of 35 for 286 yards and a score.
"We could have helped him out more," Brohm said. "I could have called a better game."
Next Saturday the Cardinals return to L&N Cardinal Stadium to play the highest-ranked team on their schedule — No. 11 Notre Dame. The game, which was announced as a sellout this week, will kick off at 7:30 p.m. The Fighting Irish are 4-1 and play at Duke Saturday night.
"It's a huge opportunity," Kelly said. "You've got to seize the moment. I'm excited. I'm really excited."
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