LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Remember that narrative where the first six games were the cruise control portion of the University of Louisville football schedule, and the Cards were likely to be ground into landscaping mulch in the second half of the season?

Well, flush it.

And while you’re at it, you can also flush the talk about coach Scott Satterfield being on the Hot Seat as well as the talk that the Cardinals won’t be going to a bowl game in 2022. There are likely a few more topics to flush, but it’s time to get to the jarring final score from Cardinal Stadium Saturday:

Louisville 48, No. 10 Wake Forest 21.

Hey, it wasn't that close. How could it be when Louisville won the turnover battle 8 to 1, getting all eight in the second half?

Not when the Cards scored 35 points in the third quarter while only running 13 plays. The announced crowd of 39,503 was the smallest of the season but the enthused folks who came out saw Louisville's best performance in the Satterfield Era. They also saw the students rush the field.

If you're scoring at home, Louisville has just beaten the teams (Wake and Pittsburgh) that played in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game last season by a combined score of 72-31.

"For the ones who were here, that was tremendous," Satterfield said. "They got to see a great game. That was fun. The crowd was into it. They were fired up. We're getting those pick sixes and everybody's going crazy and that crazy song ("Joker and Thief") comes on in the fourth quarter and they all love it."

Credit the Louisville defense. Actually you cannot credit the Louisville defense strongly enough. What can you say about defense that forced eight Wake Forest turnovers in the second half, including the first five possessions?

Wake had 21 third-quarter snaps. Six (nearly 29%) resulted in turnovers.

Huh?

"The third quarter was remarkable," Satterfield said. "I've been in the game a long time and never seen anything like it."

"That's our mindset, let's try to win the game ourselves," linebacker Yasir Abdullah said. "Let's try to score. Let's be the offense today."

Credit Satterfield, who took a Gatorade bath from his players after the game. He promised to become more involved in the defense after the loss to Boston College. He did. It worked.

"The defense played lights out," Satterfield said. "It was different guys. That's what was so special about it. Eight different players on eight sacks. That's incredible. Total team defense. Six different players got turnovers today."

Make a note of this: Wake had only lost the ball five times — two fumbles, three interceptions — while winning six of its first seven games.

"Clearly, I did not have our football team ready today," Wake coach Dave Clawson said. 

Wake quarterback Sam Hartman is a fifth-year senior, a poised and persistent performer considered one of the top quarterbacks in the Atlantic Coast Conference. His touchdown to interception ratio this season was 21 to 3. 

Louisville made Hartman look like a freshman — a high-school freshman. He threw three interceptions in the third quarter, two for U of L touchdowns.

This was how Wake’s first seven possessions in the second half ended: Interception; fumble; fumble; interception, fumble; three-and-out punt; interception and fumble.

The first interception was returned for a 46-yard touchdown by Kei’Trel Clark. The third interception was returned for a 90-yard touchdown on the final play of the third quarter by Quincy Riley.

The 35 points Louisville scored in the third quarter tied an FBS record for the most points scored against a Top 25 team in one quarter. Only three other teams accomplished that, the last one No. 5 Oklahoma against No. 2 Texas Tech in 2008.

"They're excited when somebody else makes a play," U of L defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. "That's the one thing I see. They're excited when the defense makes a play ... that's what you want to see in a team and I think we've come together in a team."

By that point Louisville had rallied from its 14-13 halftime deficit to lead, 48-14. By that point, even Clawson had seen enough, benching Hartman.

The victory was the Cards' third straight as well as the fifth consecutive game in which Louisville forced at least three turnovers. It also improved the Cardinals’ record to 5-3, leaving them one victory short of bowl eligibility.

There’s more. It was Louisville’s first win over a Top 10 opponents as an unranked team in two decades as well as Satterfield’s first victory over a Top 10 team in 45 games at Louisville. Louisville won by 27 on a day when the Cards out-gained Wake Forest by 8 yards (410-402).

The Cardinals played the first 18 minutes as if they were ready to knock the Demon Deacons all the way out of the Top 25. They jumped ahead 13-0 with two field goals and a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Malik Cunningham.

Wake averaged nearly 25 first downs over its first seven games. The visitors made one in the first quarter against the Cards.

The visitors rallied (briefly) for two second quarter touchdowns. But Louisville imposed its will over and over and over in the final 30 minutes.

The Cards finish their stretch of three consecutive home games next Saturday when James Madison visits Cardinal Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

The Dukes (5-2) had Saturday off. After winning their first five, including an impressive upset at Appalachian State, James Madison has lost back to back games to Georgia Southern (45-38) and Marshall (26-12). This is the Dukes’ first season as an FBS member of the Sunbelt Conference.

After that comes the closing stretch against three more ranked teams -- No. 5 Clemson (away); No. 21 North Carolina State (home) and No. 19 Kentucky (away).

"We want to continue to get better as a football team," Satterfield said. "Everybody has talked about this back half (of the schedule).  We know it's tough and we know what's in store for us."

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