LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's been a while.
When James Madison visits L&N Stadium for a 7 p.m. matchup Friday, it'll end a long stretch without a prime time home game in the facility.
The last time the Louisville football team played a night game at home was Nov. 9, 2023, when the Cardinals beat Virginia, 31-24. That's a string of 665 days without a prime-time home game for the program, which made its name with a great many weeknight games in its pre-power conference days.
Mike Tirico used to do so many of the night games in Louisville that they started greeting him in the press box as "the Voice of the Cards," (no offense to the real Voice of the Cards, Paul Rogers).
Bobby Petrino used to say there's something special about the stadium at night, a bit of extra edge or energy. Maybe it was just more time to "pregame" in the parking lot. But some of the more memorable moments in the facility's history have been under the lights.
- Louisville stunned Kentucky, 40-34, in overtime on Sept. 2, 2000, when Tony Stallings broke free for a 25-yard touchdown run and seemed to just keep on running into the night.
- It was Henry Miller and almost a carbon copy run to beat No. 4-ranked Florida State on Sept. 26, 2002, in a rain-soaked overtime thriller. Fans stormed the field and made off with the goal posts, pieces of which are still on display in basements around the city.
- There was Louisville's original Blackout Game on Nov. 2, 2006, when No. 3-ranked West Virginia came to town to face a Cardinals' team ranked No. 5 in the nation. Brian Brohm, now the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Louisville, remembers the game well. He threw for 354 yards in the game, 118 of them to Harry Douglas, in a 44-34 victory.
The school installed collapsible goalposts before the game. They were collapsed after, as the fans poured onto the field.
Longtime New York Times turf writer Joe Drape wasn't in the habit of covering a ton of college football but he was in town covering the Breeders' Cup across the street and penned the lead at the left for the Times' account of that Thursday night contest.
"I love playing night games," said Louisville coach Jeff Brohm, who was the Cards' quarterbacks coach for that game in 2006. "It doesn't bother me to play weeknight games as well. I think this stadium has seen a lot of them, a lot of really good ones. I thought our crowd Saturday was great for a first game. They were ready for football and football season, which is a lot of fun to see. Our players respond when they're into. And we're looking forward to a good crowd on Friday night. We'll need the fans to be loud and help us. That that definitely creates an advantage for our team, and we'll have to utilize every advantage we can."
- More recently, the Cards knocked off No. 10 Notre Dame, 33-20, on Oct. 7, 2023, the first big night game of Brohm's career as Louisville coach and another field-rushing moment for Cardinals fans.
It also was the largest crowd in stadium history until Kentucky visited a little more than a month later.
Friday's game is being billed as "Throwback Night" by the program, when in-game tributes to past big wins and more.
"For a lot our guys, this is going to be their first night game at home," running backs coach Chris Barclay said. "So we're excited about that. You know, they have played on Friday nights in high school, but we're excited to see how they handle their first one in college. We're always excited about playing at home in front of our fan base. They really come out and support us tremendously. It was great Saturday, and we anticipate a great crowd on Friday night."
Quick Sips
- Louisville's last night game at home was the game where Virginia RB Perris Jones suffered a harrowing injury that wound up requiring spinal surgery at U of L Health and several weeks in the Frazier Rehab Institute. Now, Jones is back at U of L, as a PhD student. Read his story here.
- The Week 1 grades are in — well, yes for all the players, but also for my ability to pick games against the spread. I went 7-4 in the 11 games I picked. I picked Indiana and Kentucky to cover, which was a mistake. I picked Florida State, LSU and TCU to cover – which was not. Last week's picks are here. Next week's will be posted on Thursday.
- If Louisville is going to have a big night Friday, its running backs are going to have to find a way to move the ball against a James Madison defense that was among the best in the nation a year ago against the run. Barclay talked about his backs, and their versatility, earlier this week. Read the story here.
The Last Drop
"In the second half (against EKU), I know what the score is. We're not going to be quite as aggressive. We're going to play a bunch of guys. We're going to do what I believe is right. It was a good first game to get your feet wet. Now we've got a lot of really good opponents coming up that are talented and can win football games against anybody. James Madison beat two ACC teams last year, one very handily. So, we've got tough football games. We've got to be at our best."
Louisville coach Jeff Brohm, looking back at Saturday's 51-17 win over EKU, and ahead to Friday's game against James Madison
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