LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – You might’ve been tempted to say that you didn’t get your money’s worth if you were among the few and the proud who sweated out Louisville’s 40-17 victory over Bowling Green in a sweltering L&N Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
But you can’t say that, because you got to watch Caullin Lacy. The senior wideout had a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown and an eye-popping 281 all-purpose yards (110 yards receiving, 106 yards in punt returns and 65 kickoff returns.)
The rest of the Cardinals’ victory was more bookkeeping than barnburner: efficient, mostly workmanlike, and just uneven enough to keep Jeff Brohm frowning into his play sheet. But on a sunny afternoon with temperatures pushing into the 90s on the turf, Lacy’s star turn gave fans something to stand for — and made sure had something to cheer for – even if they didn’t cover up some lingering flaws.
Playing without starting running back Isaac Brown, who carried only one time but was said to be nursing a minor injury before the game – as was sophomore running back Duke Watson – Louisville loped along in the first half, using a couple of interceptions and Lacy’s big punt return to ease out to a 21-3 halftime lead.
They kicked field goals on three third-quarter drives, including a school-record 57-yarder by Nick Keller, and finally put together a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Cooper Ranvier, Louisville's regular kicker, made three field goals to become the first Louisville kicker ever to open his career 6-for-6.
The Cards scored on all their second-half drives and finish their early season non-conference portion of the schedule with a 3-0 record and some solid statistics, but having answered few of the serious questions that face the team as it it’s the road for the first time this season for next Saturday’s noon ACC opener at Pittsburgh.
After dominating the first three quarters offensively, Louisville had a couple of lapses late. A missed tackle led to a Lucian Anderson III 75-yard touchdown run. And a missed coverage led to a wheel-route touchdown pass from Drew Pyne to tight end Jacob Harris that covered 38 yards.
Defensively, Louisville forced two first-half interceptions – by Antonio Watts and D’Angelo Hutchinson – that flipped momentum and led to 14 points. The Falcons managed just four conversions on 12 third downs and were held scoreless until Anderson’s TD run.
Louisville finished with 452 total yards to Bowling Green’s 321.
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