LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Say all you want about the futile nature of modern college football bowl games – and believe me, I have – but credit the University of Louisville football team for turning in a spirited, hard-nosed and gritty performance in beating Washington 35-34 in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in El Paso on New Year’s Eve.
Every commentator was saying the same thing after this game ended: That was fun.
There were some rough edges. You’d expect them when Louisville was 22 players smaller than it was in its regular season finale. Washington completed six passes of 30 yards or more, including a 32-yard miracle that set up a chance for the Huskies to win the game, which they nearly did after a late pass interference call set up the fourth TD pass of the game from Demond Williams to Giles Jackson.
But on the two-point attempt for the win, Louisville’s Antonio Watts saw the pass coming, leaped and broke it up. A heart-in-your-throat onside kick attempt later, Louisville coach Jeff Brohm was being doused with Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Louisville was celebrating a nine-win season and its first three-game winning streak to finish a season since 2013.
"It was a football game went down to the wire," Brohm said immediately following the game, to CBS. "I give our guys credit. This team played hard. They (Washington) came back in the second half, but our guys just fought to the end. And that's really what competitive football is. You just got to keep playing the very end. And luckily, we came out on top. ...Â
While Louisville was down some big names, an impressive array of returnees did play -- and played well. And some players stepping up into more significant roles – primarily quarterback Harrison Bailey – rose to the occasion to raise Louisville’s all-time bowl record to 12-12-1, and to give Brohm his first bowl victory at his alma mater.
Bailey completed 16 of 25 passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns. Isaac Brown had 18 carries for 99 yards and Duke Watson had 10 for 83.
"We're really proud of Harrison," Brohm said. "You know, he naturally has a lot of confidence, which is a great quality for a quarterback. You haven't played a whole lot, and you get to go in a bowl setting, against a really good football team, and just did what we needed to do -- manage the team and be efficient, get us in the right play, run the football, throw it to receivers, get touchdowns. He did all those things. And I thought that, you know, he wanted to play. He's a guy that wants to be on the field. He wants to compete. He believes in himself and our team has really rallied around him and played hard for him, and it was just a good day by him, for sure."
On the decisive final drive at the game's end, Louisville stopped Washington from scoring on seven straight plays inside the 10-yard line, before the Huskies finally converted on the eighth. Then Watts' heroics on the two-point conversion gave Louisville the win -- nearly. Two celebration penalties called on Louisville meant that if Washington recovered its ensuing onside kick, it would be in range for a game-winning field goal.
Instead, Louisville got a hand on the ball and was able to knock the kick out of bounds to retain possession.
"We buckled down," Brohm said. "And really, in past years, we've been pretty good inside the 10-yard line on defense, and this team is no different. They play really hard. They understand that the windows are smaller. You got to be up and aggressive and how you guard people, and how you try to get off blocks and stay in your lane. And our guys did that. . . . Antonio gives us great effort. He's really athletic. I just think he understands the game. The more he plays, the better he gives and our guys believe in him. And he had to play a lot of the game because we've got a few people that weren't here, and the depth was not quite as much, and he was in there all the time. So I give him a lot of credit. He played till the very end, and made the key play to help us win."
As far as the penalties and onside kick, Brohm said, "Believe it not, I have been in that situation once before, and it was on us again. So obviously I'm not good at coaching the two penalties there after we make the play. But unfortunately, it happened. Obviously don't want it to happen, but you know, we knew that we had to get the onside kick. If not, they're going to kick a field goal to win the game. So the game wasn't over, and our guys, once again, the ball took a kind of funny bounce. It wasn't like we got it clean, but we were able to just kind of get up high enough to knock it out of bounds."
After going to the locker room tied at 21, Louisville held Washington to just four rushing yards in the third quarter and got two touchdown passes from Bailey – a 21-yarder to tight end Nate Kurisky and an eight-yard pass to Caullin Lacy – to take a 35-21 lead.
In a game of big plays, Louisville struck first when Tahveon Nicholson stepped in to intercept Williams on the game’s third play, returning it 21 yards for a touchdown to put the Cardinals up 7-0.
After Louisville’s defense forced another three-and out on Washington’s third drive, Williams Jr. found Giles Jackson on a 40-yard post route to tie the game.
Louisville’s first three offensive possessions went three and out, but the Cards pinned Washington deep after the third of those drives, then got the ball back in good field position after a 25-yard punt return from Lacy set them up at the Washington 32. After a 25-yard run from Isaac Brown, Lacy fought his way into the end zone after a short completion from Harrison Bailey, a 9-yard TD catch that put the Cards back on top 14-7.
Louisville’s defense controlled the fourth quarter, holding Washington scoreless. A pair of TD passes by Bailey – a 21-yarder to Nate Kurisky and an 8-yarder to Lacy – gave Louisville a comfortable lead, until Washington made its late run.
"I think this is huge for our football team," Bailey said. "It propels us through the offseason. A lot of momentum there. Just super proud of the guys, especially coming through there at the end. Offensive-wise, when we started off, we struggled a little bit. But then, you know, just trusting our receivers and the running backs got some run game going and it opened up the passing game, and we were able to capitalize on a few drives starting out the second half, and it helped us win the game."
Williams, who took over at QB with three games to play in the season for Washington, went 26-32 for 374 yards.
But Louisville emerged with Brohm’s first bowl victory at his alma mater.
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