BOZICH | Louisville football rallies past Miami, 38-31, into ACC title game

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — There was an early, ugly interception. A string of missed tackles. A missed field goal. A blocked extra point. A targeting infraction.

And that was just in the first half of Louisville’s game against the Miami Hurricanes Saturday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Did Jeff Brohm’s team have the resolve to overcome those issues to defeat the Hurricanes and earn their spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game?

On a day when their usually barbed-wire defense gave up 486 yards and and seven plays for 25 or more yards?

Indeed they did -- right down to the final play.

Trailing 28-23 early in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals scored two touchdowns in the final 11 minutes to defeat Miami, 38-31.

"We wanted to make sure that we won it ourselves to go to the championship game, not getting in any other way," Brohm said. "I think our team just really wanted to win. It meant something to them."

Check.

The Louisville defense secured the victory by stopping the Hurricanes on four consecutive plays from the U of L 4-yard line in the final two minutes and then doing it again on the game's final play.

Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke heaved a pass from behind midfield into a crowd of Miami and Louisville players near the Cards' goal line. The ball was batted into the air, not the ground.

"Not exactly the way you want it to end," Brohm said. "You want to be able to bat that ball down."

First, my view of Kevin Coleman's game-winning touchdown. He showed off some moves on his way to giving Louisville a lead it would not relinquish. pic.twitter.com/pAqJEO1CCS

— Tyler Greever (@Tyler_Greever) November 18, 2023

Inhale.

Miami receiver Xavier Restrepo snatched the ball around the 3-yard line and appeared to have room to sneak into the endone.

No, sir.

U of L cornerback Quincy Riley arrived to tackle Restrepo short of the goal line, cueing the celebration.

Exhale.

"It's a heckuva way to get to the championship game," Brohm said.

"Nobody expected us to be here," Riley said. "That locker room was crazy."

The victory bumped the Cards’ record to 10-1 overall and 7-1 in the ACC, securing their place in the league championship game against unbeaten No 4 Florida State at 8 p.m. on Dec. 2 in Charlotte, N.C.

By getting to 10 victories, Brohm earned a 2-year extension to his contract, which should keep him connected to the Cardinals through the 2030 season. Not a bad year for a guy whose team was picked to finish 8th in the league prior to the season -- and whose team was a 1-point underdog at some Las Vegas sports books Saturday afternoon.

ACC Coach of the Year? 

Should be.

But awards and contract talk can wait until after the season. Five different Cardinals scored and Nick Lopez kicked his first field goal of the season. 

None of the five were Jawhar Jordan or Jamari Thrash, the Cards' leading runner and receiver all season. I call that coaching.

"It's a credit to our team," Brohm said. "We do carry a lot of things. They stopped us a few times .. and when they do, you've got to pull something else out and do something different.

"That's why it's important on offense that you have creativity and the ability to use all your weapons. To make sure you have answers when things get stale."

Tight end Nate Kurinsky started the scoring, with his second touchdown this season. He was followed by Isaac Guerendo, who scored from 12 yards.

Then came a trick play, a pass from Jack Plummer to Trevonte Slyvester, an offensive tackle masquerading as a tight end, including a change of numbers.

"We're trying to find any way possible to score," said Plummer, who completed 24 of 37 passes for 308 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception.

"We've got to utilize everybody on the team."

Evan Conley scored his first touchdown this season on a 5-yard quarterback draw. Yep, Brohm worked in a winning play by the third- or maybe fourth-string quarterback.

The winning touchdown came on a 58-yard pass from Plummer to Kevin Coleman with 4:17 to play after two Miami defenders ran into each other. You could call that bad technique or another dazzling coaching scheme.

Either way, it was the fourth and final time Louisville retook the lead while winning on the road for the fourth time this season -- all by a touchdown or less.

"They threw everything they had at us," U of L safety Cam'Ron Kelly said.

Miami scored 21 points — in the first half. That was the most points the Hurricanes scored in their first seven ACC games this season.

Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke lost his job this season because of the blizzard of turnovers that surrounded him. Van Dyke had 11 interceptions in his last five games.

Louisville had issues making Van Dyke flinch. The pass rushers didn’t get to him. The secondary struggles in coverage, giving up three receptions for 17 yards or more in the first half.

Louisville’s defense improved in the second half, limiting Miami to 10 points.

"We had to calm down in the second half," Riley said.

Next for the Cardinals is a goal that has been on the chalkboard since Brohm took over last December:

The Governor’s Cup game against Kentucky is next Saturday at L&N Cardinal Stadium.

Louisville has not defeated the Wildcats since Lamar Jackson was the Cardinals’ quarterback in 2017. Kentucky has won four straight by an average margin of 30.5 points.

"It's going to be a big challenge," Brohm said. "It's going to be at home and our fans are going to want to see a win.

"After we enjoy this, we're going to have to regroup and try to find a way to win that game."

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