Ok guys where do we start? First off it is Senior Day and 38 degrees and it is time to honor the guys that came to give us all they had for 4-5 years. The turnout fluctuated. There were about 30k at kickoff, 40k at beginning of 2nd quarter, got up to around 45k at peak, then dropped to 30k after start of 4th and finally dipped to about 20-25 once Memphis started scoring in 4th quarter. We have to do better. We have to be there in our seats 30 minutes prior to kick-off. We have to stay until the clock hits 0:00. We have to fill up the stadium for senior day and every other day. We will likely be up to 70k seats within 2 years and I will tell you this, ACC away fans will make the trips and turn our home games into theirs.
I’m exhaling now. So to the actual game. Led by Teddy Bridgewater, who threw for 220 yards and a touchdown, No. 21 Louisville beat Memphis 24-17. It wasn’t an overwhelming win, wasn’t a pretty win, but it was a win. Preston Brown started off the Cardinal scoring with a 48 yard fumble return for a TD on the same morning he learned of his grandfather’s passing. Next off, DeVante Parker would take a short route, make a few defenders miss, and take it 39 yards to the house to make it 14-3 in the second quarter. John Wallace would tack on a 39 yard FG, after getting his previous attempt blocked, making the score 17-3 at the half with the Cards getting the ball first after halftime.
In the third quarter the Cards would take that opening drive 85 yards and cap it off with a 4 yard rushing TD by Dominique Brown making it 24-3 with 8:23 left in the 3rd quarter. The offense would become stagnant for the rest of the game from that point on. Memphis would add two late Touchdowns to make it a 24-17 final. Dominique Brown would have 54 yards and a TD and Senorise Perry added 51 on the ground. Damian Copeland would catch 7 balls for 55 yards and Devante Parker caught 1 pass for 39 yards and a TouchDown. On defense Senior Preston Brown led the team with 8 tackles and 1 fumble recovery for a Touchdown. Marcus Smith, Sheldon Rankins and Lorenzo Mauldin all added a sack. Mr. Clutch Charles Gaines recorded an interception as well. James Burgess has 6 tackles with several being in goal line instances.
Now to address the gripes. Yes we should be scoring more. Yes we should be undefeated. Yes our play calling is stagnant and inconsistent. But we are winning football games. The era of the BCS is over. We absolutely would not have made the final two with they way we have been treated by the computers in the formula. We just won 10 games in back to back seasons for the first time ever. There should be more positivity than negativity going throughout the fan base right now. Reality is that 5 years ago we suffered through a 4-8 Kragthorpe debacle. We will be alright. I will warn you of this though. If we don’t support the team and the coaches then recruiting will hurt and nobody can complain if coach decides to walk. All in all this has been a great season and hopefully we can end it in a bang with wins at Cincinnati and in whichever bowl we get the privilege to play in.
Go Cards!
