Pregame Notes:
Good evening Card Nation. Coach Jeff Brohm and the 18th-ranked Louisville Cardinals get ready for a Top 20 showdown in The Ville, as the Duke Blue Devils coming riding into town. Last week was a bye for the Cards, and it came at the perfect time. They were banged up heading into the Pittsburgh game, and the physicality of the game and weather conditions helped add to the injury list for the Cards. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils are limping into L&N Stadium losing two of their last three games and a quarterback who is questionable with a an ankle injury. Louisville is looking for their 9th-consecutive home victory, for the first time since the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Today’s game is the 1st of three straight home games for the Cards.
1st Quarter:
Louisville won the toss and deferred until the 2nd half. The Louisville defense didn’t force a 3-and-out, but got a sack and a 4-yard loss on a screen pass to end Duke’s first drive. Louisville’s first series was very Jawhar Jordan heavy. Jordan had 5 carries for 48 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown run. Louisville’s defense then forced a fourth down stop, to give the offense the ball at midfield. A 23-yard touchdown run by Jordan, capped off the second drive for the Cards. Louisville held a 14-0 lead heading into the 2nd quarter.
2nd Quarter:
The Cards stall on their third possession of the game, but were able to move the ball and pin Duke inside of the 10 yard line. The Duke offense did their best to play keep away with the Louisville offense as they slowed down the quarter. Louisville was only able to muster up a 47-yard field goal by Travelstead in the quarter. Louisville led 20th ran Blue Devils 17-0 at the half.
Halftime Stats:
T.O.P: 16:47
Passing Yards: 92
Rushing Yards: 130
Sacks: 3
T.Os: 0
3rd Quarter:
UofL started the quarter similarly to how they started the game, a very heavy Jawhar Jordan drive. However, unlike the first quarter Louisville settled for a Travelstead 20-yard field goal. Louisville’s defense forced a turnover inside the Duke 20-yard line. Louisville, however, had to settle for another field goal from Travelstead. The Cards led 23-0 heading into the final quarter of regulation.
4th Quarter:
As the Cards offense continued to stall in the quarter, the defense continued to make life difficult for Leonard and the offense. The Blue Devils’ offense was basically nonexistent today and that was in large part to the pressure the defense brought all game. Plummer and the offense stalled in the fourth quarter and failed to produce any points in the quarter. Louisville defeated 20th ranked Duke 23-0.
Recap & highlights from the #18 Cards Homecoming win over #20 Duke!
Recap: https://t.co/LMPO5JEQoY#GoCards pic.twitter.com/5Hc6YsFPvx
— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) October 29, 2023
Post Game Notes:
Louisville improve to 7-1 on the season. Welcome back Jawhar Jordan. Louisville’s offense was run heavy today, not sure if it had a lot to do with Jordan being back or because Duke’s run defense was ranked in the 60s in the country. Jordan had a career high 163 rushing yards and added 2 touchdowns to his season total. Plummer still needs to work on building chemistry with his receivers not named Thrash. This is now the second game in a row where the offense failed to score a touchdown in the second half. The Louisville defense is continuing to get better, and they are getting healthy too. The Louisville defense played fast and executed the gameplan as they pitched a shutout on the 20th-ranked Blue Devils. Next up for Louisville is Virginia Tech at 3:30 at L&N Stadium.
