UofL FB Recap: Cards Squandered Opportunities As Governor’s Cup Slips Through Their Hands

Pregame Notes:

Good afternoon Card Nation. Today is the day, this is the game, the battle for state bragging rights for the next year, the battle for the Governor’s Cup. Louisville is coming in coming in 10-1 and has a date with FSU in Charlotte, NC next week for the ACC championship. Their counterparts however are 6-5 and will await their fate for a bowl game in the coming weeks. No one on this current roster for Louisville has tasted victory over today’s opponent.

1st Quarter:

On the opening kickoff there was a penalty on Louisville’s Chris Bell for his involvement in the activity after the play was dead. Louisville’s defense stopped their opponent’s first drive. On the Cards first drive, it was Plummer’s legs more than his arm that did damage. The drive was capped off with a Jawhar Jordan 1-yard run. Louisville led 7-0 heading into the 2nd quarter.

2nd Quarter:

Louisville gave up a touchdown on a 6-yard pass to Dane Key on a possession that should have ended with an interception for Louisville. Louisville was able to move the ball and get their defense some rest, but more importantly put up some points. Travelstead connected on a 46-yard field goal to give the Cards a 10-7 lead. The Cards had a chance to put more points on the board before the half, but stalled near midfield. UofL led 10-7 at the half. 

Halftime Stats:

T.O.P: 15:47

Passing Yards: 87

Rushing Yards: 65

Sacks: 2

T.Os: 

3rd Quarter:

Louisville received the ball first and went 75 yards in 15 plays (mostly on the ground) to take a 17-7 lead. However, Louisville’s special teams gave up a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown that cut the Cards lead to 3 (17-14) momentarily. Louisville’s second possession started off near the 50-yard line after it looked like Isaac Guerendo was going to break away for a kick return touchdown of his own. Louisville continued to move the ball down the field. Plummer connected with Joey Gatewood for an 11-yard touchdown pass to give Louisville a 24-14 lead. Two plays later, the defense gave up another touchdown.  Louisville led 24-21 heading into the final quarter of regulation. 

4th Quarter:

Louisville moved the ball really well in the 3rd quarter, but a Jordan fumble ended a promising drive. In the 4th, Plummer fumbled as he was attempting to gain some yards before going out of bounds. Louisville trailed 31-24 midway through the quarter. A key interception by Brownlee gave the Cards new life. The Cards were able to capitalize on the turnover with a game tying touchdown pass from Plummer to AHB for 21 yards with 2:33 seconds remaining. The defense, however, couldn’t come up with a stop and allowed yet another rushing touchdown as the Cards trailed by a touchdown again. Jack Plummer’s pass to the end zone was intercepted and the Cards suffered their first loss at home of the year 31-38.

Post Game Notes:

Louisville suffers another loss to the team up the road. This was a game the Cards should have won, but when you aren’t used to winning these types of games, you somehow find a way to lose them. Louisville had their chance to seal this game up, but committed two very costly turnovers, one by Jordan on a promising drive and the other by Plummer on 3rd down. For most of the year, the defense and special teams has carried this team and more than made up for whatever struggles the offense was going through. Today, in this game, that wasn’tthe case. The statistics will tell you, Louisville gave up less than 100 yards on the ground again and yes that’s right. What’s also right is they gave up a 37-yard touchdown run that ended up being the game winner when they needed a stop. Louisville missed some assignments in the passing game today, assignments they hadn’t missed all year. Quincy Riley was target a lot, probably almost as much as he has been targeted all year. Plummer was sacked twice and was pressured multiple times. Louisville outplayed their opponent in this game, but a few mental errors, combined with missed assignments really caused the Cards today. The two fumbles really hurt Louisville in this game. They’ll have all week to work on it and get better because the play FSU in Charlotte for the ACC championship game Saturday.