UofL Football Recap: Cards Offense Struggles But Defense Prevails

Pregame Notes:

It’s Game Day in The Ville. Your 1-0 Louisville Cards take on the 1-0 JMU Dukes. The Cards are coming off an impressive 51-17 win against EKU, especially the 41-0 halftime lead. JMU is coming off an impressive 45-10 victory themselves, albeit it was vs Weber St. The last time Louisville and James Madison faced off, it was in 2022 and it was a tied game at the half, before the talent and depth took over for the Cards in a 34-10 victory. Louisville’s Isaac Brown rushed for 126 yards on 6 carriers vs EKU,Louisville will have to pass on early downs and find different ways to get Brown and Watson the ball, because JMU will do everything they can not to let Brown and Watson beat them.

1st Quarter:

The Cards went backwards on their first possession. An Isaac Brown rush for 0 yards, followed by a 3 yard loss on 2nd down, and capped by a Miller Moss sack on 3rd down is how Louisville’s first possession went. Credit the Louisville defense though, because they came out and forced a 3 and out of their own. On Louisville’s 2nd possession, they were able to move the ball a little, gained a 1st down, but ultimately was stuffed on 4th & 1 on the Louisville 39 yard line. Louisville appeared to have came away with a big sack fumble on 4th down, but the officials had a horrible holding call, that eventually led to 3-yard touchdown pass from Barnett to Dipper to give the Dukes a 7-0 lead.  Louisville trailed JMU 7-0 after one quarter of play.

2nd Quarter:

Louisville’s defense shutdown the Duke’s offense on a 4th & 3, giving Louisville the ball on their own 40-yard line with 11:19 to go in the quarter. Louisville’s first scoring drive of the game went for 56 yards on 13 plays, took just under 6 minutes and concluded with a 22-yard field goal after Louisville got it down to the 1-yard line. Louisville got a very fortunate bounce, when a JMU punt went about 8-yards , and the Cards started on the Dukes 37 yard line, but failed to find the endzone. The Cards had to settle for their 2nd field goal, but the cut the JMU to 1 (7-6). The defense really came up clutch and prevented JMU from adding any more points before halftime. Louisville trailed 6-7 at the half, and JMU will receive the ball to start the 3rd quarter.

Halftime Stats:

T.O.P:  15:55

Passing Yards: 83

Rushing Yards: 15

Sacks: 1

T.Os: 0

3rd Quarter:

Coming out out the half, the sloppy play from Louisville continued. On what would’ve been a 3rd down stop, the Cards committed another penalty, that prolonged a drive that ended in an 8-yard run for Sluka and a 14-6 lead for JMU. Louisville needs just four plays for Miller Moss to connect on a 64-yard catch and run to Bell, to cut the lead to 12-14. Moss went ran in the 2-pt conversion and tied the game at 14, with 8:37 remaining. Both teams traded a couple of points to end the quarter. Louisville and James Madison were tied at 14 heading into the final quarter.

4th Quarter:

Lubin with the huge stripe sack in the end zone that was recovered by AJ Green. The Cards took their 1st lead of the game (20-14) with 13:05 remaining, but couldn’t connect on the extra point attempt. The Ron English coached defense force another stop on 4th down, but the Cards offense went 3 & out of, on a sack and 2 incompletions. The defense stayed relentless and played sound football, forcing yet another 3 & out. Insert Isaac Brown. Louisville needed on 2 plays to go 81 yards, a 3-yard rush by Brown, followed by the 78-yard run closing the door on any chance JMU thought they might’ve had. Jabari Mack sealed the Cards win with an interception on the 11 yard line. Louisville wins 28-14.

Final Stats:

Passing Yards: 151 (1 TD)

Rushing Yards: 113 (1)

Post Game Notes:

Louisville improves to 2-0 on the young season. The defense had a really good outing. They forced 2 turnovers ( interception & forced fumble) and scored a touchdown (on the fumble recovery. The Cards finished with 6 sacks on defense and held JMU to 1-3 on 4th downs. The offense struggled early and through most of the game, with the exception of 2 plays ( 64-yard touchdown catch and run by Bell & Brown’s 78-yard touchdown run). JMU sold out to stop the run every chance they got, especially on 1st downs. Louisville now heads into their bye week, and although coaches and fans may not like it, it comes at a perfect time for some players to heal up and it gives the coaches extra time to address some issues with the offensive line.