UofL Football Recap: Cards Get Very Cavalier With The Ball And Lose To UVA

Pregame Notes:

Good afternoon, Card Natiom. It’s game day. . The University Of Louisville Cardinals take on the 24th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers. The Cards return home after their first road trip of the season. Louisville defeated Pitt 34-27, thanks to a big game from Miller Moss and Chris Bell. Virginia is coming off a an upset win 46-38 over FSU in double OT. Louisville is currently on a 3-game winning streak against UVA, and currently holds an 8-5 advantage over UVA and are 5-1 at home. However, this UVA team is built different and they are mentally tougher than the Cavaliers of the past. The Cards are going to have to stop the run 1st and 2nd, and force Morris to beat you with his arm and not his legs. Louisville will also have to avoid the slow start and protect the football against an average (at best) defense. 

1st Quarter:

The Cards defense went on the field first, and allowed 22 yards on 6 plays and forced UVA to punt. On Louisville’s first possession of the game, they moved the ball well, but Moss and Isaac Brown fumbled the toss play and UVA returned the fumble 61 yards to take a 7-0 lead. However, UVA’s lead was short lived because Louisville marched 75 yards in 6:12 to tie the game, thanks to 3 big completions to Bell and a 1-yard QB sneak by Moss for the touchdown. The Cards and UVA were tied at 7 heading into the 2nd quarter. 

2nd Quarter:

Virginia got the ball first in the quarter, and went on a 75-yard, 16 play drive that took 8:04 off the clock. The drive was aided by an accepted holding penalty on Virginia on what would’ve been 4th & 9, went back to 3rd & 20. UVA gained 19 yards on a screen play and converted on 4th-&-1 to continue their drive. UVA took a brief 14-7 lead thanks to a 19-yard connection from Morris to Ross.  Louisville, however, only needed 7 plays to go 70 yards and tie the game at 14. Louisville had a chance to take a 3-point lead into the half, but the field goal try was missed. The Cards and Cavaliers headed to intermission tied at 14. 

Halftime Stats:

T.O.P:  16:26

Passing Yards: 200 (1TD)

Rushing Yards: 35 (1 TD)

Sacks: 0

T.Os:  1 fumble by Louisville

3rd Quarter: 

Louisville received the ball first, but had to punt after just six plays. A false start penalty took the Cards from 2nd-&-5 to 2nd-&-10. The following 2 plays by Louisville both resulted in sacks by UVA and the Cards punted. The defense held firm and got a stop on 4th down that gave the offense back the ball on the 35-yard line. On a 3rd-&-long, Moss inexplicably threw a pick six that gave UVA a 21-14 lead. Louisville went 3-&-out on their next 2 possessions. On 5 possessions in the quarter, Louisville was only able to gain an abysmal 37 yards on 18 plays. The Cards trailed UVA 24-14 heading into the final quarter.

4th Quarter:

Louisville’s defense forced a punt on 4th down, and Lacy had great return that gave the Cards some momentum. Isaac Brown gained 22 yards on the fake flea flicker, followed by a couple of good runs. The 6-play, 55 yard drive concluded with a beautiful 13-yard back shoulder pass from Moss to Bell. Once again, the Louisville defense comes up huge with a sack to force a UVA punt. Louisville gets the all important first down, but on 2nd-&-10, Moss takes a sack of 15 yards. On 3rd-&-25, Moss threaded the needle to find Kris Hughes for 33 yards and a first down. The drives stalled for the Cards, but a 50-yard field goal kick by Cooper Ranvier tied the game at 24 with 1:08 left in regulation. The game was tied after four quarters. Overtime, here we come.

Overtime:

UVA won the coin toss and elected to play defense first. Louisville had to settle for a field goal on 4th-&-2. UVA scored a touchdown from 2 yards out on a halfback direct run. The Cards suffer their first loss of the season. Louisville falls to UVA 30-27.

Final Stats:

Passing Yards: 329 (2 TD)

Rushing Yards: 54 (1)

Post Game Notes:

Louisville takes their first loss of the season and fall to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play. Chris Bell showed why he’s a legit NFL prospect. The defense gave up 16 points today. On an ordinary day, that would be good enough for a Cards win. However, the offense had a fumble returned for a touchdown in the first quarter, and a pick six in the 3rd quarter. The offensive line struggles continued to plague the Louisville offense. The run game continued to struggle, which allows defenses to tee off on the passing game. It doesn’t get any easier for Louisville as the ACC schedule picks up drastically in the coming weeks. The Cards have a bye-week before a Friday game vs Miami in Coral Gables, Fl.