UofL Football Recap: De Jesus Clips Cards Wings

Pregame Notes:

Good evening, Card Nation. The 15th-ranked, 7-1 Louisville Cardinals took on the 5-4 (2-3 ACC) California Golden Bears. The Cards are coming off an impressive 28-16 road victory over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.  Isaac Brown had another outstanding performance (16 carries 131 yards 1 TD) before he left the game with an undisclosed injury. Keyjuan Brown also had a great game (12 carries 95 yards 2 TDs). The Louisville defense pitched a shutout in the 2nd half against Virginia Tech, which gave the offense more than enough opportunities to put up points. The first College football Playoff rankings came out last Tuesday, and Louisville came in ranked 15th. The Cards will have plenty of chances to climb the ladder, as long as they keep winning.

1st Quarter:

California received the ball first and seemingly moved right down the field. Wide receiver Jacob De Jesus connected on a wide receiver pass for 27 yards to Trond Grizzell. The Bears got down inside the redzone before a sack on 3rd down by AJ Green forced a field goal by California, that they missed. On Louisville’s first possession of the game, Duke Watson scored on his second carry of the game. The one-yard touchdown run put the Cards up 7-0 with 5:11 left in the quarter. Both teams traded punts on their 2nd possessions. On Cal’s 3rd possession of the quarter, they went 74 yards in 6 plays to tie the game at 7, with under a minute remaining. After one quarter of play under the lights, the Cards and Bears were tied at 7.  

2nd Quarter:

On the Cards first possession of the quarter, Miller Moss completed a pass to Miller Moss for 19 yards. In the end, Louisville had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Cooper Ranvier, The Cards led 10-7. On Cal’s first possession of the quarter, they moved the ball with ease to the red zone, but the Cards defense stiffened up inside the 10 and forced yet another field goal by Cal. With just under 6 minutes remaining in the half, Louisville and California were tied at 10. Louisville moved the ball with ease thanks to a couple of nice runs by Keyjuan Brown, but a mishandling of the snap and a 5-yard loss by Moss, forced Louisville into a 49-yard field goal by Ranvier as they headed to intermission.

Halftime Stats:

T.O.P:  14:51

Passing Yards:  124

Rushing Yards: 72 (1 TD)

Sacks: 2

T.Os:  0

3rd Quarter: 

The quarter got off to a rocky start for the Cards. Duke Watson was stopped for an 8-yard loss on the first play from scrimmage, and Moss threw an interception 2 plays later. The defense, even with the short field, stepped up and forced the Bears to kick another field goal. The Cards second possession was a possession where Cal was plagued by penalties. Two personal foul penalties aided Louisville into getting inside the 5 yard line. Two Miller Moss sneaks later and the Cards tied the game at 20. California would not go away. They used and used De Jesus every chance they got. In the end, the defense of Louisville came up big in the red zone (with the help of a couple false start penalties, thanks to the fans) and forced yet another California field goal. The 15th-ranked Cards trailed unranked California 20-23 heading into the final quarter.

4th Quarter:

Offensively, the quarter was brutal and really hard to watch. The Cards had four possessions, yes I said four possessions, and had a whopping total of 18 yards. The Cards however, did tie the game with on a 38-yard field goal by Ranvier with just over 11 minutes remaining. On the Cards final possession of regulation, Moss took a sack for a loss of 5 yards and immediately killed whatever hopes of Louisville winning this game in regulation. California and Louisville were tied at 23 and needed extra time to determine the winner.

Overtime:

California won the toss and elected to play defense. It was a smart move and proved to be the right call. Keyjuan got the Cards started with a 9-yard run, but a block below the waist penalty halted any chance of the Cards scoring a touchdown. Ranvier gave the Cards a 26-23 lead on a 49-yard field goal. California really played fearless, and with nothing to lose. They threw everything they had at Louisville, and it worked. With 4th-and-3 on the 3-yard line, De Jesus runs a zig route and caught a 3-yard pass for the touchdown. Ball game. California beat 15th-ranked Louisville 29-26.

Final Stats:

Passing Yards: 203

Rushing Yards: 148 (2)

Post Game Notes:

The Cards suffered a heartbreaking loss in overtime tonight. What made this loss sting even more, is the fact that Virginia also lost tonight. Keyjuan Brown played well tonight, and finished with 136 yards on 14 carries. Moss threw for 203 yards on 20-38 passes and finished with 1 INT. One bright side is that Louisville continued their Nation-leading streak of scoring at least 24 points. Despite giving up 29 points, the defense showed flashes of their season-long dominance. It just wasn’t enough. This game was more of a coaching failure in all three phases of the game, not entirely on the players. Louisville will now turn their attention to the Clemson Tigers, who come into to town on a Friday night.