Domann Overcomes Slow Start, Helps Lead Louisville to Victory Over Virginia

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With the amount of impact playmakers that were sitting out due to injuries, the Louisville football program was already facing an uphill battle heading into their matchup at Virginia.

The most significant absence came in the form quarterback Malik Cunningham, who has been the Cardinals' heart and soul on offense for the last few years. In fact, when the news broke that his 40-game start streak at quarterback would be snapped, Louisville almost immediately flipped from a 3.0-point favorite to a 1.5-point underdog.

After being thrust into action at the end of the Boston College game after Cunningham suffered a concussion, backup quarterback Brock Domann was tasked with making his first career start against Cavaliers. By the time the clock hit double zeroes, he had played a large role in Louisville capturing a 34-17 win over Virginia for their first ACC win of the season.

"Brock came out, and man, what a great effort he gave us today," head coach Scott Satterfield said. "He settled down after the first quarter, and really played well. Huge play on the fourth down when he pulls it and goes for touchdown about 50 yards. That was a great play by him. I thought he started settling down and started making some great throws against their defense."

However, Domann didn't exactly have a great start to the game. Whether it was a deep throw down the boundary or a short throws just past the line of scrimmage, the 6-foot-2, 228-pound signal caller has trouble establishing the passing game in the first quarter. He connected on just four of his first 15 pass attempts of the game, throwing for 59 yards and a couple interceptions.

"I was just in my own way in the first quarter," Domann said when about his struggles in the opening quarter. "As you want to prepare for your first start, I just needed to get out of my own way. Once I did that, this team was amazing."

A crucial momentum swing for both Louisville and Domann came midway through the second quarter. Facing 4th and 2 around midfield with 7:51 left in the half and down 10-3, the Cardinals opted to go for it. They ran a read option, and the entire Virginia front seven collapsed on running back Jawhar Jordan.

Except Jordan didn't have the ball. Domann made a last second decision to pull back the ball on the option, giving him an entire field's worth of space to run with. He was able to easily run the ball in for a 44-yard touchdown to tie the game at 10 a piece.

"We knew on fourth down, particularly short, they're gonna bring everybody in the box and blitz off the edge," Satterfield said. "If they do blitz, it's off the edge and they tackle the running back and Brock's gotta pull it. He's not known to be a runner, but it doesn't matter, because there shouldn't be anybody else out there. He did a had a great read on the play, he squeezed down, he pulls it, nobody's there and he's off to the races.

From that moment on, it was all Louisville. After starting his day throwing 4-of-15 for 59 yards and two interceptions, Domann then proceed to go 13-of-15 for 216 yards and a touchdown over the remaining two and a half quarters. Coupled with a fantastic performance by the defense, the Cardinals outscored the Cavaliers 34-7 over the final two and a half quarters after going down 10-0 to start the game.

Satterfield believes that the 4th and 2 play is what helped Domann settle into his first start, and take some pressure off of his shoulders for the rest of the game.

"I think it probably relaxed him a little bit more, he said. "It told him, 'man, I can play with these guys.' Here's a guy who hadn't really hadn't played much sports. He played in the South Florida game, and the game was already out of hand. I think as a player, you think you really belong, but until you go out there and do it, you don't really know."

It also helped that the coaching staff produced a game plan that aided in Domann settling in, and that the players around him on offense were executing at a high level.

A huge emphasis with the passing game was to get both wide receiver Tyler Hudson and tight end Marshon Ford heavily involved to help build Domann's confidence. The duo was responsible for 22 of his 30 targets, and they combined to finish with 11 receptions for 194 yards and a 32-yard score to Ford.

On top of that, the offensive line had their best game of the season. They did not allow Virginia to log a single sack or tackle for loss in the entire game, and helped Louisville rush for 198 yards on the day. The only negative play that the Cardinals had all day was the kneel at the end of the game.

"Our defense got five turnovers, our offensive line made some amazing pushes on the goal line and on key downs to get first downs. I feel like I got so much help from my team," Domann said. "This was an extremely amazing team win, I just did my job. There's a lot I need to clean up and a lot to learn from. I know when I watch this tape, I'll be pretty disappointed. But I'm just I'm just grateful we won, truly. I'm not a stat guy, I'm just a grinder. I'll help this team win, and that's all I want to do."

Domann freely admits that he doesn't know what the future for the rest of the season holds. With Louisville heading into their bye week before taking on Pitt on Saturday, Oct. 22, that should be enough time for Cunningham to heal up and re-take the starting position. But in that moment, he just wanted to take it all in.

"I really just wanted to take advantage of this one opportunity that I have that was guaranteed," he said. "I just wanted to finish it the right way, so I had no choice. My back was against the wall, and my teammates were counting on me. It's really just getting out of my own way, getting the nerves out of the way, and that was that was the biggest thing."

(Photo of Brock Domann: Geoff Burke - USA TODAY Sports)

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