Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Murray State Racers

The Cardinals play their first home game under head coach Jeff Brohm against the Racers under the lights.

Murray State Racers (1-0, 0-0 MVC) at Louisville Cardinals (1-0, 1-0 ACC)

- Kickoff: Thursday, September 7 at 7:30 p.m. EST
- Location: L&N Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
- Weather Conditions: A few clouds from time to time. Low 64F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -40.5
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 14-6
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 55-10 on Sept. 30, 2017 (Cardinal Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Game Notes

Louisville

• The Cardinals won its season and conference opener in impressive fashion, battling back from a 28-13 halftime deficit to defeat Georgia Tech 39-34 in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It snapped a two-game losing streak for the Cardinals in season openers and to Georgia Tech.
• Louisville improved to 4-135 overall in school history when trailing by 15 or more points in the second half. The second-half comeback marked the largest since 2015 when Louisville battled back to defeat Kentucky 38-24 after trailing 24-7 at the half.
• The Cardinals out-scored the Yellow Jackets 26-6 in the second half, scoring on five of six drives in that half, including three touchdowns. Quarterback Jack Plummer completed 10-of-14 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the second half — both to wide receiver Jamari Thrash. Overall, Plummer was 18-of-31 for 247 yards and three touchdowns in his first start with the Cards while Thrash caught seven passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
• The Cardinals gained 474 yards of total offense in Jeff Brohm’s debut, scoring 39 points and averaging 7.3 yards per play. The Cardinals recorded 12 plays of 15 or more yards — seven coming through the air. Jawhar Jordan recorded the longest play for the Cardinals, racing 74 yards for a touchdown to put the Cardinals ahead to stay at 36-28 with 3:41 left in the game. He missed his fourth-straight 100-yard game after rushing for 96 yards on seven carries.
• The Cardinals, who were one of the best in the nation at forcing turnovers last season, recorded a pair of miscues in the opener —the biggest one coming when Dez Tell stripped sacked Haynes King that stopped a potential Georgia Tech scoring drive. Ramon Puryear recorded his first career interception when Ashton Gillotte hit King as he threw the football that led to a field goal on the first drive of the game.
• After Georgia Tech scored 28 second-quarter points and recorded 282 yards of offense, the UofL defense stifled the Yellow Jackets, holding them to 21 yards in the third quarter and just two yards passing. In the second half, the Yellow Jackets recorded just six points and 167 yards of total offense.
• After surrendering 28 points in the second quarter, Louisville held Georgia Tech scoreless until 1:07 remained in the fourth quarter.
• The Cardinals open their 25th season in L&N Stadium, sporting an all-time mark of 113-45 and currently own a fivegame home winning streak. Louisville is 68-33-3 all-time in home openers and have won three of its last five. Louisville dropped a 35-31 home opener to Florida State last season.
• After starting the game 2-for-8 for 49 yards, quarterback Jack Plummer went 16-of-23 for 198 yards and three touchdowns to finish the game at 18-of-31 for 247 yards and those three touchdowns. He became the fifth signal caller in school history to throw three touchdown passes in his UofL starting debut, joining Browning Nagle (4), Johnny Unitas, Mike Watkins and Dave Ragone.
• Known for throwing the football, the Louisville offense was balanced with 34 rushes and 31 passing attempts in the win over Georgia Tech. The Cardinals rushed for 227 yards and one touchdown, averaging 6.7 yards per carry while passing for 247 yards, and averaging 13.7 yards a completion. Overall, the Cards totaled an average of 7.3 yards a play.
• Special teams standout Brock Travelstead did it all in Louisville’s 39-34 win over Georgia Tech. He handled both the placekicking duties and all the punting to become the first punter/kicker combination since Chris Philpott did it in 2011. Punting for the first time, Travelstead averaged 46.2 yards a punt, including a long of 48. He was a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals, connecting on tries from 33, 30, 22 and 38. He became the sixth kicker in school history to make 4-of-4 field goal attempts in a game, joining Nate Smith, Art Carmody, Chris Philpott, Blanton Creque and James Turner.
• After the 39-34 win over Georgia Tech, the Cardinals are looking to go 2-0 for the first time since 2017 when they won their first two game during that seasons. Louisville’s best start was a 4-0 mark to open the 2016 — the year Lamar Jackson took home the school’s first Heisman Trophy.
• In its first 100 seasons, Louisville went 0-19 when allowing 28 points in a single quarter. Since then, the Cards are 2-0 after winning 39-34 over Georgia Tech last Friday when they scored 28 in the second quarter. Wake Forest tallied 28 but lost 62-59 to the Cards in 2019.

Murray State

• The Racers opened the season Saturday with a 41-10 win over Presbyterian at home as they celebrated their 1000th game played in program history.
• MSU is in its 99th season of collegiate football and they are a new member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
• This game marks the Racers and Cardinals first meeting since 2017 and the 21st overall since their first meeting occurred in 1927.
• The Cardinals have won the last six meetings in 1987, 1990, 2007, 2011, 2014 and 2017.
• Murray State’s last win over an FBS team was against Louisville in 1984 at old Cardinal Stadium at the fairgrounds.
• The 1984 season was Coach Frank Beamer’s Fourth of six seasons at MSU, before he went to Virginia Tech (1987-2015) and became a College Football Hall of Famer in 2018.
• Murray State Coach Dean Hood is 0-2 vs UL (both losses) with both games coming when he was head coach at Eastern Kentucky in 2010 & 2013.
• Vs Presbyterian, QBs DJ Williams, Eric PHOENIX, combined for 14-24 passing for 253 yards and two touchdowns.
• The Racers stable of six running backs combined for 231 yards rushing on 44 attempts for a per carry average of 5.3yds.
• WR Taylor Shields caught two passes, each for touchdowns of 18 and 51 yards.
• Rising sophomore LB Nick Walker led the Racers with seven tackles (6 solo) including two tackles for loss and one sack.
• Walker and Shields were nominated for MVFC weekly honors.
• Next week’s game-3 takes the Racers to Middle Tennessee for a meeting with their former Ohio Valley Conference foe.
• MSU’s MVFC inaugural game is at home (Sept. 30) against Indiana State.
• The Racers were picked No. 11 in the MVFC Preseason Poll. South Dakota State and North Dakota State were No. 1 & No. 2.

Depth Charts

Here are the depth charts for both teams ahead of their matchup: Louisville vs. Murray State

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Racers, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of the Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Murray State

Uniform Report

Louisville will be wearing all black, while Murray State has yet to announce their uniform combination.

Additional Coverage

• Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. Georgia Tech
• Jeff Brohm, Louisville Coordinators and Players Recap Georgia Tech, Preview Murray State
• Louisville 'Eager' to Show Improvement in Home Opener, Not Overlook Murray State
• Jeff Brohm Wanting To See A More Relaxed Jack Plummer in Louisville's Home Opener
• Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Murray State
• From The Pink Seats: Episode 108 - Georgia Tech Recap, Murray State Preview

(Photo of Dezmond Tell: Brett Davis - USA TODAY Sports)

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