Louisville Responds, Rallies to Upset UCF in Bounce House
ORLANDO, Fla. - Traveling down to the Sunshine State in an attempt to get back on track after their disappointing season-opening blowout loss to Syracuse last week, the Louisville football program was able to bounce back in a big way, rallying to take down UCF 20-14 Friday night at the Bounce House.
Entering the game as a 5.5-point underdog, the Cardinals (1-1, 0-1 ACC) hand the Knights (1-1, 0-0 American) their first loss at home since falling 36-33 to No. 7 Cincinnati on Nov. 21, 2020. It is only UCF's third loss at home since 2017.
In a surprising turn of events, Louisville's defense was the star of the show. After UCF put up 605 yards of offense in their opener against South Carolina State, the Cardinals held their up-tempo offense to only 337 yards on the night, tallying ten straight defensive stops in the process.
Safety Kenderick Duncan tallied a game-best 13 tackles, safety Josh Minkins and cornerback Quincy Riley each had a pair of pass breakups and defensive end YaYa Diaby had 1.5 sacks and tackles for loss en route to four sacks and six TFL's for the Louisville defense as a whole. Cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. also had a clutch fourth quarter interception.
The Knights did rush for 206 total yards, but quarterback John Rhys Plumlee went just 16-of-34 through the air for 131 yards and an interception. Plumlee has 83 yards on the ground, with running back Isaiah Bowser tallying 51 yards and two score.
On the other sideline, Louisville's Malik Cunningham looked much more like his usual self. While he did only go 14-of-29 with 195 yards passing, he added 121 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Running back Tiyon Evans had 75 yards and a score, with Louisville rushing for 226 total yards.
Very early in the game, it looked like the matchup was going to be a track meet. Louisville marched down the field with a great first drive script that resulted in a seven-yard Evans rushing touchdown, then UCF responded right back with their trademark high-tempo, resulting in Bowser punching it in from two yards out.
After that, the script turned on its head for the remainder of the first half. Louisville's next six offensive drives consisted of two three-and-outs, a turnover on downs, an Evans fumble, a missed 41-yard field goal from James Turner, and halftime. Offensive rhythm went downhill in a hurry after the opening drive.
Conversely, despite getting gashed by big runs from both Plumlee and Richardson on several occasions, the defense rallied and held their own after a shaky start. UCF did add another goal line touchdown from Bowser early in the second quarter, but four of their final five drives of the first half ended in no points, including a missed field goal of their own from 32 yards out.
The defense took that momentum from the end of the first half, and parlayed that into a tremendous second half performance. Louisville held UCF to just 96 yards on their seven drives of the half, three of which were three-and-outs.
It took a drive for the other side of the line of scrimmage to get going after halftime, but the Cardinals eventually started turning their offensive drives into points, converting on three straight opportunities. Turner atoned for his first half miss with a 35-yard field goal, Cunningham added a 43-yard rushing score to overtake the Knights, then Turner booted another 35-yarder.
There was some late drama in the contest. After a surprising call to go for it on fourth down by Louisville with under three minutes to go, they could not convert, and UCF took over at midfield. The Knights marched to the goal line, went for it on fourth down themselves, only for corner Jarvis Brownlee Jr. to intercept a jump ball.
Next up, Louisville will host Florida State at Cardinal Stadium for their 2022 home-opener. Kickoff against the Seminoles is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m. EST.
(Photo via Mike Watters - USA TODAY Sports)
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