Louisville Stunned at Boston College, Remain Winless in ACC Play
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Heading back on the road for a showdown against ACC foe Boston College, the Louisville football program was unable to secure their first win in conference play, instead falling 34-33 Saturday at Alumni Stadium.
The Cardinals (2-3, 0-3 ACC) spoiled a golden opportunity, facing a listless Eagles (2-3, 1-3 ACC) that had just come off of a 30-point loss at Florida State. Conversely, Louisville delivered a 38-point beatdown against USF, and entered the matchup as a 14.5-point favorite over their hosts.
Even through Louisville committed less than half the penalties that Boston College did (13 to 6), and snagged three first half takeaways, the Cardinals were out-gained 449-to-342 for the game, and were unable to establish any consistency on either side of the ball.
Quarterback Malik Cunningham, despite rushing for 52 yards and three touchdowns, yet again struggled to get the passing game in gear, going 19-of-28 for 186 yards and one touchdown. The running game was also held to 137 yards, tying for their lowest of the season (at Syracuse).
Despite entering the game with clear offensive line issues, Boston College was able to establish a bit of rhythm against Louisville. Quarterback Phil Jurkovec was 18-of-21 through the air for three touchdowns and one early interception. Eagles wideout Zay Flowers had five receptions for 151 yards an two scores, while BC ran for 145 yards after averaging just 59.8 heading into the game.
It wasted a standout performance from inside linebacker Monty Montgomery, who was responsible for all three of Louisville's turnovers. He also had three tackles for loss and two of the Cardinals' three sacks.
Early on, Louisville looked like they might run away with the game. The offense set the tone on their first time out with a 12-play/70-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard Cunningham rushing score, while Montgomery secured an interception on defense.
After that, the offense had trouble finishing drives while the defense was boom-or-bust for the rest of the first half. Largely thanks to Cunningham's struggles through the air, Louisville's next five offensive drives ended with three punts, a turnover on downs and a 24-yard field goal from James Turner.
Meanwhile, while the defense was able to force two more first half turnovers - both of which were forced fumbles from Montgomery - they also struggled with tackling BC's ball carriers and containing their impact playmakers. On top of their three first half turnovers, the Eagles also had three first half scores: a one-yard reception from Joe Griffin, a 57-yard reception from Flowers and a 40-yard rush by Alex Broome.
Despite multiple miscues on both sides of the ball, and a first half where they were out-gained 266-176, Louisville was able to generate some momentum heading into halftime with back-to-back scoring drives. Both came via Cunningham's legs, as he tallied six- and one-yard rushing scores on the goal line to put the Cardinals up 23-21 at the half. One of Cunningham's scores, however, came with a missed PAT that would loom large late in the game.
Louisville couldn't use their momentum to gain much ground on Boston College in the third quarter. Turner added a 48-yard field goal and Cunningham started to find his stride, finding found Huggins-Bruce for a 12-yard receiving score, but that was sandwiched by a 69-yard bomb to Flowers for BC.
Tides took a hard turn late in the game. Louisville had a long touchdown run by Jawhar Jordan wiped by a chop block penalty late in the third quarter, then Louisville lost Cunningham halfway through the fourth quarter due to an undisclosed injury.
Making matters worse, the defense allowed Boston College to connect on 37- and 26-yard field goals to take a slim, late lead. Backup quarterback Brock Domann couldn't get the job done on both drives he saw, allowing BC to cling on to the win.
Next up, Louisville will stay on the road and head to Virginia. Kickoff against the Cavaliers is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8 at 12:00 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Bob DeChiara - USA TODAY Sports)
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