Louisville Falls to USC in Holiday Bowl

SAN DIEGO - The Louisville football program will not be heading into the offseason with momentum on their side

Capping off their first season under head coach Jeff Brohm with a showdown against USC in the Holiday Bowl, the Cardinals could not take advantage of a short-handed and vulnerable Trojans squad, falling 42-28 Wednesday at Petco Park.

No. 15 Louisville (10-4, 7-1 ACC) concludes their 2023 campaign on a three-game losing streak, also dropping their regular season finale vs. Kentucky and the ACC Championship Game against Florida State. Conversely, USC (8-5, 5-4 Pac-12) snaps a four-game losing streak to end year two under head coach Lincoln Riley.

As is the case with most bowls in this day and age of college football, it was a matchup in which both teams were shorthanded in various capacities due to opt-outs. At kickoff, there were a combined 32 transfer portal entries and NFL Draft declarations between Louisville and USC, including 21 from the Trojans.

Even with the majority of the opt-outs and transfer portal entries coming from USC, Louisville did anything but take advantage of it. Facing a Trojans defense that had averaged 34.9 points and 438.8 yards allowed per game during the regular season, the Cardinals could only muster 361 total yards of offense.

This came in spite of a fantastic effort from running back Isaac Guerendo, who was the starter after Jawhar Jordan declared for the NFL Draft. He ran for a career-high 161 yards, and matched his career high in rushing touchdowns with three. Louisville as a while ran for 220 yards.

While quarterback Jack Plummer finished the game throwing 21-for-25, receivers struggled to gain separation, resulting in Plummer only throwing for 141 yards and no touchdowns. Guerendo actually finished the game as the leading receiver, catching five passes for 42 yards.

USC's potent offense might have been missing reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and several other contributors, but they ran roughshod over Louisville's defense all night long.

Quarterback Miller Moss, a third-year player who was making his first collegiate start, finished the game throwing 23-for-33 with 372 yards and six touchdowns to one interception. The six touchdowns was both a USC and Pac-12 bowl record.

Wide receivers Tahj Washington and Ja'Kobi Lane each finished with two touchdown receptions, along with 99 and 60 yards receiving, respectively. This came despite the Trojans being bottled up on the ground, with Louisville holding them to just 71 rushing yards.

Safety Devin Neal led all Louisville players with seven tackles, cornerback Quincy Riley snagged an interception, and Louisville logged just three tackles for loss on the evening with no sacks.

Early in the game, momentum favored the Cardinals. Louisville's defense forced a three-and-out right out of the gates, then their offense produced a methodical drive on their first time out that ended with a two-yard score from Guerendo. USC then missed a 38-yard field goal on their next drive.

A critical early momentum shift came on the first play after the missed field goal. Plummer was strip-sacked to set up the Trojans inside the red zone, then three plays later, Moss found Washington for a game-tying 17-yard score.

This was the first of four straight scoring drives from USC to end the half, including a stretch of 21 uninterrupted points after Louisville struck first. Moss then connected with Washington again from 29 yards out, then with Kyron Hudson for a nine-yard score.

After two punts from the Cardinals following the Plummer fumble, they were finally able to get back in the end zone, with backup quarterback Evan Conley running out of the wildcat for a nine-yard score.

But despite USC having just 1:56 until halftime, that was enough time for Moss to throw his fourth touchdown of the first half, this time from 31 yards out to Lane to put Louisville down 28-14 at the half.

While Louisville's offense found more of a rhythm in the second half, their defense - and specifically their secondary - continued to get abused. After each team came up empty on their first drives of the half, the Cardinals and Trojans took turns finding the end zone, with touchdowns being scored on four consecutive drives.

Guerendo collected a one-yard score on a drive that was set up by a 61-yard interception return from Riley, but that was answered with a 12-yard touchdown reception from Lane. Guerendo found pay dirt again from two yards out on the next time out, then that was responded with a 44-yard score from tight end Duce Robinson.

While the fourth quarter had been a period where Louisville had thrived in during the regular season, that was not the case against USC. Their two drives in the final period consisted of a turnover on downs in the red zone, and a one-play drive that was a fumble from wide receiver Jadon Thompson that clinched the loss.

(Photo of Cam'Ron Kelly, Tahj Washington: Orlando Ramirez - USA TODAY Sports)

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