Louisville Takes Down Toledo in Boca Raton Bowl

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Louisville football program is heading into the offseason on a high note.

Capping off year three under head coach Jeff Brohm with a showdown against Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl, the Cardinals held off the Rockets for just long enough, coming out on top with a 27-22 victory on Tuesday at Flagler Credit Union Stadium.

Through the first three quarters, the two sides scored a combined 17 points, only to explode for 32 combined points in the final period. Louisville's lead ballooned to as much as 18 early in the fourth, only for Toledo to make it a one-score game in the final minutes.

Louisville concludes their 2025 campaign with a 9-4 overall record, marking the first time since 2012-14 that they have won at least nine games in three consecutive seasons. Brohm also improves to 2-1 in bowl games at his alma mater, losing the Holiday Bowl to USC in 2023 then winning the Sun Bowl against Washington last season.

Conversely, Toledo - who was being coached by interim head coach Bob Weiner after Jason Candle left for UConn - falls to 0-3 against power conference competition despite going 8-5 for the season. The Rockets also lost 24-16 at Kentucky to start the season as well as 28-7 at Washington State, finishing the season at 8-5 overall.

On both sidelines, defense ruled the day for the majority of the afternoon. Facing a Toledo defense that ranked in the top-five of the FBS, Louisville could only put up 360 yards of offense, and went just 1-of-9 on third down.

QB Miller Moss was named the offensive MVP, going 16-of-24 for 153 yards and two touchdowns. WR Caullin Lacy was his top target, catching six passes for 88 yards, while wideouts TreyShun Hurry and Antonio Meeks each caught touchdowns.

Despite the offensive clunkiness, Louisville finished with a pair of 100-yard rushers. Isaac Brown, in what was his first game since Nov. 1 at Virginia Tech, ran for 102 yards and two scores on 10 carries. Keyjuan Brown had 15 rushes for 112 yards - including 42 on the final drive to help ie the game.

The Cardinals' own defense, even with the relative struggles in the fourth quarter, turned in a good performance. Assisted by the fact that Toledo committed a whopping 14 penalties, the Rockets were held to only 336 yards of offense and 4-of-13 on third downs.

Toledo QB Kalieb Osborne, starting in place of the injured Tucker Gleason, had 167 yards and a touchdown through the air, plus 77 yards and a score on the ground. This helped the Rockets run for 169 yards, the third-most allowed by UofL this season, including 65 yards and a score by Kentucky transfer RB Chip Trayanum.

DE Clev Lubin was named the defensive MVP, compiling 1.5 sacks, two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. Safeties Corey Gordon Jr. and JoJo Evans, plus linebacker T.J. Quinn, all finished tied for a team-best eight tackles.

Early on, it looked like Louisville might be en route to a slaughtering of Toledo. The Cardinals put together an efficient opening drive that ended with a 17-yard touchdown strike to Hurry, and Osborne fumbled the ball away on the Rockets' first time out.

However, UofL's offense then proceeded to regress in a massive way. Their next six drives before halftime ended with three punts, a one-play fumble by Moss, a blocked 53-yard field goal attempt, and halftime. After amassing 75 total yards of offense on drive No. 1, Louisville could only collect 70 yards throughout the rest of the first half.

Their offense might have taken a large step back, but their defense kept on moving full steam ahead. While Toledo booted a 41-yard field goal on their second drive, their next four drives all ended in punts - including three three-and-outs. Between Toledo being held to 126 yards and committing eight first half penalties, it allowed Louisville to take a 7-3 lead at the break.

Following that rock fight first half where neither side could pull away from the other, Louisville finally started building momentum.

Toledo got the ball after the break and got close to punching it in the end zone, but had to settle for a 41-yard field goal attempt - which they missed. The Cardinals then used their second half opening script to march down the field, with Meeks capping it off on a 14-yard touchdown.

The Rockets' next possession ended with a three-and-out punt, and a solid return by Lacy set up UofL just 22 yards away from another touchdown. Five plays later, they struck again, with Isaac Brown punching it in from 11 yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Despite trailing by 18 in the opening minute of the final period, Toledo didn't quit, and instead started mounting a comeback.

They responded by stringing together an 11-play drive that ended with a 26-yard catch by Jacob Petersen for their first touchdown of the day, with Osborne running it in on the two-point conversion. Then after a Cardinals three-and-out, the Rockets added a 50-yard field goal to make it a seven-point game with 6:35 left.

Louisville finally got back in the scoring column on their next drive, needing just three plays for Isaac Brown to break off a 53-yard scoring run. However, the ensuing PAT was blocked a returned for two points the other way. Toledo's ensuing drive then saw them get to the goal line and punch it in from three yards out thanks to Trayanum, but a failed two-point conversion made it a five-point game with 2:14 left.

With it being back to a one-score game, Louisville was able to ride Keyjuan and Isaac Brown to the finish line and run out the clock.

More Cardinals Stories