Louisville Starts Fast, Finishes Strong to Stun No. 2 Miami

This story will be updated.

MIAMI - With the eyes of the college football nation firmly fixed upon them, the Louisville football program took full advantage of the opportunity to earn a statement win.

Traveling to South Florida for a primetime weeknight matchup against No. 2 Miami, the Cardinals were able to pull off the upset special, stunning the Hurricanes 24-21 on Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium.

Louisville (5-1, 2-1 ACC) was quick to strike, scoring touchdowns on their first two drives of the game, and they never looked back. Miami (5-1, 1-1 ACC) had a chance to put together a go-ahead drive in the final minutes, but linebacker T.J. Capers secured the game-sealing interception with 32 seconds left.

Not only do the Cardinals bounce back from their overtime home loss to Virginia, the victory over the Hurricanes is their highest-ranked road win in program history. Additionally, head coach Jeff Brohm moves to 4-2 against top-five AP Poll ranked teams since 2018 - and gets his first top-five win with the Cardinals.

Louisville wideout Chris Bell caught nine passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns, while star running back Isaac Brown added 133 rushing yards on 15 attempts. Quarterback Miller Moss finished the evening going 23-of-37 for 248 yards and his two touchdowns to Bell, as well as a score on the ground.

On top of putting up 367 total yards of offense themselves, the Cardinals limited Miami to just 334 yards. This included picking off quarterback Carson Beck a whopping four times, with cornerback Jabari Mack, safety JoJo Evans and STAR Antonio Watts also taking the ball away.

Louisville could not have gotten off to a better start against Miami. Facing a Hurricanes defense that hadn't allowed a first quarter touchdown all season, the Cardinals scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the night. Moss capped off a methodical opening drive with a one-yard tush push for a score, while Bell found the end zone on a 35-yard catch-and-run.

The Canes countered the early two-touchdown deficit with a score of their own on their second time out. Using a pair of explosive passes from Beck, it set up a two-yard run up the middle from Mark Fletcher Jr.

After the explosive start, Louisville's offense got stuck in first gear. After amassing 121 yards on their first two drives, they put up just 71 on their remaining four drives of the first half, being forced to punt on all of them.

However, the Cardinals' defense hunkered down after allowing Miami to get on the board. They snagged interceptions on the Canes' next two drives - the first coming from Watts and the next from Mack. They also held Miami to a 27-yard field goal on their final drive of the half, heading into the break with a 14-10 advantage.

Louisville struck first after halftime, with Cooper Ranvier connecting on a 48-yard field goal a few minutes into the half. Towards the end of the third quarter, Miami got those three point back on a 41-yard kick by Carter Davis.

While defense set the tone on both sides of the ball in the third quarter, Louisville started getting some momentum towards the end of the period. Once the fourth quarter started, they made their move.

Less than two minutes into the final period, Bell scored on another catch-and-run - this time from 36 yards out. Then on the ensuing Miami drive, Evans snagged what should have been the game-sealing interception

But despite being down by 11 with 7:50 left in the game, Miami still had life. On the first play following Evans' pick, Brown fumbled, giving the Canes the ball on the 12-yard line. The U needed just one play - an end-around by Malachi Toney - to find pay dirt and make it a three-point game.

Louisville had to punt it away one more time, giving Miami 4:05 left to potentially tie the game or go for the win. Instead, the Cards' defense came through yet again, with Capers picking off Beck just outside the red zone.

Next up, Louisville returns home to L&N Stadium for a matchup with Boston College. Kickoff against the Eagles is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 25 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

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