By RUSS BROWN • Photos Provided By UofL Athletics
Louisville’s football season was on the brink, looking as if it was about to implode. Two weeks after an historic win at No. 11 Clemson, the Cardinals’ train wreck of a performance as a three-touchdown favorite against Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. in a 38-35 loss was threatening to suck the air out of their season.
Coach Jeff Brohm labeled the defeat “embarrassing” and said his team showed “a complete lack of discipline,” most obviously reflected in a season-high 13 penalties.
With only two games remaining and a 6-4 record, the Cards were at a crossroads. Would they chart a path of upward mobility or continue on the downward route?
We know which one they chose. U of L finished the season strong, bouncing back from its puzzling West Coast meltdown to handedly defeat Pitt (37-9), then end a five-game losing streak against Kentucky (41-14) in the Governor’s Cup.
That gave the Cards (8-4) five wins in their last six games and earned them an invitation to the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas on New Year’s Eve afternoon.
How did they prevent their season from heading south? Mainly by paying attention to Brohm’s pleas and taking them to heart.
“We want to feel the pain of the loss and there is a lot of pain to feel,” Brohm said during preparations for Pitt. “I think myself, coaches and players feel the pain, and you need to let it motivate you to not let it happen again. At the same time, you cannot let it get you down, you have got to respond and move forward.
“Anytime you have a loss that disappoints us all, you’ve got to be man enough to look in the mirror and identify the problems and go about trying to fix them,” Brohm said after the win over Pitt. “I think we did a really good job of that, played hard and played a much cleaner game.”
The same was true against UK, which equaled the upset at Clemson as a complete performance in all three phases -- offense, defense and special teams.
“I think this team has been resilient,” U of L offensive coordinator Brian Brohm said. (“Louisville football: Jeff Brohm in position to snap streak vs Kentucky”) “Really just talked to them about what kind of character this football team has and challenged them to go out there and play their best and perform to the best of their ability in that game, and they really answered the call. So, I think this team has great character.”
Naturally, the Cards’ win over Kentucky was the most gratifying of Brohm’s two seasons at Louisville, surpassing even beating Clemson for the first time in nine tries. Brohm never got a chance to face the Wildcats as a quarterback at U of L (1990-93) before the rivalry was renewed in 1994, and he lost his first game against them as a head coach last year.
“It’s huge,” he said of the victory. “I’m fully aware of what it means to the fan base and to this university. To finally get the Governor’s Cup back and represent our university and bring it back to our fans is a great day for us.” (“Winning Back Governor’s Cup ‘Huge’ for Jeff Brohm, Louisville Players”)
Now, with a win over Washington (6-6) the Cards can cap the season with a three-game winning streak, reversing last year’s season-ending three-game losing skid and winning nine games for the first time since 2016, when Bobby Petrino’s club finished 9-4.
But the Cards will once again have to overcome adversity because they will go into the Sun Bowl (2 p.m. ET, CBS) without their starting quarterback, Tyler Shough, who has opted out of the game to prepare for the 2025 NFL Draft. Shough threw for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 62.7% of his passes.
Shough’s absence means the Cards will face the Huskies with an inexperienced quarterback because redshirt junior Harrison Bailey and redshirt freshman Pierce Clarkson combined for only 12 passes, completing 11 for 74 yards and no touchdowns. Furthermore, U of L will be without 1,000-yard receiver Ja’Corey Brooks, who has also opted out, and 14 scholarship players who have entered the transfer portal.
But we have already seen what the Cards can do with their backs against the wall, so don’t be surprised if they survive their latest challenge successfully.
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