Louisville, Kentucky – Virginia Cavaliers QB Brennan Armstrong tossed a one-yard scoring strike to TE Grant Misch with 22 seconds remaining. It put the finishing touch on a 17-point third period deficit to defeat the Louisville Cardinals, 34-33. Louisville QB Malik Cunningham almost reversed these fortunes leading his team down to the 31 after the late TD. However, the FG attempt went wide left as the game clock expired.
The ACC football battle started out as if it would be a high-scoring, seesaw battle before both teams seemed to settle down from their original, wide-open passing attacks to more balance with runs and short passes. Virginia, in particular, opened up more at the end to meet the urgency to score quickly with the game on the line. The Cavalier defense stepped up when needed to curtail more LU scoring as the game wound down. Armstrong finished the day completing 40 of 60 passes for 487 yards, three TDs, and two INTs. His fourth period stats accounted for 15 of 22 for 203 of those yards and two TDs. Both after throwing two pick-sixes in the third.
Opening “two-minute drill”
Virginia (4-2, 2-2) opened the scoring on its first drive of 85 yards converting three third downs in its wake. A 15-yard TD pass went from Armstrong to Billy Kemp IV. LU’s Cunningham (17 of 25, 270 yards, TD) wasted no time by launching a 92-yard catch and run for a TD to Tyler Harrel on their first play from scrimmage 24 seconds later. Half way through the first period, Guest Game Analyst Eugene “Judge” Mosley noted that both teams were close to 200 passing yards already. The teams traded field goals by the end of the first to knot the score, 10-10.
Virginia PK Brian Farrell opened the second with the only score in the period on a 21-yard FG. A UVA drive later in the period aided by an invisible pass interference call set up a second field goal attempt, but Farrell came up short before the half ended.
Halftime in style
We met Judge, a long-time Cardinal fan and season ticket holder, for the first time as he offered us a discounted ticket to join him in his family seats in the club level. We took the elevator to The Williamson-Brown Club in a very nice large, open area with concessions and plenty of cash bars to enjoy the game. Large monitors televised the game. Club members coming in from their seats watched with cocktails at a level half-way up in Cardinal Stadium. The beautiful red brick stadium overlooks retired, red, railroad cabooses similar to the Cock-a-booses down at South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium.
Judge and yours truly enjoyed drinks and shared fun stories during halftime festivities and plan to stay in touch. He and I found we had both attended the Army-Louisville game at West Point on a cold, Thursday night in 1999 when Army upset the Cardinals in OT. Up until 2019, it remained as Collegefootballfan.com’s highest scoring game since that time, 59-52. My daughter and his granddaughter both graduated in recent years from the University of South Carolina.
What the..?
Our conversation was interrupted suddenly by loud cheering from the other LU fans in the lobby with us as the Cardinals scored on their first possession of the second half. We got back out into our great seats to catch back up on the action!
Louisville Lead
Cardinal RB Hassan Hall (14 carries, 162 yards, TD) burst 52 yards on the fifth play of the possession to give Louisville a sudden 17-13 lead. They continued to dominate the entire period. DB Trey Franklin intercepted to return the ball into scoring position at UVA’s 25. The Cavalier defense, among the worst in ACC football regarding total yards and point allowed, forced a FG. Cardinal James Turner booted it through from 28. On their next possession following a Cav punt from the end zone, LU drove 36 yards in four plays with Jalen Mitchell taking it in from the three.
Another Card INT by Kenderick Duncan put the LU offense in business again. This time, Turner’s 38-yard conversion put Louisville up 30-13 before the third period expired. LU seemed well on its way to a 4-2, 2-2 record for a needed ACC victory. By that time, Judge figured he could leave as he had dinner plans and had to beat traffic. We enjoyed watching the game together. As a dedicated Cardinal fan, he’s probably glad now he left when he did.
Virginia Cavaliers’ Comeback
UVA began the last period with a third and ten at LU’s 49. H-back Keytaon Thompson capped this series with a five-yard scoring run. Armstrong started to dominate the passing lanes. His key strikes found Ra’Shaun Henry (9 catches for 179 yards) and Thompson (9 catches for 132 yards). The Cav defense held Louisville to a three-and-out. The offense took over again, this time from their 27. With 7:49 remaining, Armstrong connected with Jalen Woods on a three-yard slant pattern for a scoring strike to narrow the LU lead, 30-27.
The two ACC football teams traded punts. Louisville DT Matt Reiger sacked Armstrong for an 8-yard loss to force UVA to punt. Louisville took over from their 15 with 3:58 left. Both teams still had three time-outs remaining. Hall cut back through a big gap to rip off 53 yards to the Cavs’ 27. The Virginia defense held LU to only five more yards on three plays. Turner came in to put up another three for Louisville to lead, 33-27, leaving UVA within scoring range to despite having used all three time-outs before Turner’s kick.
Down to the bitter end
On a fourth and six from their 29, Armstrong and Kemp connected for a first down at the 46. Another completion to Thompson on the next play earned a first down at LU’s 37. On fourth and eight at the 35, Armstrong threw a strike to Thompson for a first down at the LU 19. Next, on second down, the same two connected again with Thompson’s dive coming up short at the one. From there, Armstrong lofted a short, high pass to wide-open TE Grant Misch in the right corner for his only catch of the game, the game winner! Cunningham led the Cardinals from their 25 to the Cavaliers’ 31 in just 19 seconds, but after four conversions, Turner’s FG attempt from 47 went wide left as time expired. The Virginia Cavaliers exploded on the sideline in celebration!
Cardinal fans among the 40,320 in attendance left the stadium quietly, orderly, stunned, and frustrated. Great game, tough loss. From Collegefootballfan.com’s perspective, our choice for college football excitement this particular day was spot on. We watched college football at its best for drama and excitement on the playing field. In the end though, one team has to lose a tough one and the other gets to win a great game! Glad we were there to witness the excitement.
Next!
UVA returns to Charlottesville to entertain Duke (3-3, 0-2). We will see the Cavaliers play on the road again when we see them visit No. 19 BYU in Provo, Utah. HC Bronco Mendenhall takes the Cavs back to play the previous program he successfully led.
Louisville (3-3,1-2) has a bye week for HC Scott Satterfield to work with his team to prep for the second half of a challenging ACC football season. Boston College (4-1, 0-1) comes to town the week after their game with NC State this Saturday. We may be back in Louisville for that one in two weeks.
Collegefootballfan.com starts up earlier than usual this Thursday night. We’ll see improving Navy (1-4, 1-2) visit the Memphis Tigers (3-3, 0-2) in an American Athletic clash. On Saturday, we’ll return to Chattanooga for a 12:30 pm kickoff. The FCS division Moccasins of UTC (2-4, 1-1) play No. 10 East Tennessee State (6-0, 3-0) in a Southern Conference contest.
Extra Points:
Our new acquaintance, Judge, played basketball for Bellarmine University when it competed in the ‘70s as a D-2 program. With a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his face, he admitted that he still holds a school record for Knights’ basketball – most shots ever attempted! Footnote: he started all four years he played there. Today, the Knights compete in the ASUN Conference as a D1 program. BU’s home court is Freedom Hall in Louisville, and this season’s schedule includes the likes of Purdue, UCLA, and Gonzaga.
Sorry about the lack of photos this week – someone forgot to reload a disc in our camera. We might salvage a few pics however. Now we definitely have to get back to Cardinal Stadium, hope that the weather is as nice, and that we get another day game.