Louisville, Ky – September 21, 2024 – Aidan King
A hot afternoon in Louisville as the Cardinals welcomed the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. This was the first game of ACC play for the Cardinals, QB Tyler Shough is looking to continue his dominance after his stellar performance last game throwing for 349 yards with 2 touchdowns in their W against Jax State 49-14. The Yellow Jackets have started off hot this season already winning in the ACC against Florida State in week 1.
1st Quarter
The Yellow Jackets won the kick off and elected to return the kick however, they were stopped on their opening drive and forced to punt away. On the Cardinals first drive QB Tyler Shough connected with WR Ja’Corey Brooks for the 42 yard pick up. The Yellow Jacket defense rallied together and forced the Cardinals to kick a field goal which was blocked by Jordan Van Den Berg. On the 2nd drive Yellow Jackets QB Haynes King scrambled for a 23 yard touchdown to cap off the 6 play drive. Following the Cardinals punt, Yellow Jackets QB Haynes King fumbled the ball and it was picked up by Cards Lou Puryear for the touchdown. Yellow Jackets QB Haynes King completed a 45 yard bomb to WR Malik Rutherford.
2nd Quarter
The Cardinals held the Yellow Jackets to a field goal but it missed wide left. QB Tyler Shough put on a passing master class topping off a 7 play 71 yard drive with a 37 yard pass to WR Chris Bell for a touchdown. On the following drive the Yellow Jackets were stopped short on 3rd down by Quincy Riley. Cardinal QB Tyler Shough delivered a Strike to WR Chris Bell for a 46 yard pick up. QB Tyler Shough extended the drive by completing a pass to Rb Donald Chaney for a 17 yard gain. The Cardinals nailed a 27 yard field goal to go up 2 scores on Georgia Tech. After blown coverage from the Cardinals QB Haynes King rifled a ball down field to WR Eric Singletary Jr for a 51 yard gain. Georgia Tech Rb Jamaal Haynes rushed 1 yard for the touchdown.
3rd Quarter
On the Yellow Jackets first drive of the 2nd half QB Haynes King connected with WR Romello Height for a gain of 28 yards. After converting a 4th down the Yellow Jackets were forced to kick a field goal. On the next drive QB Tyler Shough delivered a perfect pass to WR Ja’Corey Brooks for a 57 yard touchdown.
4th Quarter
To continue their drive QB Haynes King scrambled for 26 yards to pick up 1st & goal. The Yellow Jackets went for it on 4th & goal but was stopped short by Cards TJ Quinn. Tyler Shough took the snap and fell in the end zone resulting in a safety. QB Haynes King is stopped on the QB rush for a loss of 4 by Tj Quinn. The Cardinals held The Yellow Jackets to a field goal but it was blocked and returned for a touchdown by Tayon Holliday. On the following drive QB Haynes King completed a pass to TE Jackson Hawes for a 33 yard pick up. However, the Cardinals stopped the Yellow Jackets short and forced a turnover on downs. On the Cardinals punt Georgia Tech racked up a Running into the kicker penalty making it a first down for the Cardinals. The Cardinals took victory formation and won the game 31-19.
QB Takeaways
Tyler Shough continues his arial dominance going 13-19 with 269 yards and 2 touchdowns. He showed off his elite pocket presence and even broke out the run game today with 19 yards on the ground. His favorite target of the day was WR Ja’Corey Brooks he racked up 4 receptions for 125 yards and 1 touchdown.
RB Takeaways
The cards struggled in the rushing game today and with only 57 total rush yards and no touchdowns. Although the ground game was slow this proves the Cardinals can beat good ACC competition in the air.
Defense Takeaways
The stand out defensive player was Tahvion Nicholson he recorded 9 total tackles and 1 tackle for a loss. The defensive secondary had several broken coverage plays that QB Haynes King exploited. However, the defense found their footing coming out of the half and made some clutch plays later in the game.
