The Louisville Cardinals welcomed the Austin Peay Governors for the opening weekend in L&N Stadium. The Cardinals were ready to begin another successful season after going (10-4) in regular season play but falling short in the ACC championship game. The Austin Peay Generals are also coming off a successful year going (9-3). 1st year head coach of the Generals Jeff Faris is ready to give the Cardinals fits on the field. While Jeff Brohm the head coach of the Cardinals is ready to lead the team to a win to start the season.
1st Quarter
The Cardinals started hot on the first drive with Rb Maurice Turner rushing for 21 yards on the first play but the Generals rallied and held the Cardinals to a field goal from 30 yards out. On the Cardinals second drive Tyler Shough finds Ja’Corey Brooks for the 9 yard receiving touchdown to cap off the 5 play 33 yard drive. On Austin Peay’s first 2 drives the Cardinal d-line demolished the Austin Peay O-line recording 3 sacks within the first quarter and Tamrion Macdonold racking up 2 of those sacks. At the end of the 1st scored Louisville leading 10-0.
2nd Quarter
Cardinals score early in the second with a 4 yard rushing touchdown by Keyjuan Brown to finish the 3rd drive. Following Austin Peay’s stangnet offense the Cardinals take over and deliver a 5 play 90 yard drive starting with a 36 yard rush by Isaac Brown and a few plays later completing the drive with a pass from Tyler Shough to Wr Jadon Thompson for a 33 yard touchdown. On the following drive the Generals Qb Mason Garcia goes down with an injury. The General’s punt blocked by Louisville’s Devin Neal the Cardinals cover the ball and take control at the 35 yard line. Tyler Shough throws a 21 yard strike to Te Mark Redmen for the touchdown. With 25 seconds left in the 2nd quarter the Generals Austin Smith threw up an interception to Louisville T.J. Cappers. Following the interception Tyler Shough throws a 5 yard pass to Jadon Thompson for the touchdown. At the end of the 1st half the Cardinals lead the Generals 38-0.
Halftime Recap
The Cardinals offense has put on a show in the first half of the game. Qb Tyler Shough finishes the half with 232 passing yards and 4 touchdowns his top receiver is Ja’Corey Brooks with 7 receptions and 83 yards with 1 touchdown. The Cardinal running back room is explosive with Isaac Brown 4 attempts 46 yards leading the group however the team has 4 rushers with 89 yards of shared offense. The Cardinal defense is dangerous; the d-line has eaten through the Austin Peay o-line racking up a total of 4 sacks and an interception at the end of the second.
3rd Quarter
Qb Pierce Clarckson starts the second half for the Cardinals. Following the unsuccessful drive by the Cardinals the Generals Qb Austin Smith is sacked by Thor Griffith which puts an end to their drive and they are forced to punt. Immediately following this Cardinals Rb Isaac Brown rushes past the Generals defense and scores a 77 yard touchdown. After a drive from Austin Peay’s Davion Hood sacks Qb Pierce Clarkson Louisville is forced to punt. On the next Austin Peay drive Qb Austin Smith was sacked by Tremal Logan and fumbled and recovered by Lou Puryear and returned for a touchdown. Louisville blocks the Generals punt on 4th & 15. Following the punt Louisville Rb Duke Watson scores a 7 yard rushing touchdown puts the Cardinals up 59-0 going into the 4th Quarter.
4th Quarter
Keyjuan Brown rushed for 24 yards midway through the 4th quarter to extend the Cardinals drive and led the Cardinals into a made field goal from 38 yards out. After a few empty drives the Cardinals are up on the scoreboard at full time final score 62-0.
Key Takeaways
The Louisville Cardinals have a strong offensive game plan as defenses will have to make the decision to defend the run or the pass both Louisville can succeed with. Qb Tyler Shough was practically unstoppable and showed great game knowledge. He went 18-24 today with 232 yards and 4 touchdowns and remember he didn’t play in the entire second half. He looked very comfortable in the pocket. With his 4 touchdowns he tied the school record of most touchdowns by a Quarterback in his debut. His favorite target of the day was Ja’Corey Brooks who had 7 receptions and 1 touchdown. The rushing game looks very promising for the Cardinals leading the rushing stat was the true freshman Isaac Brown who recorded 5 attempts 123 yards and 1 touchdown with his longest rush being 77 yards. The entire running back group ran for 221 yards. On the defensive side of the ball the Cardinals are solid, raking up 51 total tackles, 7 sacks, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery. The stand out Defensive player was Tamarion McDonald the senior defensive back who recorded 3 tackles and 2 sacks. Saturday September 7th the Louisville Cardinals will be back at L&N Stadium hosting the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.
