LOUISVILLE, Ky. – September 28, 2023 – By: Rocco Gasparro
The University of Louisville football team hits the road for a critical ACC road game when it travels to NC State Friday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff on ESPN. Anish Shroff, Andre Ware and Paul Carcaterra will call the action.
Louisville and NC State will play for the first time since 1951 on a Friday night. Louisville is 16-13 all-time on Friday night after the 39-34 win over Georgia Tech to open the season.
The Cardinals moved to 4-0 and 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 56-28 win over Boston College on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals have won five in a row for the first time since the 2016 season.
Louisville scored on its first seven drives of the game for the first time since scoring on its first seven drives in a 73-10 win over Murray State to open the 2007 season.
Louisville scored 42 first-half for the first time since 2016 when the Cards raced out to a 44-0 lead over NC State in a 54-13 win over the Wolfpack. UofL totaled 374 yards in the first half, including 243 yards through the air. Quarterback Jack Plummer was 12-of-14 for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and running back Jawhar Jordan ran 14 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
Louisville took a halftime lead of at least 21 points for the third-straight game for the first time since doing so in four straight games spanning the 1912 and 1913 seasons.
Louisville totaled 582 yards of total offense and averaged a healthy 9.4 yards per play in the win over Boston College. Louisville recorded eight plays of over 30 or more yards in the game — five of which resulted in touchdowns. It’s the second time this season that the Cards have totaled more than 580 yards of total offense this season.
Plummer accounted for six touchdowns, a career high five through the air, and passed for 388 yards in the win. Plummer completed 18-of-21 passes and had a string of 15-straight completions in the game —the fourth-longest streak in school history. His 388 passing yards were the most since Lamar Jackson passed for 393 yards in a win over North Carolina in 2017.
Jordan recorded his third consecutive 100-yard game and the seventh of his career in the big victory. Jordan carried 18 times for 134 yards and two scores and caught one pass for a 75-yard touchdown.
Linebacker Jaylin Alderman recorded a career high eight tackles to pace the defense.
The Cards recorded seven pass-break-ups and held BC to just 21-of-42 passing.
Key Storylines
The Cardinals look to go 5-0 overall for the first time since 2013 and are attempting to go 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference for first time since joining the league in 2014. The Cards are attempting to go 3-0 in league play for the first time since 2012 when they played in the BIG EAST Conference.
Louisville enters Friday night’s game averaging 43.0 points per game after scoring more than 39 points in three of the first four games. The 56 points scored against Boston College were tied for the fifth most in an ACC game since joining the league in 2014.
Wide receiver Ahmari Huggins-Bruce caught three passes for 110 yards in the win over Boston College, averaging 36.7 yards per reception. It marked the second 100-yard game of his career after totaling 151 yards against Eastern Kentucky during the 2021 season.
Louisville brings one of the top rushing offenses into the game, averaging 237.2 yards per game. The Cards are averaging 6.0 yards per carry, which stands eighth in the country and have 12 scores through the first four contests.
Louisville leads all FBS teams in passes of 40+ yards and is tied for the lead in passes of 70+ yards.The Cardinals have scored six touchdowns this season of over 70 yards.
After opening the season by going 1-for-11 on third down (0.9 percent), the Cardinals have improved by going 19-of-35 (54.3 percent) over the last three games. Louisville converted on 8-of-14 attempts in the win over Boston College.
The trio of Jamari Thrash, Ahmari Huggins-Bruce and Kevin Coleman have combined to catch 40 passes for 706 yards and eight touchdowns. The three have combined to average a solid 17.7 yards per reception this season.
Quarterback Jack Plummer has tossed 10 touchdown passes in the first four games of the season. He’s averaging 41.0 yards per play on those 10 touchdown throws this season. In the win over Boston College, Plummer averaged 43.6 yards per reception on those five touchdown passes.
Plummer has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the nation, ranking seventh nationally and second in the ACC at 189.8. He posted an incredible 319.48 rating in the win over Boston College. He’s completing 67.0 percent of his throws, which ranks 34th in the country. The native of Gilbert, Ariz., ranks sixth in the country with an average of 17.2 yards per completion and is averaging 11.5 yards per attempt.
Jack Plummer leads all FBS players with nine passes of 40+ yards, two ahead of second place. He is tied for the lead in passes of 60+, 70+, and 80+ yards.
Louisville leads all FBS teams in passes of 40+ yards and is tied for the lead in passes of 70+ yards.
Running back Jawhar Jordan ranks eighth in rushing yards per game and touchdowns with 119.5 yards and 8, respectively, after four games. He recorded his third-straight 100-yard game and his seventh in the last nine games with 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Boston College. He’s averaging 9.6 yards per carry, which stands as the fourth-best mark in the nation.
Jordan leads the nation with seven plays of scrimmage of over 30 yards and is the only player in the nation with three plays of over 70 yards. He has touchdown runs of 74 and 72 and has a pass reception for 75 yards. He ranks second nationally with 678 all-purpose yards after four games this season, and average of 157.8 yards per game.