THE GAME
The University of Louisville Football team will take on the Georgia Tech on Friday, Sept. 1, opening the season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. ET kick on ESPN.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can get behind the scenes views and live updates throughout the 2023 season on social media and online at www.GoCards.com. The Cards are active on Twitter (@LouisvilleFootball), Instagram (@LouisvilleFootball).
TV: ESPN
Radio: 93.9 FM
Stream: ESPNLouisville App or Tunein and IHeart (search WLCL)
Kickoff
The University of Louisville begins its 105th season of varsity football when it opens Atlantic Coast Conference action when it travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech in the Aflac Kickoff Classic on Friday, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPN with Anish Shroff, Andre Ware and Paul Carcaterra announcing.
Friday’s game will mark the first game for former UofL quarterback Jeff Brohm at Louisville, who returns to his hometown and alma mater to coach the Cardinals. Brohm was hired by UofL on Dec. 5 after spending the last six years as the head coach at Purdue, where he posted a 36-34 mark and guided the Boilermakers to a Big Ten West title in 2022.
Louisville is 56-42-6 all-time in season openers but have dropped four of its last five on the road, including a 31-7 on the road at Syracuse in last season’s ACC opener. The Cardinals last victory in a season opener came in 2020 in a 35-21 win at home against Western Kentucky.
Friday’s contest will mark the 1,051st game in Louisville history. The Cards are 540-493-17 all-time and are 15-15-1 all-time in neutral-site contests, including a 2-3 mark in September. Overall, the Cardinals are 144-106-6 during the month of September.
Louisville is set to begin its 10th season in the ACC since joining the league in 2014. Louisville is 4-5 in ACC conference openers and are 29-29 all-time in league openers. The Cards have dropped four of their last five league opening games after a 31-7 loss at Syracuse. Their last win was a 31-23 victory at Florida State in 2021.
Head coach Jeff Brohm is set to begin his 10th season as a head coach, posting a 66-44 overall mark. The Louisville native is 5-4 all-time in season openers, recording a 3-0 record as the head coach at Western Kentucky and a 2-4 ledger during his time at Purdue. Brohm has won two of his last three opening games after defeating Oregon State in 2021 and falling to Penn State in 2022. Brohm’s teams have averaged 32.7 points per game in season openers and have scored over 30 points in five games. This is the second time his teams have opened at a neutral site — the first coming in 2017 when his Purdue team lost to Louisville 35-27 at Lucas Oil Field.
THE NUMBERS
- Head Coach Jeff Brohm is set to coach in his 111th overall game as a head coach and first at his alma mater.
- This is the third time since joining the ACC that the Cards open the season with a conference game (2014, 2022).
KEY STORYLINES
After being led the last four seasons by Scott Satterfield and his 25-24 mark, Jeff Brohm takes over the reins of the Louisville program. Brohm brings an impressive 66-44 lifetime record to the Cards after three seasons (30-10) at Western Kentucky and six years at Purdue (36-34), which included a Big Ten West title last season. Brohm, who played for the Cards from 1989-93, has won at least eight games five times and captured double-digit win totals on a pair of occasions.
Brohm is set to begin his 10th season as a head coach and owns a winning record in season openers. The Louisville native owns a 5-4 mark in season openers, going 3-0 at Western Kentucky and 2-4 at Purdue. This will be the first neutral site opener for Brohm since Purdue dropped a 35-28 decision to Louisville in 2017.
One of the top returning cornerbacks in the country, Jarvis Brownlee is one of four starters back in the secondary joining Josh Minkins, and Quincy Riley. Brownlee registered a pair of interceptions, while Riley led the squad with three interceptions, returning one for a touchdown against Wake Forest. M.J. Griffin was lost for the season with a lower leg injury in the fall.
The Cardinals will have a new quarterback to open the season for the first time since the 2019 season. Malik Cunningham was a four-year starter for the Cardinals but Jack Plummer, a starter at California last season, will take over the reins this season. Plummer threw for 3,095 yards and 21 touchdowns in his lone season with the Golden Bears. Prior to that, he played in 21 games with 13 starts over the final three seasons of his four campaigns at Purdue with head coach Jeff Brohm and completed 319-of-492 passes (64.8%) for 3,405yards with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for a 136.35 quarterback rating.