LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville’s quick start is ironic considering it hasn’t always started quickly.
Three second-half comebacks have helped the No. 14 Cardinals (6-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) achieve their best start in 10 years, with Saturday night’s 33-20 victory over then-No. 10 Notre Dame being the latest rally. Granted, a 13-10 deficit was significantly easier to overcome compared to double-digit holes against Georgia Tech and North Carolina State; but it spoke volumes about their resilience.
As Louisville savors a signature victory over one of college football’s most storied programs, work continues toward a complete effort.
“Once you win a game like that, the bar goes from here up to here,” first-year coach Jeff Brohm said, raising the palm of his hand. “Every week in college football, if you don’t come ready to play you are not going to win. We’re going to have to get back to work over 24 hours.”
Like other rallies, Louisville’s final 30 minutes against the Fighting Irish showed what can happen when everything clicks. The Cardinals didn’t trail for long before scoring 17 unanswered points, with running back Jawhar Jordan bouncing back from an off game to add two more entries to his collection of explosive-play touchdowns.
Held to 36 yards the previous week by a North Carolina State defense that stacked the box, Jordan broke 45 - and 21-yard touchdown runs on the way to a season-high 143 yards on 21 carries. His second scoring burst seemed even quicker than the first as he was barely touched at the line and nearing the end zone before the secondary could react.
“Really, I'm just doing what God gave me the ability to do, just go there and play football, play fast and physical,” said Jordan, who's tied for ninth in FBS with 653 yards rushing, has eight touchdowns (tied for fourth) and averages 7.5 yards per attempt. “I stand on what I said two weeks ago, I feel like I'm one of the best backs in the nation and we have one of the best running back rooms as well."
Added Brohm, “Our plan was better this week. Creating space with him is important because if you can create space, he is fast, he is elusive and he can go the distance.”
Louisville’s defense held Notre Dame to just 44 yards rushing and harassed quarterback Sam Hartman into another turnover-prone visit to Louisville. The former Wake Forest signal caller was intercepted three times after entering the game with none, lost two fumbles and was sacked five times – almost like last fall.
“The statement we made is that we can compete with anybody and no matter what, we give our best effort every time,” linebacker TJ Quinn said.
But other than trouncing Boston College 56-28, Louisville hasn’t done it all the time against Power 5 opponents. Particularly in the beginning.
The Cardinals trailed Georgia Tech 28-13 at halftime of the opener before clamping down to outscore the Yellow Jackets 26-6 in the second half. They recovered a late fumble, which Jordan followed with a 74-yard insurance TD run on the next play.
Louisville was behind N.C. State 10-0 at the half but tied the game on consecutive third-quarter drives. Brent Travelstead’s 53-yard field goal in the fourth put the Cardinals ahead, and Quincy Riley followed with a late interception to preserve a 13-10 win.
Louisville did all its scoring in the first of a 21-14 win over Indiana but held on thanks to a late goal-line stand.
Good as things have gone, Louisville cannot afford to tempt fate at struggling Pittsburgh (1-4, 0-2) in its return to ACC play. The Panthers are hungry to halt a four-game slide and coming off a bye they hope addressed concerns.
The Cardinals have their own issues but have shown an impressive knack for sorting them out during intermission. That earned another hard-fought win, reinforcing confidence they believe will translate into consistency.
“We’ve had some gritty wins, and people may say you didn’t win by enough points,” quarterback Jack Plummer said. “But at the end of the day, there’s only one stat that really matters. Did you win the game, or did you lose the game?”
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
