Louisville received good marks for its first game under head coach Jeff Brohm. Now the Cardinals try to treat the program's former star quarterback to success in his home debut in the job.
Louisville takes on Murray State on Thursday night.
"I know our players are excited to get back on the field as well and show some improvement, and go out there and try to execute as well as we can," Brohm said. "It's a short week. I think for us, we just need to improve, improve in a lot of areas."
The Cardinals rallied to win 39-34 last Friday night against Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
Murray State also had a successful opener by trouncing visiting Presbyterian 41-10 on Saturday. The Racers had a big second half, holding a 24-0 edge after halftime.
"We had to figure our team out. (The Presbyterian game) helped," Murray State coach Dean Hood. "The next two will be helpful as well to try to figure our guys out."
In the Georgia Tech game, Cardinals quarterback Jack Plummer threw for three touchdowns, with two of those going to Jamari Thrash.
Plummer played for Brohm at Purdue before spending the 2022 season at California, so Brohm knows what he has at that position.
"A lot of guys, even other than Jack, were jittery a little bit in the first half and didn't play as well as we'd like," Brohm said of the opener. "But that's part of playing that position. I just think if he can relax and do what he does every day in practice, and throw with conviction, and stand in there and be tough and realize that he can make those throws."
Louisville rallied from a 15-point hole, 28-13, in the second quarter for its largest comeback in eight years.
Louisville officials have said they're expecting the largest home crowd post-COVID for this week's game.
"I know if you play a good brand of football, and your team shows fight and grit and toughness, and you find ways to improve each and every week and compete at the highest level you can, people are going to come watch," Brohm said. "So that's what we've got to provide."
These teams last met in 2017, with the Cardinals owning a 14-6 mark overall and 11-4 at home. Murray State hasn't toppled a Football Bowl Subdivision team since knocking off Louisville 26-23 in 1984 when the divisions were NCAA I-A and I-AA.
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