Cardinals Lose to Kentucky in Regular Season Finale

The University of Louisville football team experienced a tough loss on Saturday afternoon, falling 38-31 to in-state rival Kentucky at L&N Stadium. Despite the defeat, Louisville ends the regular season with an impressive overall record of 10-2, marking their first double-digit win total since 2013.

Quarterback Jack Plummer had a solid performance, completing 24 of his 33 passing attempts for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Plummer spread the ball around, connecting with ten different receivers throughout the game. Running back Jawhar Jordan led the Cardinals’ ground game with 67 rushing yards and two touchdowns, contributing to Louisville’s total of 161 yards rushing.

The Cardinals started strong, taking a 10-7 lead into halftime. However, Kentucky capitalized on three Louisville turnovers in the second half, scoring 31 points to secure the victory and finish their regular season on a high note.

Louisville began the second half with a promising 15-play drive that ended with Jordan’s second touchdown of the game. However, Kentucky quickly responded with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Plummer found Joey Gatewood for an 11-yard touchdown pass, but the Wildcats answered with 17 unanswered points to take a 31-24 lead.

Louisville managed to even the score with an interception from Jarvis Brownlee Jr., as Plummer connected with Ahmari Huggins-Bruce for a 21-yard touchdown. However, Kentucky scored the game-winning touchdown with just over a minute remaining, and Louisville’s last drive fell short of the end zone.

Head coach Jeff Brohm expressed his disappointment with the loss, stating, “We didn’t do enough to win. It was a disappointing loss… We have work to do. Now we have to go play a really, really good opponent and if we can’t get those things corrected then it might not be a fun day for us. So, we have a lot of work to do this week.”

Looking ahead, the Cardinals will face off against Florida State in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday, December 2. The game will be televised on ABC, with kickoff scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.