Louisville WR Chris Bell Explodes vs. Miami

There's no doubt that the Louisville football program's defense was the primary reason why they were able to upset Miami this past Friday night. The Cardinals held the Hurricanes to just 334 total yards, and picked off QB Carson Beck four times.

But in order to knock off the No. 2 team in their building, you need your offense to be able to make plays as well. While that side of the ball for the Cardinals was up-and-down for most of the night, they were able to do just enough to help out their defense, eventually leaving Hard Rock Stadium with a 24-21 victory.

While the defense was the stronger side of the line of scrimmage for the Cards against the Canes, their offense featured the game's unquestioned MVP: wide receiver Chris Bell.

"I'm extremely proud of Chris," head coach Jeff Brohm said after the game. "Chris has been with us the entire time, he works really hard. The last two years, someone else had a few more catches then him, but he definitely contributed and did a great job. Never complained, and stuck with us. Now this year, look at him. He's really taking over, and that's a good defense, and look what he did.

"But he practices hard, he goes hard, he plays hard. We're going to find ways to get him the ball. He even got a little nicked up and hurt his hamstring. Don't know if we're going to get him back in, an he came back in. I don't think he was as fast as he was before, but he came back in. To me, he has learned what work ethic means, he has learned what being a great teammate means. I think he knows that he has a chance to take care of his family in the long run, and we're gonna help him do that."

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound outside receiver caught nine passes on 12 targets, finishing the game with 136 yards and two touchdowns. Both of his receiving scores came on impressive run-after-catch efforts, logging touchdown catches both 35 and 36 yards.

Bell nine catches for 136 yards were both the most allowed by the Hurricanes all season long, and the most since Duke's Shamir Hagans had nine catches for 139 yards and a score in a 53-31 loss to Miami back on Nov. 2, 2024.

Following Louisville overtime loss to Virginia back on Oct. 4, and the fact that they then went in to the bye week, Bell was determined to help get the Cardinals back on the right track.

"We knew what we were up against this week," Bell said. "We've been practicing these last two weeks during the bye week. We had to correct our mistakes from Virginia, knowing all the penalties we got and stuff like that. Then, we came in this week, and we knew what we had to do. If we stuck to our game and played our game, we knew we were going to come out on top. Everybody's been saying that."

Bell's incredible showing this past Friday night was just the latest in a string of elite performances. While Louisville might have lost against Virginia, it came despite a career day from Bell, who caught 12 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns. In the previous game vs. Pitt, a 34-27 victory, the Yazoo City, Miss. native had 10 catches for 135 yards and a score.

So far this season, Bell has caught 44 passes for 638 yard and six touchdowns. In the last three games alone, he's caught 31 passes for 441 yards and five touchdowns. He's just the fifth Louisville players to log three consecutive 125-yard receiving games, joining Deion Branch, Mario Urrutia, Harry Douglas and DeVante Parker.

"I'm more locked into the game, and not just out there being a bully, or trying to get in a player's head, or letting the players get in my head," Bell said. "I know this year is my senior year, so I got to make plays for the team. I'm in that position that I got to make plays for the team, like I've been saying all offseason. I've been working on my emotions, trying to tune in with myself, and be a leader for the team."