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In a largely empty Stanford Stadium, the Cardinal (3-5, 2-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) overcame the Cardinals in a highly dramatic, entertaining college football game. The No. 19 Louisville Cardinals (6-4, 4-3) shot themselves in the foot at the end of the game, ultimately losing 38-35 to unranked Stanford on a 52-yard field goal as time expired.
Game Summary
The floundering Stanford Cardinal jumped out to a surprising 10-0 lead on the strength of a 41-yard field goal by Emmet Kenney and a 62-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ashton Daniels to freshman wide receiver Emmett Mosley V.
Lousiville narrowed the score to 10-7 near the end of the first quarter with a 1-yard TD run by redshirt junior running back Donald Chaney. Then, after another field goal by Kenney, the Cardinals took the lead 14-13 on a 5-yard TD run by freshman running back Duke Watson. Then, after stopping a Stanford drive, Louisville scored again on a 10-yard TD pass from QB Tyler Shough to WR Chris Bell.
Although Stanford dominated time of possession in the first half—20:07-to-9:53—the Cardinals took a 21-13 lead over the Cardinal into the locker room at halftime.
Notably, Stanford did not complete a single pass in the first half to elite WR Elic Ayomanor.
The defenses stiffened after intermission. Lousiville received the opening kickoff in the second half and drove into Stanford territory; however, the Cardinal stopped the Cardinals on a fourth down, resulting in a turnover on downs. The teams then traded punts on the ensuing three drives. But Lousiville struck with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter, when Watson bolted for a 68-yard TD run, extending the Cardinals' lead to 28-13.
Stanford responded with a lengthy, time-consuming drive that culminated with a 13-yard TD pass to Ayomanor (his first reception of the game) and a 2-point conversion, drawing the score to 28-21 at the end of the third quarter.
Undeterred, Louisville responded with an impressive drive to commence the fourth quarter, scoring on Watson's third rushing TD of the game. However, Stanford responded resiliently, marching down the field and scoring at the midway point of the fourth quarter on Daniels' second TD pass to Mosley. After trading these two TDs, the score was 35-28.
After the Cardinal stopped Louisville again, Daniels and Mosley hooked up for their third TD of the game with 45 seconds remaining, setting the stage for a remarkable, dramatic finish that few could have foreseen.
Cardinal Conquers Cardinals
Louisville attempted to maneuver down the field and get in position to kick a game-winning field goal. Around midfield, the Cardinals faced a fourth down and decided to go for it rather than punting, which would have likely ensured overtime. Their fourth-down attempt was unsuccessful, and Stanford took over on downs at midfield with just four seconds remaining in regulation play.
Stanford ran a quick pass play in which the receiver stepped out of bounds with one second on the clock. However, a Lousiville defender committed a late hit, moving the ball up to a point where the Cardinal was in position to attempt a 57-yard field goal. Then, in a further act of self-destruction, Louisville jumped offside, giving Stanford five more yards.
It seemed fait accompli at that point: Kenney knocked through a 52-yarder and the dramatic upset was complete.
Next Up
Louisville returns home to host Pitt (7-3, 3-3) on Nov. 23 in its final in-conference matchup of the regular season. In Week 13, Stanford takes a short trip across the San Francisco Bay to participate in the 127th iteration of the Big Game, clashing with Cal Golden Bears (5-5, 1-5) in one of the longest-standing rivalry series in college football.
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Stunning loss for Louisville. Hard not to blame the coaching staff for those bonehead penalties at the end of the game.