No. 22 Louisville hosts Jacksonville State before halftime and ACC playoff opener

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville’s opening-game rout of Austin Peay convinced enough voters to move the Cardinals out of the top spot in the standings Top 25 APs inside at number 22.

While the performance seemed good, coach Jeff Brohm wants to make sure there’s more of what happened in Saturday’s non-conference game against Jacksonville State (0-1). If Louisville can pull it off, the next step will be to maintain the advantage during an earlier-than-usual day off before starting Atlantic Coast Conference play against No. 23 Georgia Tech — which gave Florida State 10th place in the preseason the first of consecutive defeats.

“It’s always important to do what you’re supposed to do and play well, do the little things right, challenge yourself and play your best,” Brohm said Monday. “For the most part, I thought we did it for four quarters, and now we’ve got to find a way to do it again.”

Louisville got off to a fast start against Austin Peay and kept the gas pedal throughout every phase of the game. Defeat 62-0The Cardinals led 38-0 at halftime thanks to four touchdowns by new quarterback Tyler Shough and outscored the Governors 571-106 for the sixth-largest margin of yards in school history.

True, Louisville had demolished a lower-league Football Championship Subdivision opponent that had brought in a new coach along with a slew of new faces. But the Govs were also coming off a 9-3 record and a playoff appearance in 2023, a reminder for Louisville not to take them for granted.

Jacksonville State has similar qualifications that justify the same approach at this inaugural meeting.

The Gamecocks went 9-4 and won the New Orleans Bowl, the school’s first in its inaugural FBS season, and were among four Conference USA teams to reach the postseason. They lost their opener 55-27 to Coastal Carolina on Aug. 29, but are expected to challenge defending Conference USA champion Liberty, pre-season favoriteThis is the same program that surprised FSU three years ago by scoring a game-ending touchdown.

For now, Jax State coach Rich Rodriguez is just going to put the disappointing start behind him.

“I don’t want to say it’s typical of the first match because it shouldn’t happen in any other match,” Rodriguez said, “but at the same time we have to improve and I know we can play better than we did in the opening match.”

A strong first impression

Tyler Shough’s TD total matched Browning Nagle’s in the most starting quarterbacking in a Louisville starting season. The Texas Tech transfer completed 18 of 24 passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns in just one half before Harrison Bailey and Pierce Clarkson took over and the Cardinals scored twice more. Shough led six scoring drives with five touchdowns in seven possessions, setting the tone for one of Louisville’s most efficient games in recent memory.

Quarterback Options

Jax State’s depth chart lists seniors Logan Smothers and Tyler Huff and sophomore Zion Turner as “or” choices at quarterback, and Rodriguez wasn’t sure who would start. Huff passed for 173 yards with a TD and two interceptions, while Smothers threw for 61 yards, and the coach hopes someone from that group will stand out.

Sharing the wealth

Louisville passed for 278 yards, with 15 receivers catching at least one pass. Senior receiver Jadon Thompson caught two TDs and junior Ja’Corey Brooks had one with seven receptions for 83 yards. The ground game added 293 yards, with freshman Isaac Brown carrying five times for 123 yards with a 77-yard score. Duke Watson ran for 86 yards and Keyjuan Brown had 65, along with short TD runs by both, as the Cardinals averaged 10.5 yards per carry.

Mr. 3000

Jax State commit Tre Stewart rushed for 62 yards in last week’s loss, surpassing 3,000 for his career. The senior has 2,994 yards and 24 touchdowns over the past three seasons at Division II Limestone, including a career-best 320 yards and three touchdowns against UVA Wise on Sept. 24, 2022.

Constant pressure

Louisville is one of four teams with the same record second in FBS after seven sacks against APSU, including two by Tamarion McDonald and Tramel Logan. The Cardinals also recorded 14.5 tackles for loss — tied for fourth in the FBS — matching their highest mark since 2017 against Kent State.

“We have a lot of experience and a lot of depth,” said defensive lineman Ramon Puryear, who returned a fumble for a 22-yard TD. “We have versatile players who can play inside or outside. I would say that’s a big part of it.”

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