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3 takeaways from Louisville’s ACC-opening victory against Georgia Tech
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For the 2nd time in as many seasons under coach Jeff Brohm, Louisville is off to a 3-0 start.
The Cardinals had to work harder than they did in earlier blowouts against Austin Peay and Jacksonville State on Saturday in their ACC opener against Georgia Tech. But by outlasting the Yellow Jackets 31-19, they firmly established themselves as a legitimate contender for a return trip to the conference championship game.
In the process, they handed early-season darling Tech its 2nd straight conference defeat to put a crimp in its strong start that included what at the time seemed like a stunning Week 0 upset of Florida State in Ireland.
Here are 3 takeaways from the win that will keep the 19th-ranked Cardinals in the national polls and undefeated:
Louisville can win with more than just offense
The Cardinals came into Saturday’s action leading the ACC in scoring at 55.5 points per game while ranking 2nd in total offense with an average of 590.5 yards. While they came up well short of both those totals against the Yellow Jackets, they proved that they can win games in other ways, as well.
In this case, they got big contributions from both their defense and special teams.
The defensive touchdown came late in the 1st quarter on a 3rd-and-7 play from the Tech 9 and Louisville trailing 7-0. Cornerback Quincy Riley forced Haynes King into making a bad decision by chasing Yellow Jackets quarterback down in the backfield. Instead of taking the sack, King tried to make something happen by throwing the ball away. But it went backward, allowing 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive tackle Ramon Puryear to pick it up in the end zone.
Then with the Cardinals clinging to a 24-19 lead early in the 4th period, their special teams stepped in to put the game away. North Carolina transfer Tayon Holloway blocked a 50-yard field goal attempt by Aidan Birr, then scooped the ball up and returned it 55-yards for the score.
Brent Key is a gambling man
The Yellow Jackets’ aggressive coach wasn’t in the mood to kick field goals. Twice on Saturday, he decided against taking the sure points and kept his offense out on the field in 4th-and-goal situations from inside the Louisville 5-yard line.
His gamble paid off the 1st time.
With only 8 seconds remaining before halftime, with his team trailing by 10 and no timeouts remaining, Key rolled the dice by going for it. He did so, as one might expect from an old offensive lineman, but putting his faith in the big guys up front. And they responded by getting enough surge to help Jamal Haynes into the end zone.
Things didn’t go as well early in the 4th quarter. This time he called for a quarterback draw on 4th-and-goal from the 3. But Haynes King was stopped inches short of the goal line for a turnover on downs.
The decision to go for it wasn’t a total loss, though. On the 1st play after the change of possession, Cardinals quarterback Shough tripped over his own teammate and fell to the ground in the end zone for a safety that brought the Yellow Jackets to within 21-16.
The return of Ja’Corey Brooks
Brooks burst into the spotlight in 2021 by catching 2 touchdown passes from Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young in the Iron Bowl against Auburn, including the 28-yarder with 24 seconds remaining in regulation that sent the game into overtime and propelled Alabama to the national championship game.
He parlayed that into a big sophomore season in 2022. But after a shoulder injury limited his playing time and production last year, he decided to seek a change of scenery by entering the transfer portal. Healthy again, he’s become a key element in Louisville’s rebuilt offense.
Brooks made the most of his 4 catches against Tech on Saturday. His most impressive grab came on a 57-yard touchdown grab from quarterback Tyler Shough in which he was interfered with by a Yellow Jacket defender, but still managed to make the catch in stride and get into the end zone. He finished with 125 yards for an average of 31.3 yards per grab.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
