Last night our Cardinals didn’t disappoint in what was one of the most anticipated games in the history of the football program. A record crowd of 55,428 watched as the Cardinals won their fourth straight season opener 31-13, win their first ACC game, win their sixth game straight and beat Miami for the second time in 10 months.
“I thought it would be a real battle and we would have to work extremely hard,” said Petrino, who returned in January to the program he led to a 41-9 record from 2003 to ’06. “Obviously, we made some mistakes on offense and on special teams. I thought the defense really did a great job all night long, especially on third down.”
“We found a way to win the game.”
We didn’t see the high octane Bobby Petrino offense we had became accustom to during his previous coaching stop in Louisville, but we did see a very efficient and methodical performance. Will Gardner did a very good job in my opinion of managing the game. He didn’t put up gaudy numbers throwing for 206 yards with 2 touchdowns, but he did maintain his composure after a few turnovers and led his unit. There will be a few arm chair QB’s who criticize Will this week, but making mistakes is part of the game. It’s how you respond to those mistakes that define the type of player you are. I thought Gardner responded well.
I can’t say enough about the admiration I have for Dominique Brown. His physical sacrifice for his unit last night was really something. A career high 33 carries in his first outing of the season, 143 yards and a touchdown laying his body on the line with every play. He set the tone for our offense last night and is the workhorse of this team.
That Corvin Lamb score was probably the best and my favorite play of the game. The claim is that he’s the fastest guy on the team and last night he backed up that claim with a 97 yard kick-off return. It was the fifth longest in school history and was a big momentum boost when the Cardinals needed it the most.
At the end of the night the crowd was chanting Bobby… Bobby… And while I’m grateful to have him as our new head coach part of me was thinking about Coach Strong and how the discipline he instilled in the Louisville defense was still very present. They haven’t missed a beat. The Cards held Miami to 1 for 13 on third down conversions. The ball pursuit, close outs, tackling, and hard hitting was very impressive last night. These guys were flying all over the field and it was very apparent that the great defense we had enjoyed under the previous regime was just as good as ever. There is nothing more important on a football field than playing fast and physical and the Louisville defense did that and then some last night. James Sample was the standout of the group with 8 tackles and an interception, but Gerod Holliman also deserves a lot of kudos with five tackles, an interceptions, and a few big stops on Duke Johnson.
It really was a great evening and I couldn’t think of a better way to have spent this holiday. It has been a great summer and last night our Cardinals sent it out with a bang. They also give us a lot to look forward to going into this Fall. I hope the ACC is ready because last night the Cardinals arrived in town and they are taking names.
