By: Hannah Walker–
The Louisville football team was back and ready to play at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. They travelled to Atlanta, GA on Monday, Sept. 6, to face the Ole Miss Rebels at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. However, Louisville lost with a final score of 24-43.
At the start of the game, Louisville won the coin toss and made the choice to defend the east goal. Freshman kicker Brock Travelstead started with a kickoff of 65 yards, but Ole Miss was quickly able to return 11 yards.
It wasn’t long after kickoff that Ole Miss made a complete pass for 24 yards; making a first down early in the game.
Louisville continued to work on better defense, as Ole Miss’s offensive linemen continued to play at their best. Still, it was not enough. Ole Miss was quickly able to make their first touchdown with 11:55 on the clock.
After Ole Miss’s touchdown, the game slowed down with many penalties made from both teams. However, the first quarter ended with Ole Miss making a successful field goal attempt from the 47 yard line.
During the second quarter of the game, Louisville attempted to push back Ole Miss from making another touchdown. Still, Ole Miss was able to make two touchdowns, and a successful field goal attempt before halftime. Louisville went into halftime with a sore of 0-26.
After halftime, Louisville started to pick up speed when sophomore kicker James Turner made a field goal attempt from the 38 yard line with 12:35 on the clock.
Louisville continued to improve offensively as the game went on. Cunningham was able to make a complete pass to Smith for 4 yards, and it wasn’t long after that Louisville was able to make their first touchdown with 1:58 on the clock. This gave Louisville a score of 10-29 going into the fourth quarter.
The Cards were successfully able to make two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter of the game. Redshirt-junior quarterback Cunningham rushed for one yard; leading to a touchdown with 8:58 on the clock. Then, Cunningham made another rush for nine yards; making another touchdown with 3:58 on the clock.
Still, the final touchdowns were not enough. Ole Miss made two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as well, and continued to take the lead. This led Louisville to a final score of 24-43.
Louisville will play their first home game Friday, Sept. 11, at 7:00 p.m. They will face Eastern Kentucky in hopes of gaining their first win for the season after their loss to Ole Miss.
Photo Courtesy of GoCards// U of L Athletics