By Harrison Plank

Louisville football overpowered the SMU Mustangs 41-31 Saturday afternoon at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.

The Cardinals earned their first ranked win of the season, affirming their right to stay in the top 25 after narrowly falling to No. 9 Ole Miss week one.

Old fashioned

SMU received the ball first. On the opening play from scrimmage, running back Kendrick Raphael burst forward for 40 yards, and was stopped only by an Antonio Watts‘ shoestring tackle. The Mustangs’ interior offensive line controlled the pace early. A handoff up the middle to Raphael was all they needed to get on the board first. 

Louisville running back Keyjuan Brown responded with a few long carries himself, moving the Cards deep into SMU territory. After that, a few keepers from Lincoln Kienholz ended in a rushing touchdown to even the score 7-7. 

The Mustangs did not replicate their success on the following posession. After pushing SMU to a fourth down in their own territory, the Louisville defense held. Koen Entringer wrapped up Randy Pittman Jr. well behind the line of scrimmage for a turnover on downs.

Making the most of the moment, Kienholz produced some magic. He connected with Lawayne McCoy downfield for their third explosive touchdown of the year. The Cards took a 14-7 lead just before the end of the first quarter.

The second began with SMU facing a long third down, which they easily picked up with a pass to Jalen Hale. Quarterback Kevin Jennings kept the hot hand, finding a wide-open receiver in the end zone to tie it at 14 a piece.

No response came from the Cards on back-to-back possessions, even after Kaleb Beasley picked Jennings off.

After punting it back to the Mustangs, SMU kept a sustained drive going.  They worked their way down the field, but Louisville stepped up, getting a stop on another long third down. SMU settled for a long field goal, but an untimely delay of game pushed them out of range and forced them to punt.

It appeared Louisville would have the final drive of the half with 1:49 left, but a quick three-and-out gave SMU one last shot.

The Mustangs made the most of the opportunity and great starting field position. From the 50, all it took was a few plays to move into field-goal range. After being iced, kicker Nick Reed nailed the kick and put SMU out in front, 17-14.

Texas shootout

Out of the break, Louisville put the pedal to the metal. Keyjuan Brown took a routine carry 58 yards to the house, earning another touchdown for the Cardinals.

A pair of lulling offensive drives followed, until Raphael marched the Mustangs down the field and ultimately into the endzone. SMU went back in front, 24-21.

Louisville responded with a long, sustained drive of their own, kept alive by Kienholz picking up a huge third down with his legs. McCoy had a touchdown reviewed incomplete, but nothing could keep the Cardinals from scoring. Jaleel Skinner snagged a pass in the back of the end zone to make it 28-24 for the Cardinals.

Louisville’s fortunes were not so favorable to start the final quarter. A snap gone awry cost the Cards nearly 20 yards and forced a punt from deep in their territory. 

After punting to SMU near midfield, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the Mustangs up even more. The Cards then forced a fourth down, but a holding call on the defense moved the SMU chains. More defensive penalties kept the Mustangs chugging along to the red zone, where one more Raphael carry was enough to score. SMU moved back in front, 31-28.

Following this, Keyjuan Brown yet again almost single-handedly kept Louisville in it. From 53 yards out, he rumbled into the end zone, giving the Cards a four-point lead midway through the final quarter.

After a few less-than-stellar plays, it was make-or-break time for the Mustangs. They threw a screen pass to Jennings on fourth, but Stanquan Clark wrapped him up before the line to gain. Louisville got the ball back yet again.

A holding call on the following drive pushed Louisville far back into their own territory. Kienholz, poised as ever, dropped back and placed the ball right in the bucket for Tre Richardson, flipping both the field and momentum. Isaac Brown must have felt the shift, as he lit up in the open field on the way to his first touchdown of the season.

On a drive to keep SMU’s hopes of winning alive, Jennings attempted to find his way into the end zone on foot. Just before he crossed the goal line, however, Beasley laid the boom, knocking the ball out through the back of the end zone for a touchback. 

Although Louisville failed to kill the clock on their following possession, but the defense held up their end of the deal. Beasley picked off Jennings for a second time, and a few Kienholz kneels closed out the game.

Louisville won 41-31.

Analysis

Have a happy birthday, Keyjuan Brown. The junior running back broke off for his highest single-game rushing yard total at 163, while also accounting for two of the Cardinals’ touchdowns. Kienholz, Keyjuan and Isaac Brown established the run throughout the game and sparked huge offensive gains when they were needed.

Yet again, the offense balled out. As predicted in The Cardinal’s preview, this game was a shootout that came down to who had the cleaner play. Louisville came out on top, forcing three turnovers while never giving the ball up themselves. Louisville has still not turned the ball over this season.

This does not mean all facets of the game were clean, though, as penalties remained a struggle. The Cardinals recorded 11 penalties for 110 yards to SMU’s eight for 82. Louisville comes out with a quality win, but still with work to do before next week’s matchup against Wake Forest.

Feature Photo by Adam Mouchrani / The Louisville Cardinal