By Harrison Plank
Louisville football defeated Villanova 59-13 Friday night in the Cards’ first game of the year at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.
The Cardinals recovered from their last-second loss to Ole Miss last week and are now 1-1.
Mistakes continue
The Cards began with possession, and a great opening kickoff return from Keyjuan Brown set them up at their own 49-yard line.
Louisville’s first earned first down of the game would not come from an offensive gain but a roughing the passer penalty on Lincoln Kienholz.
Isaac Brown followed up the forward progression with a few solid runs to get Louisville just into the red zone. However, a couple of overshot passes to Jaleel Skinner from Kienholz forced Louisville to settle for a field goal. The Cards took a 3-0 lead early.
Villanova’s dink-and-dunk plays on their following possession kept their offense moving down the field, with the Cards’ first tackle for loss not coming until Villanova was already firmly in Louisville territory.
A pass broken up by Caleb Beasley and a tackle on Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide by Stanquan Clark brought up just the second third down of the drive. McQuaide would overthrow his receiver in the back of the end zone, forcing the Wildcats to settle for a field goal to tie the game 3-3.
The following Louisville drive looked nothing like the first. A few short gains from Tre Richardson and Keyjuan Brown set Louisville up near midfield, where Kienholz found Lawayne McCoy scorching up the sideline for the Cards’ first explosive play of the game. Now, set up just inside the red zone, Kienholz took a keeper to the house on the following play to take a 10-3 lead.
The Cardinals’ efficient offense must have inspired the defense, which didn’t give up a first down on the following Villanova possession. Louisville got the ball back with just 2:23 left in the quarter.
On the next drive Skinner had another miscue, dropping a wide-open pass that would have resulted in a first down. Skinner made up for it, though, taking a checkdown 69 yards to the house on the subsequent play. Louisville held a 17-3 lead to end the quarter.
Bombs away
The first play of the second was a brutal one, with McQuaide finding a receiver up the sideline for a 60-plus-yard touchdown of his own.
Kienholz and McCoy kept their own offense going, almost instantly scoring themselves. Kienholz extended the play, shaking out defenders and finding McCoy downfield, where he nearly copied his juking touchdown from last week against Ole Miss.
After each team’s touchdown early in the quarter, neither could seem to find their footing. That was until Kienholz marched the Cards down the field late in the quarter, ultimately ending the drive with his second rushing touchdown of the game just after the two-minute timeout.
Villanova, facing almost insurmountable pressure, would get nothing to go on their final drive. The Wildcats went into the tunnel with the Cards leading 31-10.
Keep it rolling
The Cardinals kept the pressure up to start the third. Clark tipped a pass at the line and forced a punt from the Wildcats early in the quarter. Unfortunately, Louisville also had to punt on their following drive.
Not much would happen until Louisville received the ball back, when a four-play, 52-yard drive ended with a Braxton Jennings score. The Cards kept the ball on the ground, with 45 of 52 rushing yards coming from Jennings and Marquise Davis.
A big hit on Villanova running back Julian Glantz on their next drive nearly resulted in a Benjamin Perry interception. Despite this, an untimely penalty kept Villanova moving as they slowly inched their way down the field.
A deep pass to Braden Reed set Villanova up in Louisville territory, and a drawn pass interference on Jabari Mack was enough to get them in field goal range. Kicker Dominick LeBlanc nailed it, cutting the Cardinal lead to 25.
Afterwards, the Cardinals put together yet another solid drive, using a mix of short passes, handoffs to running backs and keepers by Kienholz to get all the way down to the one-yard line. Davis got the honors this time, leaving the score 45-13 at the end of the third.
New faces
After the Joker and the Thief played during the third-quarter break, the Louisville defense took the field with a newfound edge to them. On the first play of the quarter, Demeco Kennedy strip-sacked McQuaide, resulting in the Cards’ first takeaway of the game.
With possession right at the goal line, scoring was not a question, even with backup Devyn Wydner stepping in at quarterback for Kienholz. Wydner’s pass to Jennings resulted in his second score of the day and Wydner’s first passing touchdown in a Cardinal uniform. Louisville continued to lay it on, making it 52-13.
It was at this point Villanova threw up the white flag, subbing out McQuaide and essentially ending the game 10 minutes ahead of schedule.
Even after Villanova admitted defeat, Louisville tacked on another score for good measure. Davis took a carry up the gut for four yards and his second score of the game, locking up what had already been won.
With nearly three minutes left in the game, there was yet another quarterback change; this time Briggs Cherry replaced Wydner, making his much-anticipated Louisville debut. Cherry looked poised in his limited playing time, helping secure a 59-13 Cardinal victory.
Analysis
This game was as expected: a blowout win by the Cardinals in their first home game of the season. The new and improved lighting system at L&N Stadium got a great amount of usage, as the Cardinals scored eight touchdowns throughout the game.
Kienholz continues to prove himself as a versatile player, throwing for 300-plus yards and two touchdowns in his first two games as a starter. That’s not even mentioning his rushing ability, which accounted for two more scores.
Again, Isaac Brown was nearly silent, only rushing for 61 yards. Brown was a bell cow just a year ago but in a deeper running back room, it is less important to force the ball to him than it is to win games. Brown can break off chunk plays; it’s just a question of when they will come.
The main concern Louisville fans should come away from this game with is messy, unnecessary penalties. Many Villanova drives seemed like they had been snuffed out, then that yellow flag came flying in. It resets the momentum, gives the offense a glimmer of hope and kills any confidence the defense had obtained. Messy play can slide against a weaker opponent like Villanova, but it will not in the ACC. If the Cards want to knock off ranked SMU, penalties will have to be cleaned up.
Louisville stays at home next week, where they will be hosting No. 17 SMU in what appears is an important game in keeping their playoff hopes alive.
Feature Photo by Adam Mouchrani / The Louisville Cardinal
