Louisville 31-19 Georgia Tech (September 21, 2024) Match Report

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ja'Corey Brooks' 57-yard touchdown pass gave the team the lead late in the third quarter, Tayon Holloway then blocked a field goal and returned it 45 yards for another touchdown, and No. 19 Louisville scored from every phase to beat Georgia Tech 31-19 on Saturday.

The Cardinals (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) took advantage of their defense and offense to lead 17-7 in the second quarter before the Yellow Jackets caught up late in the third to tie the game at 17-17. Louisville finally took the lead on Tyler Shough's long pass to Brooks down the right sideline, which Brooks caught on the run despite a Tech defender being flagged for pass interference.

The Yellow Jackets (3-2, 1-2) pulled within 24-19 on a safety when Shough fell to his knees on a throw attempt from the end zone with 11:23 left. Tech took the ensuing kickoff and drove into Louisville territory to set up Aidan Burr's 50-yard fourth-down attempt. Holloway lunged from the left, blocked the kick, grabbed the football and sprinted into the end zone with 7:05 left to score the game-winning goal that drew cheers from teammates and the 50,727 spectators.

“It took us all four quarters and a lot of different things to get the win,” Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said. “We were definitely tested. It was a back-and-forth game with a lot of momentum swings, but we hung in there.”

“The defense wasn't perfect, but had some big fourth down stops and of course a huge turnover. The special teams gave us the advantage, that was the key.”

Shough completed 13 of 19 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns, including 125 passes to Brooks with four catches and a 57-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Chris Bell caught two passes for 82 yards and scored one touchdown, a 37-yard pass that gave the Cardinals a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.

Ramon Puryear recovered Quincy Riley's deflection of a lateral attempt by Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King in the end zone and scored a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.

“I probably should have just taken it and shot the ball,” King said of his loss.

King completed 21 of 32 passes for 312 yards and ran 14 times for 58 yards as Tech again failed to capitalize on its opening-game upset win over then-No. 10 Florida State in Ireland. Malik Rutherford caught seven passes for 113 yards and Eric Singleton Jr. had five catches for 88 yards.

The conclusion

Georgia Tech risked fourth down five times and got three chances, but was stopped on a crucial fourth down and goal from the 3 early in the fourth quarter when there was a chance to tie the score. The Yellow Jackets called a QB keeper, but King was brought down inside the 1 and Louisville maintained its 24-17 lead. The blocked field goal followed and they lost the game on their last possession.

“That's two losses. We had two opportunities on fourth-and-1 to keep the game going,” coach Brent Key said, referring to another failed fourth-down conversion in a loss at Syracuse. “That's something we're going to work on. We're going to look at that and have a plan to improve that.”

Louisville lost 410-326 and took seven penalties for 69 yards. Several of those came from the offense to negate big plays, including a chop block flag that negated a 29-yard screen pass to Jadon Thompson to the Tech 23, which was formed by a wall of blockers. But the Cardinals got timely plays from the offense, defense and special teams to make up for it.

Next

Georgia Tech hosts Duke on October 5 after a break.

Louisville visits No. 17 Notre Dame on Saturday seeking a second consecutive win in the series.

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