Louisville Falls to FSU, 35-31

Friday, September 16

LOUISVILLE, KY

7:30 p.m.

University of Louisville

1-2 , 0-2

Florida State

3-0 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Florida St.

Louisville

September 17, 2022 | Football

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By: Cortney VanLiew

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville football team fell in their home opener with a 35-31 loss against Florida State University on Friday at Cardinal Stadium. The Cardinals are now 1-2 on the 2022 season.

The Cardinals took the lead in the fourth quarter on a field goal by James Turner to make the score 31-28 with 11:45 remaining on the clock. FSU marched down the field and countered four minutes later with a touchdown pass from quarterback Tate Rodemaker to Johnny Wilson to make the score 35-31. After a missed field goal attempt by FSU with 1:44 on the clock, UofL had one final drive, but an FSU interception stopped the Cardinals' final drive as time expired.

Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham rushed for 127 yards and recorded two rushing touchdowns. He threw for 243 yards on 21-of-34 passing. Cunningham threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Trevion Cooley. Cooley recorded a career-high two touchdowns. Cunningham is now tied for second place in school history with Lenny Lyles (1954-57) for career rushing touchdowns (41 total).

Louisville Head Coach Scott Satterfield Said
"First of all, give credit to Florida State. Their kids played hard, came out and played a hard-fought game. It was a very physical game tonight. Both sides had a lot of guys that got injured, including us even before the game. Tiyon was going to be a game time decision, he went through warmups and decided to hold him. He was close but not quite ready.

"Trevor Reid went out on the first drive at left tackle and was not able to come back into the game. Wiggins went out second drive and with a foot injury and couldn't come back into the game. Tyler Hudson was in and out. There were a lot of moving parts out there when you think about it, it was a physical game. They had some guys that were out as well.

"I think the first half we were in control of the game, battling on offense and defense. It was a close contest. Truly, we should have been up more, at least two more scores. We had turnover in the red zone and then the turnover at midfield when we're driving the ball, in control. We ran 47 plays in the first half. They came out in the second half and in their first drive, they had a six-minute drive and they ended up scoring to put them back in it. The kids battled, got back in the game and got back on top. They hit some big plays on us in the second half – more in the fourth quarter. To me, second and fourteen was the play of the day. Our defense got them to second and fourteen and they hit a post route on us to put them down inside the red zone and ended up scoring on us. That was a huge play, I felt we had a lot of momentum at that point in time. We were battling. We still had an opportunity. We got to midfield and went for it on fourth down. If we would've made the catch and who knows after that. Our defense stood up and held them to a field goal. They ended up missing the field goal, so we got another opportunity. With 1:20 left with one timeout, we drove down field, had a couple opportunities to make plays but we didn't make them. That's what it ultimately comes down to.  The last play I think Malik was trying to hit Huggins-Bruce on the sideline. He was open but the ball kind of sailed a little bit and the defensive back made the interception there at the end. It's very hurtful and disappointing to not be able to win this game. We know Florida State is a good football team, but we were right there and went toe-to-toe with them and in control the whole game until late."

How It Happened
First Quarter
·      11:01 – FSU | Florida State finished off its first possession with a two-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Travis to Preston Daniel. The scoring drive covered five plays and 61 yards in 2:17.
·      08:28 – UL | Malik Cunningham scampered into the end zone from eight yards out for Louisville's opening score. The drive lasted 2:33 and went 75 yards in seven plays.
·      01:23 – UL | Louisville gained its first lead of the night as Trevion Cooley ran a Malik Cunningham screen pass in from 17 yards out to finish an 80-yard drive that took eight plays and 2:17.
·      00:15 – FSU | Florida State went 75 yards in three plays, needing just 1:08 to tie the game on a 21-yard pass from Jordan Travis to Malik McClain.
Second Quarter
·      05:30 – UL | Trevion Cooley scored his second touchdown of the night, diving in from one yard out to put Louisville back in front. The scoring drive was six plays, 43 yards and took 2:14 off the clock.
Third Quarter
·      08:58 – FSU | The Seminoles took 6:02 off the clock on a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a 15-yard touchdown run by Lawrence Toafili.
Fourth Quarter
·      14:25 – UL | Louisville moved back in front on an 18-yard touchdown rush from Malik Cunningham, his second rushing score of the game. The scoring drive covered 63 yards over three plays and 59 seconds.
·      13:24 – FSU | Florida State answered quickly, going 75 yards in three plays and 1:01 with a 10-yard pass from Tate Rodemaker to Johnny Wilson tying the score at 28.
·      11:45 – UL | James Turner connected from 36 yards out to put UofL on top. Louisville went 57 yards in five plays on a drive that lasted 1:39.
·      07:54 – FSU| Tate Rodemaker found Johnny Wilson from one-yard out to give the Seminoles their first lead since the opening quarter. FSU went 75 yards in eight plays and took 3:51 off the clock.

Up Next

Louisville will be at home again next Saturday for Kids Day and Cardinal Family Weekend against USF.
Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. ET at Cardinal Stadium.