Too little, too late, cards fall in overtime

The Cardinals came into this Saturday’s matchup against Virginia with a perfect 4-0 record. Mind you, the Cardinals as well were riding a seven-game winning streak stemming from last season.

Prior to the game’s kickoff, former Virginia Cavalier running back Perris Jones was honored. Perris Jones, for folks that don’t remember, was the player a couple of years back that was seriously hurt.

Perris now is fully healthy and is also now enrolled at the University of Louisville. Talk about a full circle moment.

The start of the game didn’t go as planned for the Cardinals, as Virginia was flying any and everywhere. Hard hits and then some caused confusion and more for the Ville.

Towards the very end of the first quarter, quarterback Miller Moss was able to run it in himself from the goal line, giving the first points of the day, tying it up 7-7.

With just over seven minutes to go in the first half, the Cavaliers faced a stout 3rd&11. That’s when Cardinal Nation got loud and caused Virginia to burn a timeout.

The very next play? You ask, Virginia quarterback Morris threw a perfect 19-yard pass for six. This would put Virginia up 14-7.

It would take Moss and Co. a few minutes to get things going after that, but eventually, Moss would find Chris Bell in the end zone for six.

To end the first half, Louisville was mounting a drive. That’s when the Cavaliers defense started making moves. With just two seconds left, the Cardinals trouted out for a field goal.

Prior to the kick, Ravanier had been a perfect 7/7, but as the clock would strike zero, he would miss the kick, causing the Cardinals to go into the half tied up 14-14.

The Cards started the first half on the wrong foot as the 4 and out happened quickly. However, the defense of the Cards stepped up in a big way. The Cavaliers would go for it on fourth down, and the defense of the Cardinals would cause an incomplete pass.

Coming in from the locker room to start the third quarter, the Cardinals were poised to separate themselves from Virginia and the 14-14 score. However, things, let’s just say, didn’t go the way Cardinal Nation had anticipated.

Costly miscues, missed offensive line assignments, combined with bad quarterback play, led the Cardinals to a 10-point deficit going into the fourth quarter.

Miller Moss, with a little over six minutes to go, would make a throw that was very questionable. How questionable, you ask? It would result in a pick-six (40+ yards) and his second interception of the day.

The fourth quarter would start in the way the Cardinals would want, as Isaac Brown would have three straight massive runs of positive yardage. Brown would again leave the field as his ankle would start to give him fits.

On 3rd down with fourth yards to convert, Moss would find Chris Bell in the corner of the end zone on a super nice one-handed touchdown grab.

With 9:41 left to go in the game, Chris Bell up to this point would have 11 catches for 162 yards and two scores. Let’s just say, Bell had been having a career day.

With just over five minutes to go, the Cavaliers faced a massive 3rd down, I say this because the stadium was getting louder and louder.

Just when the Cardinals needed to make a play on defense, they delivered, as Antonio Watts would provide a HUGE sack. With 4:51 left in the game, down by three, Louisville was poised to show they were more than ready.

Miller Moss would find Caullin Lacey on a cross on 3rd & 9 to convert for a first. After just a couple of plays, Louisville faced yet another massive 3rd down at 3rd & 24.

And OMG with a massive third down, Miller Moss would step up in a big way and find the Kentucky native Kris Hughes for a first down deep down the field. But the excitement was quickly derailed as the Cardinals faced another fourth down.

Ranvier was faced with a massive 49-yard field goal, this much pressure, and the opportunity to redeem himself from the early miss, he would nail it! tying the game 24-24.

Chandler Morris, quarterback of Virginia, would scamper for a 17-yard run to acquire the crucial first down. However, the very next play, Wes Bailey would sack Morris, causing the Cavaliers to fall back to a 2nd & 17.

The massive defensive stand by Louisville will propel the game into overtime, as head coach Tony Elliot would let time expire.  Overtime is nothing a fan base wants to see however, nonetheless L&N stadium would have some.

On a crucial 3rd & 2 Miller was able to find running back Isaac Brown for a first down completion. The play would be challenged and ultimately reversed and called an incomplete pass.

Freshman kicker Cooper Ranvier would convert the field goal, putting the Cardinals up by 3, and with the game on the line the defense had to make a stand.

On 2nd & 8 Chandler Morris would run and as he’s trying to go out of bounds, D’Angelo Hutchinson would stop him.

Virginia would then have to put in their backup quarterback, and because of that they went to a direct snap to running back Taylor for the win.

The Cardinals are now 4-1 on the year (1-1) in conference heading into the bye week before they head to Miami to face off against the Hurricanes.

Stats:

Miller Moss : 34/48 329 2td 1int

Chris Bell: 12, 170 yards, 2td