The Louisville football team will head into its bye week back over .500 both overall and in conference play, and riding a two-game winning streak.
But it wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty.
U of L survived a pair of turnovers, the same silly penalties it had avoided the prior two weeks, and arguably the worst performance of the season from quarterback Lincoln Kienholz to pull off a 34-26 road win over Syracuse Saturday night.
For a second straight week, the Cardinals spotted their opponents a two score
lead. After a Lincoln Kienholz interception and pair of woeful U of L defensive possessions, Syracuse led 10-0 just six minutes and 20 seconds into the game.
The Louisville offense then went to work, with Kienholz engineering an 89-yard touchdown drive that took just five plays. Following a defensive stop, the Cards then went 90 yards in just three plays thanks to an 82-yard run by Kienholz, the longest ever by a Cardinal quarterback.
After the two teams exchanged scores, Louisville carried a 28-23 lead into the locker room at halftime thanks to a 46-yard catch and score by Isaac Brown.
The second half was a completely different story as both offenses struggled to get going, combining for just nine total points. The Cardinals had appeared to put the game out of reach on a 5-yard touchdown run by Keyjuan Brown, but a missed extra point by Carson Hilbert kept it a one score game.
Syracuse had two opportunities to potentially tie things up, but the U of L defense bowed its neck and closed the door.
It’s a win. One that I’d prefer to never discuss again … but a win nonetheless.
