Despite Miscues, Jeff Brohm 'Proud' of Louisville's Resiliency in Win over Georgia Tech

The Cardinals were far from perfect against the Yellow Jackets, but made plays when they counted.

Aug 31, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm watches during warmups before facing off against the Austin Peay Governors at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Over the first two weeks of the 2024 season, the Louisville football program looked incredibly dominant, securing a pair of wins in relatively easy fashion. However, these wins came against fairly easy competition, and still some questions remained on how the Cardinals would look against power conference competition.

This past Saturday, some of these questions were answered. Hosting Georgia Tech for their first game in ACC play, Louisville was able to make play when they counted most, scoring in all three phases to capture a 31-19 victory.

While it certainly was an imperfect effort from the players and coaches alike, head coach Jeff Brohm couldn't help but be proud of the final outcome.

“I am definitely proud of our football team today," he said after the game. "It was a good team win. It took all four quarters and a lot of different things to pull off the victory. We were definitely tested in a back-and-forth game with a lot momentum swings. We hung in there like we were able to do at some points last year, play to the end, keep our confidence, keep our fight and not give in. We found a way to make more plays."

While the final score suggests that Louisville had a firm grip on the outcome of the game, this was wasn't the case.

Georgia Tech out-gained their hosts 410-to-326 in terms of total yardage. The Cardinals committed seven penalties, with three of them negating offensive gains of 20-plus yards, and one on defense helping assist the Yellow Jackets on their touchdown drive that came right before halftime. Louisville even gave up a safety in the fourth quarter during a one-score game.

Offensively, Louisville struggled to get the ground game going, rushing for only 57 total yards. Defensively, the Cardinals struggled to contain Haynes King's playmaking ability at time, as the GT quarterback threw for 312 yards and ran for 58 more plus a touchdown.

"We talk about it all the time: when you play competitive football at a high level, you are not going to dominate," Brohm said. "It is not going to happen. Now, if you play a lesser opponent, you might.  When you play really good opponents, it is just not going to be that way. You have to be able to hang in there and go back and forth and try to play the perfect game, but it is not going to happen."

Even with Louisville not playing their cleanest brand of football players, the players kept their composure and made plays. The defense forced a fumble and recovered it in the end zone to prevent Tech from going up two scores. The Cardinals blocked a field goal for a touchdown right after giving up the safety. Quarterback Tyler Shough stepped up by throwing for 269 yards on just 19 attempts, while wide receivers Ja'Corey Brooks and Chris bell combined for 207 yards and two scores.

“We knew it was going to be ACC football," quarterback Tyler Shough said. "They’re a tough opponent, a really good team, so we knew it was going to be a battle for four quarters, and we were prepared to do that.

"I think that’s what we have to continue to do for the rest of the season is manage the ebbs and flows of the game. It's going to be like that every single game. We're going to strive for perfection in everything that we’re doing and correct our mistakes, but we understand when things don’t go our way, we’ve to find a way to win."

While Brohm was proud of his team for how they didn't fold and made plays when they counted most, he also knows that there is a lot to clean up if they are to have a special season. A lot of these corrections need to come in a hurry, considering that Louisville is set to face Notre Dame next week in what will be the Cardinals' first road game of the season.

"We have to execute better," Brohm said. "I do think our playmakers show up every game and be difference-makers which those guys did for the most part. We just need to get more efficient, and we will be tested next week. It is a really talented football team.

"I didn’t see (Notre Dame)'s game this week. Last week, they dominated, and I have watched the whole tape already. We will have our hands full. They are really good on defense. They are really fast, aggressive and strong. On offense, they are going to run the ball at you and pound it at you.”

(Photo of Jeff Brohm: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter/X - @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram - @louisvilleonsi

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X