Highlights, Photos and Notes: Louisville 38, Miami 31

The highlights, photo gallery and team & player notes from the Cardinals' win over the Hurricanes.

Matthew McGavic | Nov 18, 2023

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Louisville Cardinals

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Heading down to Miami for their final road trip of the 2023 season, the Louisville football program was able to take care of business to ensure their spot in the ACC Championship Game, outlasting the Hurricanes for a 38-31 victory at Hard Rock Stadium. It marks the Cardinals' first time reaching the ACC Championship since joining the conference in 2014.

The Atlantic Coast Conference put together a highlight tape of the matchup, which you can see here:

Team Notes:

Louisville improves to 4-11-1 in the all-time series vs. Miami, including 1-6-1 in Miami.
The Cards rise to 10-1 overall for their seventh 10-win season and first since the 2013 Cards finished 12-1.
Louisville finishes ACC regular season play at 7-1 matching its best ACC record achieved in 2016.
Louisville clinches second place in the ACC and will face Florida State in the ACC Championship game in C
Jeff Brohm becomes the first coach to take teams to two different Power Five conference championship games in back-to-back seasons.
- Brohm took Purdue to the Big Ten Championship vs. Michigan last year and will lead the Cards against Florida State in the ACC Championship on Dec. 2.
Louisville completes passes to 12 different receivers for the second time this season, matching the total from the Murray State game.
Louisville scores on its first possession for the eighth time in 11 games this season, including seven touchdowns.
Louisville extends its streak of holding opponents scoreless on their first possession to 15 games.
Louisville claims its fourth comeback victory of the season, matching the 2012 Cards for most comebacks.

Player Notes:

RB Isaac Guerendo rushed for 93 yards on 15 carries, scoring on a 12-yard run. He added an 11-yard reception.
RB Jawhar Jordan became the first Louisville running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since Javian Hawkins in 2019. He rushed for 33 yards on nine carries to push his season total to 1,009 yards.
TE Nate Kurisky had five receptions for 50 yards, scoring on a two-yard pass from Jack Plummer for the first score of the game and his second touchdown of the season.
WR Jamari Thrash scored Louisville's first two-point conversion since 2017 to put the Cards ahead 31-28 in the fourth quarter. He also had one reception for seven yards.
OL Trevonte Sylvester lined up as a tight end and scored his first career touchdown on a one-yard reception from Jack Plummer to pull the Cards within 21-20 at halftime.

Prior to Trevonte Sylvester's touchdown reception, the last offensive lineman to score for the Cards was Mekhi Becton with a one-yard TD run in a 31-7 win vs. Indiana State on Sept. 8, 2018.
The only other Louisville offensive lineman with a touchdown reception besides Trevonte Sylvester is Shawn Kries in a 39-0 win vs. Northeast Louisiana on Nov. 11, 1995. He recovered a fumble in the end zone following a catch by Miguel Montano, making it officially a receiving TD.

K Nick Lopez made the first field goal of his Louisville career and added an extra point.

Gallery:

NOTE: Photos courtesy of USA TODAY'S Sam Navarro.

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Published Nov 18, 2023

MATTHEW MCGAVIC

McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic