Louisville Report

Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Cardinals are back in action following a bye week to host the Yellow Jackets in their ACC opener.

Matthew McGavic

Sep 1, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets wide receiver Chase Lane (7) runs for a touchdown against the Louisville Cardinals in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Sep 1, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets wide receiver Chase Lane (7) runs for a touchdown against the Louisville Cardinals in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
In this story:

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-1, 1-1 ACC) at No. 19/20 Louisville Cardinals (2-0, 0-0 ACC)

- Kickoff: Saturday, September 21 at 3:30 p.m. EST
- Location: L&N Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
- Weather Conditions: Partly to mostly cloudy. High 91F. Winds light and variable.
- How To Watch: ESPN2
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -10.0
- All-Time Series: Georgia Tech leads 2-1
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 39-34 on Sept. 1, 2023 (Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta, Ga.)

Game Notes

Louisville

  • After coming off the first of two bye weeks, the University of Louisville opens up Atlantic Coast Conference action when the Cards host Georgia Tech at L&N Stadium for the first time since 2018. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
  • The Cardinals and Yellow Jackets are meeting for the fourth time in school history, with Georgia Tech holding a 2-1 advantage. Louisville won last season’s contest 39-34 in the 2023 season opener for both schools in the Chick-fila-A Kickoff Classic.
  • The Cardinals moved to 2-0 with an impressive 49-14 win over Jacksonville State on Sept. 7 at L&N Stadium. Quarterback Tyler Shough completed 21-of-33 passes for 349 yards and a pair of touchdowns — a 48-yard strike to Chris Bell and a 12-yarder to Mark Redman.
  • Louisville rushed for 233 yards and five touchdowns in the win, with five different players scoring on the ground. Maurice Turner led the way with 60 yards and a touchdown and Keyjuan Brown and Duke Watson each ran for 51 yards and a touchdown.
  • The Cards enter Saturday’s contest with the nine-best rushing offense in the nation, averaging 263.0 yards per game.
  • Wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks has emerged as the top receiver after catching six passes for 89 yards in the win over Jacksonville State, upping his season totals to 13 receptions for 172 yards and one score.
  • Louisville amassed 610 yards of total offense, its second highest total under Jeff Brohm. The Cards reached 500 yards of total offense in back-to-back games for the first time since doing so Oct. 2-9, 2021, vs. Wake Forest and Virginia.
  • Quincy Riley recorded his first interception of the season, giving him 14 in his career and seven at Louisville.
  • By scoring 49 points in the win, Louisville has scored at least 30 points for the eighth time in nine home games under Brohm.
  • Linebacker Stanquan Clark led Louisville defenders with nine tackles, including six solo stops as the Cardinals held the Gamecocks to 290 yards of total offense. The sophomore linebacker is the team leader in tackle with 11 after two contests.
  • The Cards are looking to go 3-0 to open the season for the second-straight season
    and are hoping to top last season’s 6-0 start before they dropped a game at Pittsburgh last season.
  • The Cards are averaging 55.0 points per game, which ranks third nationally.
  • Head coach Jeff Brohm becomes the first Louisville coach to start 2-0 in his first two seasons since Bobby Petrino did so from 2003 to 2006 and 2014.
  • Louisville extended its streak of holding opponents scoreless on their first possession to 20 games. Louisville has held its opponent scoreless in the first quarter for the 14th time in its last 17 games.
  • Tyler Shough has been impressive in two starts, throwing for 581 yards and six touchdowns in a pair of wins. His six touchdowns are tied for the sixth most nationally and is tied for second in the ACC. Shough is completing a solid 68.4 percent of his throws and is averaging 14.9 yards a completion.
  • Louisville ranks second nationally with an average of 8.2 yards per carry. The Cards
    stand fourth nationally with seven runs of 20 or more yards and are fourth with four
    rushes of over 30 yards.
  • Freshman running back Isaac Brown is the team’s leading rusher with 166 yards, an
    average of 83.0 yards per game, while another rookie Duke Watson is second with 137 yards and two scores. Watson ranks second nationally with an average of 13.7
    yards per carry, while Brown is fourth in the country at 12.8 yards a tote.
  • Louisville has scored seven or more touchdowns in back-to-back games for the first time since doing so in each of the first four games of the 2016 season.
  • Louisville has completed passes to 12 or more different receivers in each of the first two games, including 15 different pass catchers in the season opener against Austin Peay.
  • The offensive line has yet to yield a sack in the first two games of the season. Shough hasn’t been sacked in 57 pass attempts since taking over as the starter.
  • Louisville has totaled 19.0 tackles for loss in the first two games, ranking eighth in the country. Jared Dawson, Tamarion McDonald and Tramel Logan each have 3.0 tackles for loss through two contests
  • Louisville has outscored the opposition 128-28 in the last 16 games, including a 24-0 margin thus far in 2024.
  • Head coach Jeff Brohm is 8-1 in two seasons at Louisville.

Georgia Tech

  • Georgia Tech returns to Atlantic Coast Conference play with a pivotal league matchup at No. 19/20 Louisville.
  • Georgia Tech (3-1) is off to its best four-game start since 2017. A win at Louisville would give the Yellow Jackets their best start through five games since they opened the 2014 season with five-straight wins.
  • Tech puts a remarkable 5-0 record against nationally ranked ACC opponents under head coach Brent Key on the line when it visits Louisville. Four of the Jackets' five wins against ranked ACC teams under Key have come away from home.
  • Saturday's matchup pits a Georgia Tech offensive front that has not allowed a sack
    through four games this season against a Louisville pass rush that ranks second
    nationally with 4.5 sacks per game this season.
  • Despite being in the ACC together since 2014, Georgia Tech and Louisville are meeting on the gridiron for only the fourth time. Tech holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series, with a 66-31 win at Louisville in 2018 and a 46-27 home victory in 2020. In last season's opener in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Yellow Jackets scored 28 second-quarter points and led 28-13 at halftime, but the Cardinals rallied for 26 points in the second half to earn their first-ever win over Tech, 39-34.
  • This season's matchup marks the first time that Georgia Tech and Louisville have ever played on a Saturday. The previous three meetings have all been on Fridays.
  • After completing 17-of-22 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns in just one half of action last Saturday versus VMI, Tech QB Haynes King ranks fifth nationally in completion percentage at .764 through four games (81-for-106).
  • Georgia Tech has allowed zero sacks through four games this season. Despite being one of only two NCAA Division I FBS teams that has played four games this season, the Yellow Jackets are one of only eight squads that has not surrendered a sack (three of the other seven have played three games, four have only played two).
  • Georgia Tech's 3-1 start is its best since 2017.
  • Despite being conference-mates since 2014, Georgia Tech and Louisville are meeting on the gridiron for only the fourth time. The only member of the ACC that Tech has played fewer times is Stanford, who the Yellow Jackets have faced just twice. Additionally, this week's game is the first time that the Jackets and Cardinals have ever squared off on a Saturday. The previous three meetings have all been on Fridays.
  • Georgia Tech QB Haynes King ranks fifth nationally and leads the ACC with a .764 completion percentage (81-for-106). He is on pace to shatter Georgia Tech's single-season record for completion percentage of .666, set by Heisman Trophy runner-up Joe Hamilton in 1999.
  • Georgia Tech has blocked nine kicks in 25 games since Key took over as the Yellow Jackets' interim head coach in 2022. Since Oct. 1, 2022 (Key's first game at the helm of the Jackets), Tech's nine blocked kicks are tied with Miami (Ohio) and Notre Dame for the most in the nation.
  • Georgia Tech's offense is a perfect 100% in the red zone this season with 13 touchdowns and one field goal in 14 trips inside the opponent's 20 yard line.

Depth Charts

Here are the depth charts for both teams ahead of their matchup: Louisville vs. Georgia Tech

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Gamecocks, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of the Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Georgia Tech

Uniform Report

Louisville will be wearing white helmets (with the Heisman Cardinal) and pants with red jerseys, while Georgia Tech will be wearing gold helmets with white jerseys and navy pants.

Additional Coverage

(Photo via Brett Davis - Imagn Images)

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Published
Matthew McGavic
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

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