Recap: Louisville football outlasts Boston College

Cardinals earn first conference win since 2017

Louisville football earned its first conference win since 2017 with a 41-39 victory over Boston College at Cardinal Stadium Oct. 5. The Cardinals gained over 650 yards of offense and a field goal by Blanton Creque with 1:02 left sealed the win. 

Malik Cunningham completed 13 of 18 passes for 288 yards while Evan Conley finished with 140 passing yards. Javian Hawkins rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown. Seth Dawkins, Tutu Atwell and Dez Fitzpatrick each finished with over 100 receiving yards.

"It's been a long time for our players to get a conference win," Louisville coach Scott Satterfield said. "We're defined by how we finish. And you have to finish games like this, and we were able to do that." 

Boston College finished with 563 yards of offense and took the lead with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter. AJ Dillon finished with 118 rushing yards while Dennis Grosel and Anthony Brown combined to throw for 304 yards and four touchdowns. 

"There were too many big plays that went for touchdowns," Satterfield said. "We have to eliminate big plays."

Boston College had no problem moving the ball downfield on the opening possession. Anthony Brown completed passes for 17 and 36 yards as the Eagles went 77 yards in nine plays to bring the ball to the 4-yard-line.

Dillon took a handoff on third-and-1, pushing into a crowd of defenders. Cardinal linebacker Monty Montgomery ripped the ball from Dillon and fell into the end zone for a fumble recovery.

The Cardinals quickly capitalized off the turnover. Cunningham completed a 23-yard throw to Dez Fitzpatrick and Javian Hawkins took a carry 47 yards on a six-play drive that was capped by a 3-yard touchdown run from Cunningham.

Anthony Brown found Hunter Long open in the middle on broke coverage for a 72-yard touchdown on Boston College’s next possession to even the score.

Louisville had an answer of its own through the passing game. Cunningham lofted a throw to Seth Dawkins for a 59-yard touchdown for a 14-7 lead with 5:14 left in the first quarter.

The defenses settled in and traded possessions late in the first quarter.

Boston College tied the game early in the second quarter on an eight-play, 89-yard drive that was capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass by Dennis Grosel to Korab Idrizi.

Grosel subbed in for Brown, who was injured on the third to last play of the drive.

After Boston College replaced its quarterback due to injury, Louisville turned to backup quarterback Evan Conley for a possession. The offense didn’t miss a beat.

Conley completed a 17-yard throw to Tutu Atwell and Hawkins busted a 32-yard run to the 12-yard-line. Hawkins capped the 10-play, 75-yard drive with a touchdown run from three yards to return the lead to Louisville with 6:23 left in the second quarter.

Louisville’s defense had consecutive stops, setting up a touchdown drive that started with 2:24 left in the second quarter. Cunningham connected with Dawkins for a 77-yard throw to take the ball inside the 10-yard-line. One play later, Hassan Hall scored from six yards for a 28-14 advantage.

Grosel completed five throws on a nine-play, 70-yard drive that brought Boston College within one possession before halftime. Grosel threw a 13-yard touchdown with 29 seconds left. The Eagles converted a two-point-conversion on a throw by Grosel following a muffed snap.

Boston College took its first lead on its first possession of the second half. Grosel threw a 19-yard touchdown to Korab Idrizi to cap a 59-yard drive that gave Boston College a 29-28 lead.

After Boston College took its first lead, Hassan Hall returned the ensuing kick off 43 yards to help start a Louisville scoring drive.

Cunningham once again connected with a downfield throw, finding Dez Fitzpatrick for a 41-yard reception. The drive reached the 4-yard-line, but a holding and personal foul penalty stalled the possession.

Louisville settled for a 34-yard-field goal from Blanton Creque to take a 31-29 lead with 6:40 left in the third quarter.

Possibly the most impressive drive spanned six minutes, starting late in the third quarter and crossing into the fourth quarter. Louisville started on the 4-yard-line, but slowly moved upfield.

Conley completed a 27-yard throw to Tutu Atwell on third-and-11 from the Cardinal 44-yard-line on the final play of the third quarter.

Conley later found Fitzpatrick for a 23-yard touchdown catch to cap the 13-play drive and give Louisville a 38-29 lead.

"He [Conley] is a calm character," Satterfield said. "Nothing fazes him."

After 132 throws without an interception this season, Louisville’s defense finally hauled in an interception. Anthony Johnson intercepted a throw, but Louisville couldn’t capitalize on the turnover punting the ball back to Boston College following a three-and-out.

Louisville had contained AJ Dillon through the first three quarters, but the Eagle running back broke open a 30-yard run in the fourth quarter. Travis Levy followed with a 37-yard touchdown on a reverse sweep to cut Boston College’s deficit to 38-36 with 10:48 left.

Boston College retook the lead by relying on its running game. Dillon had a 13-yard carry while Grosel added a 13-yard run of his own.

Aaron Boumerhi made a 45-yard field goal with 3:32 left to give Boston College a 39-38 lead.

The Cardinals had an answer. Hawkins had a pile pushing carry for 12 yards followed by a 13-yard reception from Dawkins.

Hawkins found a crease for 28 yards to bring the ball to the 22-yard-line. Louisville avoided disaster on a fumbled handoff, but Conley’s third down pass fell incomplete.

Creque made a 41-yard field goal with 1:02 left to give Louisville a 41-39 lead. 

"He nailed it right down the middle," Satterfield said. "So proud of him as well for making that kick."