LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Florida State came out flying and built a 14-0 lead, but Louisville slammed the door shut from there and rolled to a 44-20 win Friday night behind a monster performance from Isaac Brown.
Brown carried the Cardinals with 235 rushing yards and two touchdowns on only 17 carries, and his biggest blow came on a 97-yard score that flipped the game on its head. Louisville trailed 14-0 and had just watched Florida State come up empty on fourth-and-goal at the Cardinals 3 when Brown ripped off the long touchdown on the first play of the next drive.
From there, the Cardinals took control and never gave it back.
Louisville finished with 537 total yards, including 397 on the ground, and all of its touchdowns came via the run. That came even with Keyjuan Brown, the team’s leading rusher this season, out injured. The Cardinals outgained Florida State 438-190 after the fourth-down stop and steadily buried the Seminoles after that early hole.
Brown’s night kept building in the second half. He opened the third quarter by taking the kickoff 71 yards to the Florida State 28, then drew a horse-collar penalty at the end of the return. Four plays later, Lincoln Kienholz punched in a 3-yard touchdown run, his first of two scores, to push Louisville in front 21-14.
Brown capped his night with a 68-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Ashton Daniels did what he could for Florida State, finishing 21 of 37 for 209 yards and two touchdowns while also running for a score. The Seminoles totaled 362 yards, but the early control they seemed to have quickly disappeared once Louisville started landing body blows.
Florida State’s decision-making also came under the spotlight. The Seminoles passed on a short field goal early in the second quarter that could have made it 17-0, but Louisville erased any chance for that choice to matter by scoring the next 35 points.
For Florida State, it was another frustrating turn in a stretch that has already drawn plenty of questions around the program. For Louisville, it was the kind of response that turned a shaky start into a needed ACC win.
Florida State plays at No. 4 Miami on Oct. 17.
Louisville plays at Syracuse on Oct. 17.
In Other News...
Louisville Turned One Early Scare Into A Blowout Statement Win
Florida State had Louisville on its heels early, building a 14-0 lead and lining up for a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line with a chance to keep the pressure on. Instead, a swing pass lost yardage, the Cardinals escaped the moment, and the game flipped almost immediately.
On the very next play, Isaac Brown broke free for a 97-yard touchdown and Louisville never looked back, rolling to a 44-20 win behind a 35-point unanswered surge. Brown finished with 235 rushing yards on 17 carries, adding another long score as the Cardinals piled up 397 yards on the ground and turned an early scare into the kind of statement victory that can change how a team is viewed. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Finally Got The Isaac Brown Game It Desperately Needed
Louisville badly needed a jolt, and Isaac Brown delivered one in a way the Cardinals could hardly have drawn up better. In a 44-20 win over Florida State, the running back turned a difficult stretch into a much-needed reset, piling up 235 yards on 17 carries and scoring twice as Louisville clawed back toward relevance in the ACC race.
Browns day was capped by a 97-yard touchdown run, the longest in program history, a burst that matched the kind of game-changing spark Louisville has been waiting for. The victory nudged the Cardinals to 3-3 and kept their conference title hopes from drifting any farther out of view, which made the performance feel like more than just a breakout for one player. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Just Delivered The Kind Of Win That Changes Everything
Louisvilles latest trip to Florida State was the sort of game that can reset a season. The Cardinals stared down a 21-0 deficit, then flipped the whole afternoon with a 35-14 comeback built on a revived defense and a ground game that finally started to look like the identity Brian Brohm has been pushing since taking over playcalling duties.
The signature moment came on Isaac Browns record-breaking 97-yard rush, a play that captured how sharply the momentum swung once Louisville settled in. After the early scramble, the Cardinals played with more balance and force on both sides of the ball, turning a rough start into a win that felt bigger than one result and more like a turning point. [Read more 🡒]