Louisville looked dead in the water early, then turned the whole afternoon on its head.
Florida State jumped out to a 14-0 lead and was moving the ball with ease, and at that point the mood around L&N Cardinal Stadium fit a team that had already lost three of its first five and was hearing plenty of grumbling. But the Cardinals found the one thing they’d been missing: a spark.
It arrived at the 9:35 mark, when Louisville’s defense finally slammed the door at the 2-yard line. A few snaps later, Isaac Brown broke the game open. Behind a suddenly gaping hole from the offensive line, Brown went untouched for a 97-yard touchdown that jolted the crowd of 48,992 and flipped the energy in an instant.
From there, Louisville didn’t just stabilize. It took over.
The Cardinals ripped off 35 straight points and rolled past Florida State 44-20, turning what looked like another long day into a statement win. After Brown’s long score, Louisville’s defense forced a three-and-out, and then the offense kept piling on. Quarterback Lincoln Kienholz worked the ball down to the Florida State 3-yard line with a pair of completions and quarterback keepers, and Marquise Davis finished the march with the tying touchdown to make it 14-14.
Once the game was even, Louisville kept the pressure on. Kienholz scored the next two touchdowns himself, sneaking in from 3 yards out and then from 1 yard out as the Cardinals surged away. He finished 11 of 15 for 140 yards and added 40 yards on the ground.
Brown wasn’t done either. He added another touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 68-yard run and finished with 235 yards.
For Jeff Brohm, the turnaround started long before kickoff. He said the staff spent the week adjusting and simplifying things, especially on defense.
“I thought we had a great week of practice. Did we adjust things up?
Yes, we did. I think when things aren’t going the way you want, you’ve got to tweak some things, that’s my responsibility to do whatever I can to help us improve.
Definitely this week, the goal was to get with the defense and help them, assist them as much as I can, help them put a plan together that we understand and we know, that is simple, but yet has enough ability to get aggressive and to strike and allow our guys to play, but also not give up big plays. So, I spent a whole lot of time doing that.
“Our defensive coaches did a great job with it, put it on paper. We had Coach (Mark) Ivey, Coach (Steve) Ellis and Coach (Mike) Cassity upstairs working together to do the best job they could and I thought they did a great job.
On offense, I wasn’t as involved, Brian [Brohm] and the offensive staff took it and ran with it. I thought they did a great job, worked really hard, of course I was in there some and assisted as much as I can, I’ll always do that, but it was theirs and they took it and ran with it and I’m really proud of them.
Things didn’t look good early on, so they just kept staying together, had a great attitude, so you’ve got to give them a lot of credit. So great job coaching by our offensive and defensive staff and a great job by our players today, I’m really proud of them.”
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 🡒]