Louisville fans booed loud and often Sept. 26 at L&N Stadium.
First, it was directed at the referees, who called No. 19 UofL for roughing the passer on Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez twice. Neither explanation sat right with head coach Jeff Brohm.
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“He thought he hit him too high, which was a little baffling,” Brohm said of the referee on linebacker Ben Perry’s penalty. “And the other one on Clev (Lubin), I mean, shoot, I thought he tackled him right when the ball was released. He (referee) said he thought he (Lubin) drove him into the ground, which, I didn’t see that. But you know what? They protected the quarterback there.”
The boos quickly turned from the referees to the home team in the final seconds of the Cardinals’ 30-27 loss to Wake Forest. It was a letdown after the team’s first win over No. 25 SMU a week ago. But wide receiver TreyShun Hurry said there wasn’t a hangover effect.
“Our main mentality was to not let it be a hangover after a big win and just keep our foot forward,” he told media after the game.
Unfortunately for UofL, the Cardinals took a step back, with the loss coming down to many of the same issues they’ve been having all season. Penalties mounted, big plays abounded for Wake Forest and the Cards’ run game was inconsistent. It all spelled trouble for a Louisville team with its sights set on making the ACC championship game. The squad will try to bounce back on the road against NC State in Week 5 ACC action.
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Here are three takeaways from Louisville’s ACC loss to Wake Forest:
For the first time this season, Louisville didn’t score on its opening drive. The Cardinals scored on both of their first two series against Villanova and SMU, and opened the season with a field goal against Ole Miss. They got off to a slow start against Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons forced UofL into consecutive three-and-outs to open the game. They stuffed the Cards’ running lanes and got pressure on quarterback Lincoln Kienholz. As a result, Louisville totaled just four yards of offense after the two series.
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“We tried to get the running game going,” Brohm said. “They stuffed us pretty good early on, so then we had to adjust. You got to be good at both. We were not as sharp in the running game. I didn’t think we were blocking super well up front. They had some movements and penetration. We weren’t being as physical.”
Kienholz later got the offense going with two rushing touchdowns. He became the first Louisville quarterback to score six rushing touchdowns in his first four appearances, but he couldn’t carry that over into the second half. Neither team scored a touchdown in the final two quarters. Louisville was held to 75 rushing yards. It’s the first time the team has been held to under 100 rushing yards since last year’s 54 yards in a Week 6 overtime loss to Virginia.
Somehow, Carlos Hernandez had tons of open space to leap, jump and do whatever he wanted on the field. The Wake Forest wide receiver came into the game averaging 107.3 receiving yards per game, second-most in the ACC. He went largely unguarded during the first half against the Cardinals and totaled 170 receiving yards, with 119 of those yards coming after the catch, according to StatBroadcast.
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All three of Demon Deacons quarterback Gio Lopez’s passes for 30 or more yards went to Hernandez, which included the 77-yard touchdown throw that gave Wake Forest a 17-14 lead midway through the second quarter.
“I feel like we just weren’t communicating well and weren’t executing the plays the coaches were calling,” said linebacker Stanquan Clark, who had a team-best 12 tackles, after the game. “So tomorrow, we’ve got to get back in here and watch film, and correct those things.”
Louisville did a better job containing Hernandez in the second half. He only had 24 receiving yards and turned the ball over after Perry forced a fumble; defensive lineman Jerod Smith recovered it.
The Cardinals have yet to find sustained success to the level they desire. In each season under Brohm, Louisville has had good momentum but suffered a letdown loss that disrupts the season. Falling to Wake Forest after beating SMU certainly fits the description and throws a wrench in Louisville’s goal of making the ACC championship game, let alone the College Football Playoff. (The Demon Deacons now have the head-to-head advantage over UofL, and Miami is showing no signs of slowing down after last year’s run to the national championship game.)
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With many of the same problems persisting, Louisville has much to clean up if the squad wants to get over the metaphorical hump in a make-or-break season.
Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football falls to Wake Forest. Here’s what we learned
