Isaac Brown brings Louisville back from the brink as Cardinals pummel Florida State 44-20

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Isaac Brown ran for a career-high 235 yards and two touchdowns on just 17 carries, including a game-changing 97-yard score, as Louisville rallied to take down Florida State 44-20 on Friday night.

Known for his big-play capabilities, Brown’s long touchdown run came on the first play of a second-quarter drive after Louisville DB Kaleb Beasley stopped Florida State WR Jasen Lopez at the Cardinals 3 on a fourth-and-goal. The Seminoles had led 14-0 and appeared to be in total control of the game.

After the game, Florida State coach Mike Norvell said he still felt good about the play, a screen pass from Ashton Daniels to Lopez, with the possibility of going up by three touchdowns on the road.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t do a good enough job in that moment,” said Norvell, whose team lost its 11th straight road game. “They’re pinned back. They got to go 98 yards, and they did it in one play.”

The touchdown run set a record for Louisville’s longest play from scrimmage, and Brown’s total for the night was the most for any running back among Football Bowl Subdivision programs this season.

Louisville (3-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) outgained the Seminoles 438-190 after the fourth-down stop. The Cardinals finished with 537 yards. That included 397 overall on the ground, where they accounted for all of their touchdowns. It also happened despite Keyjuan Brown, the Cardinals’ top rusher this season, being sidelined with an injury.

“Just when you think things are looking as bleak as they can, our guys hung in there,” said Louisville coach Jeff Brohm, whose team snapped a two-game skid. “You got to give our guys a ton of credit for playing hard, for finishing the game, for sticking together, for believing in themselves and their teammates. That’s not easy to do.’

Brown started the second half taking the opening kickoff 71 yards to the Seminoles 28 and got a horse-collar penalty added at the end. Four plays later, quarterback Lincoln Kienholz scored on a 3-yard run, his first of two scores, to give the Cardinals a 21-14 lead.

He then finished his night with a 68-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.

Daniels completed 21 of 37 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns as Florida State (3-3, 1-2) amassed 362 yards on offense. He also ran for a score.

The takeaway

Florida State: There has been a lot of head scratching about the Seminoles’ football program in recent years. Another questionable decision came when they chose not to kick a short field goal early in the second quarter to potentially take a 17-0 lead over Louisville. But the Cardinals made it a moot point by scoring the next 35 points.

Louisville: There will be a lot of talk about Brown, but give the Cardinals defense credit. They started out slow, but after Brown’s big run, they shut down the Seminoles in a game Louisville really needed to win.

Grounded offense

Three kneeldowns to end the game kept the Cardinals from registering their ninth 400-yard rushing game in program history. As it was, the 397 was the most a Louisville team racked up since getting 411 against Syracuse on Nov. 11, 2018.

Florida State, meanwhile, had its worst rushing defense game since Georgia Tech amassed 401 yards on Oct. 10, 2009.

Isaias affecting Noles trip home

Florida State departed Louisville after the loss. However, rather than head straight home to Tallahassee, the team chartered a flight to Jacksonville to avoid flying into Hurricane Isaias. The hurricane made landfall near Destin, Fla., located about 150 miles west of the Florida state capital, earlier Friday evening.

From Jacksonville, the team would bus back to campus, which a team spokesperson said would add a couple hours to the trip.

Up next

Florida State plays at No. 4 Miami on Oct. 17.

Louisville plays at Syracuse on Oct. 17.

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