Louisville football: The 50 greatest Cardinals of all time

Maybe the signature win in Louisville football program history is the Cardinals’ win in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl over Alabama. The man who anchored that win and the season that led up to it was quarterback Browning Nagle.

Nagle is a native of Philadelphia but made his way to Louisville by way of West Virginia University. After sitting out a season and then waiting for another behind star quarterback Jay Gruden, Nagle did not squander his opportunity in the next two seasons.

In only two years, Nagle was able to rack up 4,653 yards passing and his 32 touchdowns rank 10th all time. Nagle was on pace to finish in the top six quarterbacks in school history at that clip.

In the biggest game in school history, Nagle kicked things off by completing a 70-yard pass play for a touchdown. The Cardinals jumped all over Alabama 25-0 at the end of the first quarter. Nagle’s play that entire season kept the Cards nationally relevant.

To be pitted against an SEC powerhouse was a significant feat, but to lead your team into that game and come away with a blowout win is not something that should go overlooked when considering where Nagle falls among the all-time greats.

Nagle was drafted at pick No. 34 early in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He went on to play five solid years in the NFL. His career never quite panned out the way it was expected to, but he finished his stint in the NFL with nearly 2,500 passing yards and eight touchdowns.