Louisville football: 3 final thoughts from Cards upset win over Wake Forest

Louisville football pulled off arguably their biggest win in three seasons against no. 19 Wake Forest on Saturday. Celebrations don’t last forever, so here are my three final thoughts from the game.

Louisville football’s first win on the road against a ranked opponent in eight years was earned, not given. A 62-59 shootout with 19th ranked Wake Forest had Cardinal fans constantly cheering but also checking their blood pressure.

Not many expected Louisville to have a chance to pull off the upset against one of the top offenses in the ACC (except for Kirk) but when push came to shove the Cardinals showed up in a major way.

It was a game that Louisville led by counts of 28-7 and 55-38, but also a game where Louisville gave up 40 first downs for the first time since the 1960s. A game where both offenses looked unstoppable. A game where defense seemed optional.

A game that Wake Forest may have won if the smallest player on the field didn’t make the biggest play of the game when Tutu Atwell emerged with the football on a late onside kick.

It was a game where the more madness the better.

Saturday’s matchup had a little bit of everything. The Cardinal offense was as good as it’s been since Lamar Jackson left, the defense can improve but made timely plays and the special teams unit may have swung the entire contest. Here are the main things I took away from Louisville’s huge road win in Winston-Salem.