No. 19 Louisville holds off Boston College football

Boston College showed fight but the Eagles’ ambitions of scoring a major upset were beaten down by a handful of explosive runs.

Louisville tailbacks Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown combined for 300 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns to lift the No. 19 Cardinals to a 38-24 victory over BC on Homecoming Weekend at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Keyjuan Brown iced the game with a 67-yard touchdown run with 1:49 to play.

BC dropped to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in the ACC and will host No. 12 Notre Dame next Saturday at Alumni Stadium.

“The defense was brutal when you talk about 300 and some odd yards rushing,” said BC head coach Bill O’Brien. “We have got to stop the run. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game where I have seen that many long runs. I have to coach it better. I have to coach a lot better than I’m doing.”

The Cardinals ground attack edged out BC quarterback Grayson James, who completed 23-of-46 passes for 244 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in his second start despite playing with an undisclosed injury.

“He did a great job, he managed the game very well,” said O’Brien. “I sure there were some plays he wished he could have back but he was playing injured.

“He is a kid who understands the difference between pain and injury. He understands that and he fought through it and I have a lot of respect for him and he did a hell of a job.”

Louisville was a 25.5-point favorite and the disparity between the two teams could be measured on the outcomes of last week’s games. BC got rolled at home by UConn while Louisville went down to Miami and knocked off the No. 2 ranked Hurricanes. Nobody outside the BC locker room could have imagined BC would be in position to win the game in the final two minutes.

“Our kids are tough, they fight hard and they have to keep fighting because they have no choice,” said O’Brien. “It has been a tough season but there is a lot of football left and these kids have a lot of pride. “

Louisville got the ball to start the third, but Isaac Brown fumbled on the opening snap and the ball was recovered by BC cornerback Isaiah Farris at the 34. James cut the lead to 21-17 with a 23-yard touchdown toss to freshman tight end Kaelan Chudzinski with 14:08 to play in the quarter.

“That was huge and momentum is a really big thing in college football,” said James. “That gave us a real spark and guys made plays.”

BC’s run of luck expired at 7:50 of the third when wide receiver Lewis Bond was stripped of the ball on a jet sweep and it was recovered by Antonio Watts on the BC 27. Louisville went up 28-17 on a 23-yard pass from Moss to Caullin Lacy in the end zone.

The Eagles got new life at 11:22 of the fourth when Miller Moss was stripe-sacked and the ball was recovered by KP rate on the BC 42. But Grayson gave it right back with his second interception of the game. Louisville went up 31-17 on a 41-yard field goal by Cooper Ranvier with 8:13 to play.

BC cut the lead to 31-24 on James’ third touchdown pass of the game, a 21-yarder to tight end Jeremiah Franklin with 6:17 to play.

“They (tight ends) are really good playmakers,” said James. “If you give them a chance, they will make plays when the opportunities present themselves.”

The Eagles’ opening drives showed promise with James advancing the ball with short precision passes and scrambles out of the pocket to convert on third down. The Cardinals defense put the brakes on the BC drive on their 20. BC went up 3-0 on a 38-yard field goal by Luca Lombardo with 6:36 play, his 11th straight successful kick.

On Louisville’s opening snap, tailback Isaac Brown went around left tackle and weaved through the secondary on a 73-yard run to the BC 2-yardline. Moss scored on a keeper to make it 7-3 with 4:49 on the board.

BC responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive to make it 10-7 on the first play of the second quarter. James was 4-of-4 for 46 yards and capped the trip in a 6-yard rainbow toss to Bond in the back of the end zone for his first touchdown of the season.

Louisville’s defense forced a turnover on downs and Moss capitalized on it. On the third snap, Moss banger Keyjuan Brown on a swing pass and he raced 39-yards down the left sideline to the BC 10. Moss finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run to make it 14-10 with 1:42 to play in the half.

BC went three and out and killed only 19 seconds off the clock before punting the ball away. On Louisville’s first snap, Isaac Brown raced 63-yards for a touchdown to put the Cardinals up 21-10 with 1:02 to play. Issac Brown accounted for 151 of Louisville’s 232 yards in the first half.