Isaac Brown just authored the signature performance of this Louisville era, and Florida State’s defense should have to watch his 97-yard touchdown run on a loop until somebody explains how one back erased a 14-0 deficit by himself.
Louisville beat Florida State 44-20 on Friday night, but that score flattens what actually happened. Florida State built a 14-0 lead, and Louisville’s comeback erased that deficit in one play, not across four quarters. The Cardinals outscored the Seminoles 44-6 the rest of the way.
Florida State had a chance to make it 17-0 and instead went for it on fourth-and-goal near Louisville’s goal line. Cardinals defensive back Kaleb Beasley stopped receiver Jasen Lopez short of the end zone. On the very next snap, quarterback Lincoln Kienholz handed the ball to Brown, who found a crease on the left side of his line and kept going.
He didn’t stop until he’d covered 97 yards.
Isaac Brown’s 97-yard touchdown run broke Florida State open at the exact moment the Seminoles looked ready to pull away for good, and it is now the longest play from scrimmage in Louisville’s history — also the longest touchdown Florida State’s defense has ever allowed. Brown wasn’t done: he added a 68-yard touchdown run and a 71-yard kickoff return, finishing with 235 rushing yards on 17 carries and 313 all-purpose yards, the most by a Cardinal since 1993.
The number was circulating before Louisville’s locker room had even emptied out.
https://twitter.com/CFBKings/status/2108743202496716995
I watched that run four times and still can’t locate the moment a Florida State defender had a real shot at him.
Brown’s season up to Friday looked nothing like this. He’d gained 36 yards against Ole Miss, 61 against Villanova, 67 against SMU and 33 against Wake Forest, with one flash of explosiveness in a loss to NC State. Against Florida State, every carry looked like the version of Brown that Louisville needs as a centerpiece, not a complementary piece behind an injured Keyjuan Brown.
Louisville ran for 397 yards as a team, the tenth-most single-game rushing total in school history, and scored six rushing touchdowns without its leading back. Some credit belongs to Jeff Brohm, who handed play-calling duties to his brother and offensive coordinator Brian Brohm for the first time in fourteen years of calling his own offense. Brian said afterward that “the offensive line could feel it popping in there.”
Louisville’s defense did the harder job. It held Florida State to six points the rest of the way, forcing five straight punts, several three-and-outs, and an interception. A unit that got run over early turned into the reason Florida State never got close again.
Louisville improved to 3-3, and every loss this season has come by three points or fewer, which makes a 24-point margin feel almost unfamiliar. Anyone catching up on the rest of this week’s college football coverage should start with a defense that had a two-score cushion and blew it on back-to-back snaps.
Florida State led by 14 and still couldn’t tackle one person.
