LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ja’Corey Brooks’ 57-yard touchdown pass gave the team the lead late in the third quarter, Tayon Holloway then blocked a field goal and returned it 45 yards for another touchdown, and No. 19 Louisville scored from every phase to beat Georgia Tech 31-19 in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener on Saturday.
The Cardinals (3-0, 1-0 ACC) used their defense and offense to take a 17-7 lead in the second quarter before the Yellow Jackets caught up late in the third quarter and tied the game at 17-17. Louisville finally took the lead on Tyler Shough’s long pass to Brooks down the right sideline, which Brooks caught on the run despite a Tech defender being flagged for pass interference.
The Yellow Jackets (3-2, 1-2) pulled within 24-19 on a safety when Shough fell to his knees on a throw attempt from the end zone with 11:23 left. Tech took the ensuing kickoff and drove into Louisville territory to set up Aidan Burr’s 50-yard fourth-down attempt. Holloway lunged from the left, blocked the kick, grabbed the football and sprinted into the end zone with 7:05 left to score the game-winning goal that drew cheers from teammates and fans.
Shough completed 13 of 19 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns, including 125 passes to Brooks with four catches and a 57-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Chris Bell caught two passes for 82 yards and scored one touchdown, a 37-yard pass that gave the Cardinals a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.
Ramon Puryear recovered Quincy Riley’s deflection of a lateral attempt by Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King in the end zone and scored a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.
King completed 21 of 32 passes for 312 yards and ran 14 times for 58 yards as Tech again failed to capitalize on its opening-game upset win over then-No. 10 Florida State in Ireland.
Georgia Tech risked fourth down five times and got three shots, but was stopped on a crucial fourth down attempt from the 3 early in the fourth quarter when there was a chance to tie the score. The Yellow Jackets called a QB keeper, but King was brought down inside the 1 and Louisville maintained its 24-17 lead.
Louisville lost 410-326 and took seven penalties for 69 yards. Several of those came from the offense to negate big plays, including a chop block flag that negated a 29-yard screen pass to Jadon Thompson to the Tech 23, which was formed by a wall of blockers. But the Cardinals got timely plays from the offense, defense and special teams to make up for it.
Georgia Tech hosts Duke on October 5 after a break.
Louisville visits No. 17 Notre Dame on Saturday seeking a second consecutive win in the series.
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