Louisville 52, Stanford 24: 28 unanswered points after a 24-all tie
Louisville broke a 24-24 tie with 28 straight points, led by Isaac Brown's four touchdowns and a 31-yard fumble return, to beat Stanford 52-24.
For a quarter and a half this was a game. Stanford led 17-14 in the second quarter and tied it 24-24 early in the third. Then Louisville scored the last 28 points, and a fumble return in the third quarter turned a close game into a rout.
Isaac Brown did most of the damage. He ran nine times for 139 yards and three touchdowns and caught a fourth score. His 75-yard run with 10:01 left in the game was the final points of the night at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.
How it was won
Brown opened the scoring with a 5-yard run in the first quarter. Stanford answered in the second with a 48-yard field goal from E. Kenney and a 41-yard touchdown pass from Davis Warren to Nico Brown for a 10-7 lead.
The second quarter went back and forth. Lincoln Kienholz scored on a 1-yard run, and 10 seconds later Warren hit Aiden Black for 75 yards to put Stanford back in front, 17-14. C. Hilbert tied it with a 35-yard field goal, and Kienholz found T. Hurry for 22 yards with 15 seconds left in the half for a 24-17 Louisville lead.
Stanford tied it on the opening drive of the third, Warren to Micah Ford for 40 yards. That was the last time the Cardinal scored.
Kienholz hit Brown for an 18-yard touchdown at 10:57. At 3:42, Nico Brown caught a Warren pass and fumbled, and T. Holloway returned it 31 yards for a touchdown and a 38-24 lead. Brown added a 23-yard run with 27 seconds left in the quarter and the 75-yarder early in the fourth.
The box score explains the second half. Louisville outgained Stanford 545 to 351 and ran for 296 yards to Stanford's 81. The Cardinals were 6 of 11 on third down; Stanford was 2 of 16. Stanford turned it over twice, the fumble and a Warren interception, to Louisville's one. Possession was nearly even, 30:42 to 29:18 in Stanford's favor, which says more about Louisville's explosive plays than about control of the ball.
Kienholz completed 20 of 28 for 250 yards and two touchdowns and ran nine times for 62 yards and a score. Tre Richardson caught 10 passes for 140 yards.
For Stanford, Warren was 23 of 37 for 270 yards, three touchdowns and the interception. Nico Brown had six catches for 109 yards. Ford carried 20 times for 72 yards and Sedrick Irvin added 24 on six carries.
Against the number
Louisville closed at -22.5 and won by 28, so the favorite covered. At 24-24 midway through the third quarter that looked unlikely; the 28-0 finish took care of it.
The total closed at 59.5, and 76 points went in, a clear over. The first half alone produced 41.
The moneyline closed at Louisville -2100 and Stanford +1100. The market never gave Stanford much of a chance, and the second half bore that out. Full prices and line history are on the game page.
What's next
Louisville is 5-3 and has won three straight, after beating Florida State 44-20 and Syracuse 34-26. One more win makes the Cardinals bowl eligible. They play at Georgia Tech on Saturday, November 7, on ACC Network.
Stanford falls to 4-5, ending a two-game winning streak that included a 31-28 win over NC State. The Cardinal have two weeks before they play at Virginia Tech on Saturday, November 14.
