Coming off a bye week, Louisville had plenty of time to prepare for their biggest test of the season against a sneaky good Georgia Tech team, who’s undefeated against ranked ACC opponents since Brent Key took over the program.

Although the Cardinal’s are dealing with a couple injured starters this week, Jeff Brohm and co. believe that they have more than enough to get the job done this afternoon. Louisville cruised to easy wins in their first two games, but this afternoon presented a different challenge for them and that was evident from the opening period.

You would think Louisville would come out firing on all cylinders after a bye week, but they had issues on both sides of the ball at certain moments throughout the game. Georgia Tech struck first with a rushing touchdown to take an early lead, but the Cardinal's defense was able to make a huge play after Quincy Riley deflected a lateral pass that led to a scoop and score for Ramon Puryear, his second defensive touchdown of the season.

The running game wasn’t a factor at really any point in the game, so Coach Brohm knew that Tyler Shough was going to have to win this one with his arm. The offense as a whole got off to a slow start in this one, but Shough was able to find a rhythm and start moving the ball downfield. If there was one bright spot in today’s game it was the quarterback play from Tyler Shough, who continues to impress me with his accuracy and quick decisions. Shough finished with 269 yards through the air and two passing touchdowns on just 19 attempts. He had multiple big time plays through the air that gave Louisville the breathing room that they needed to take control of the game.

Louisville’s defense was about as up and down as gets throughout the game, as they gave up multiple huge gains down the field, but they also made a couple of great stops in some moments that were more than much needed. The first half ended pretty bad, but they tightened up in the second and that’s a sign of good coaching adjustments. Giving up 14 points in the first and just three in the second, as they bended at times, but they didn’t break.

Even with the sloppy play and continuous penalties that were called on Louisville, they were still able to win this game by double digits and Jeff Brohm will take that every single time. The Cardinal’s were up by just five points in the fourth quarter, until Tayon Holloway blocked a Georgia Tech field goal and then scooped it for another touchdown that didn’t come from the offense to seal the victory. Holloway got more action than usual today due to injuries, and he stepped up when Louisville needed a play.

The Cardinal’s schedule doesn’t get easier anytime soon, with a huge road test coming next week against no. 17 ranked Notre Dame in South Bend. Caullin Lacy, Louisville’s top wide receiver transfer, could make his season debut next Saturday and that would be huge news for Shough and the offense. Trying to stop him and Ja’Corey Brooks at the same time is going to be far from easy, which will help unlock the running game a little more as well.

Not the prettiest win by any means, but Louisville came out with a good win over a solid Georgia Tech team and I believe they’ll continue to get better as they get healthier.

The Cardinal’s will be back in action next Saturday on the road against Notre Dame at 3:30 P.M. (ET).