It’s football on a Thursday night, but the goal remains the same for this Louisville team as they try clinch an ACC championship appearance against Florida State in Jeff Brohm’s first season.

The Cardinals are in control of their own destiny as long as they can continue to take care of business and that starts with a win at home tonight against the Cavaliers. A win tonight would put them in a great position to lock up that second place spot in the ACC, but Virginia wasn’t going to give it to them easy, Louisville had to earn everything tonight.

The Cavaliers are just 2-7 coming into tonight’s game, but five of those losses have been in one score games, so this team is capable of hanging around for 60 minutes if you allow them to. Luckily, this Louisville team has played exceptionally well at home and they believe they can beat anyone at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.

Louisville started slow on offense to begin the game. Virginia was prepared to limit big run plays by stacking the box, but Jawhar Jordan continues to make big plays and he took off for 42 yards to get the offense rolling. They fought their way into the red zone and capped off a nice drive with a four yard touchdown pass from Jack Plummer to tight end Joey Gatewood.

After the Cardinals went up one score, it was time for the defense to showcase why they’ve been one of the best in the country. They started off getting a ton of pressure like they normally do, making it difficult for Virginia to move the ball down the field. The Cavaliers freshman quarterback Anthony Colandrea was able to display some dual threat abilities at times, but no drive was sustained in the entire first half, because this defense got big stop after big stop on third down to force multiple punts and a missed field goal from 42 yards away.

Louisville had problems of their own on offense in the first half, as they still weren’t in rhythm. Virginia’s defense wasn’t playing perfect, but they came with a good game plan to slow this offense down and it was successful. They held Louisville to one offensive touch drive in the first half, and they were down 7-0 all the way up until the last few minutes of the second quarter.

Punter Brady Hodges had a nice punt that pinned the Cavaliers inside the five-yard line and this defense didn’t allow them to get out of the end zone, forcing a quick three and out for Virginia. On fourth down Virginia lined up to punt the ball inside their own end zone and Louisville was already close to getting their hands on one earlier in the game. The special teams was able to get through the line and tip the punt in the air and Jimmy Calloway was in the perfect position to score an easy touchdown that put the Cardinals up 14-0 just before the half.

Louisville wasn’t playing its best in the first half by any means, but they were still up by two scores with all the momentum going into the third quarter. However, the Cardinals went on to have an abysmal start of the second half and the woes continued throughout the entire quarter. Virginia’s offense started to find success in the passing game and suddenly they were moving the ball down the field against Louisville’s great defense. The Cavaliers got all the way down to the one-yard line and they went on to score a touchdown on a fake quarterback sneak to make it a one score game again.

Jeff Brohm knew he had to get some points on the board, because this Virginia team kept hanging around all game. Jack Plummer dropped back to pass and threw a terrible pick-six that made it a tie game at 14 just like that. He’s the team’s biggest question mark in every single game it seems. Will he be able to make big plays when Louisville’s run game isn’t having a good game. It has yet to be determined and he’ll have to make all the throws against a stout Florida State team. After another punt from Louisville, the Cavaliers had a chance to take the lead and that’s exactly what they did, but in an unusual way. They fumbled near the right sideline and it was recovered by their receiver Malik Washington who took it all the way to the house to put Virginia up 21-14 at the end of the third quarter.

The Cardinals had their back against the wall at home and they had to get rolling to keep their ACC championship hopes alive. They quickly forgot about the last quarter and they scored 17 timely points in the fourth quarter after big plays from Louisville’s struggling offense. Both teams exchanged field goals and Louisville was set to get the ball back with scoring a touchdown being the only thing on their minds. Jeff Brohm put his offense in positions to succeed and when it mattered, they executed. Jack Plummer had time in the pocket and he delivered a 52-yard bomb to a wide open Amari Huggins-Bruce that made it a tie ball game. Finally, this offense was able to score a touchdown and it came when the pressure was on them.

Virginia had the opportunity to take the lead again, but the ACC’s top defense was suffocating their offense. They didn’t have any success running or throwing the ball late and they had no choice but to give the ball back to Louisville on fourth and long. Trying to take the lead, the Cardinals now had to show why they’re ranked number 11th in the entire country. They handed the ball off to backup running back Isaac Guerendo on the first play of the drive and he took off downfield for a 73-yard touchdown run to put Louisville back up 31-24. He was the star in last Saturday’s game and he came up clutch in tonight’s win. The Cavaliers had one last chance to try and force overtime on the road. Louisville’s defense was relentless the entire fourth quarter and they forced another stop on fourth down to seal the victory at home.

Even after a terrible quarter, this team has the ability to get into another gear and when they execute at that level it’s tough to beat them. Virginia put up a great fight tonight, but the Cardinals took the game over late, showing their resiliency and championship mentality. Louisville is still in control of their own destiny and tonight’s win almost locks up their spot in the conference title game.

Louisville will be back in action next Saturday against Miami on the road at 12 P.M. (ET).