Louisville football shows grit as it begins Jeff Brohm era with win over Georgia Tech

ATLANTA — Jeff Brohm wanted grit.

In Year 1 of his tenure with Louisville, the Cardinals’ native son emphasized his desire for a style of play that isn’t always pretty. And that’s what he got.

After struggling to reach the end zone in the first half, Louisville rallied in the final two quarters to beat Georgia Tech 39-34 on Friday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The win put Brohm at 1-0 as Louisville’s coach. It was also the program’s first season-opening victory since 2020.

"As everyone saw, it was a tough football game for our team, for sure, so that was disappointing," Brohm said. "But that's how college football works. ... We found a way to coach better in the second half and have a better plan and some adjustments.

"It took everything to win. We have a long ways to go, but like I told (the team), every college football game is going to be like that. If you're not ready for that, you might as well not show up for the game."

Louisville won the opening coin toss and deferred, which came in handy after a disappointing first half ended with Georgia Tech up 28-13. Louisville’s Brock Travelstead, perfect on his first four collegiate field goal attempts, hit a field goal at the end of the first series to cut the deficit to 12 and kickstart the comeback.

Quarterback Jack Plummer shook off a rocky start to throw a touchdown on the next drive to make it 28-23. The Yellow Jackets threatened to score but missed a 33-yard field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and Louisville took a 29-28 lead midway through the period on a 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jamari Thrash.

Georgia Tech drove down the field on the next drive, and just when the Cardinals’ defense committed what appeared to be two costly mistakes late in the fourth quarter — a pair of penalties, holding and offsides — defensive lineman Dez Tell forces a late fumble and fellow lineman Kam Wilson was there to scoop it up.

Running back Jawhar Jordan picked up where he left off last year and took the ball 74 yards for the touchdown with less than five minutes to go, putting the Cardinals up 36-28. Louisville had a stop on the next drive and Travelstead followed with a 38-yard field goal to make it an 11-point lead with 2:35 to go.

Still, the Yellow Jackets weren’t finished. Georgia Tech drove down the field and made it 39-34 with 1:07 to go, missing a two-point conversion.

The Cardinals recovered an ensuing onside kick, though, icing the victory.

Louisville’s prosperous second half was a stark contrast from the opening half, where the Cardinals only reached the end zone once and Plummer went 2-for-7 in the first quarter. The defense gave up 28 points to Georgia Tech in the second quarter alone.

Plummer finished 18-of-31 for 247 yards and three touchdowns. Thrash led the receivers with seven receptions for 88 yards and two scores, while Jordan had 96 yards, which put him at 1,005 career rushing yards, and a touchdown on seven carries. Wide receiver Kevin Coleman also had three catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Louisville (1-0) opens L&N Stadium against Murray State at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

C.L. Brown: Jeff Brohm shows why he was right person to lead Louisville football in come-from-behind win

Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Alexis_Cubit.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville vs Georgia Tech football: Jeff Brohm begins tenure with win