Louisville football wins at Miami for first time ever to clinch spot in ACC title game

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jeff Brohm was out to make history.

It’s why he returned home to coach at Louisville, his alma mater.

And with an opportunity to accomplish the feat, the ninth-ranked Cardinals did just that. Louisville played another close game on the road and beat Miami, 38-31, on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. It’s the first time the Cardinals have won on the Hurricanes’ home field, earning the program’s first trip to the ACC championship game in the first year where the conference doesn’t have divisions.

U of L will play fourth-ranked Florida State for the league’s crown. The two were previously in the Atlantic Division together and have played every season since Louisville joined the league in 2014.

Brohm is the first coach to lead teams to different Power Five conference championship games in back-to-back seasons after taking Purdue to the Big Ten championship last year. He's also set to receive another contract extension for reaching 10 wins and will make $7 million in 2030.

This is U of L's seventh 10-win season, and first as a member of the ACC, as it improved to 1-6-1 on the Hurricanes’ home field. The Cardinals had to shake off their struggles on the road — their lone loss came at Pitt and they needed a field goal to win at N.C. State — to get the job done.

Had the Cardinals lost, they still could've made the conference title game, but would've had to rely on other teams in the league.

"We wanted to go in the ACC championship game with a win, and we wanted to decide it that way," Brohm said. "It wasn't the perfect game, but to see our guys fight back and to do a lot of different things to help us score and to get points and to get momentum was great."

Defense came up strong once again with cornerback Quincy Riley’s pass breakup in the end zone forcing a turnover on downs late in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals scored 15 points in the final frame to record the win after trailing, 28-23. Quarterback Evan Conley contributed a 5-yard touchdown run for his first score since 2019.

The Cardinals found other unlikely players to help with their scoring as offensive lineman Trevonte Sylvester recorded his first career touchdown. U of L also used its tight ends more with Nate Kurisky recording a 2-yard touchdown pass to open the game. Earlier in the drive, Kurisky converted on fourth-and-2 with a 23-yard grab from quarterback Jack Plummer. He finished with 50 yards on five catches in the Cardinals’ victory.

"The tight ends will always be utilized in this offense, but we've just gotta wait for our time to come," Kurisky said. "Coach Brohm always talks about whenever your time is called on, you step up and make the play. He said that right before the game, so I really took that to heart, went out there and did that."

Brohm also made in-game changes to help give the team a boost. Maurice Turner and Isaac Guerendo became more of a factor on special teams, combining for 70 yards on kickoff returns. Turner's 50-yard first-quarter kickoff return gave Louisville good field position on a drive that ended with Guerendo's 12-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14. With Jawhar Jordan, who reached 1,000 rushing yards on the season in the game, nursing a hamstring injury, Guerendo has been key for the Cardinals over the past month. He scored his fifth touchdown in three games against Miami.

Brohm also made special teams changes, benching Nick Lopez for Brock Travelstead, who missed a 25-yard field goal and an extra point during the first half of the game. Lopez responded by nailing a 40-yard field goal in his first attempt for Louisville, putting the team ahead, 23-20, to start the third quarter.

"Brock is a really good kicker, tough young man," Brohm said. "He's just kind of struggled a little bit here lately. I just think sometimes we have other people working hard. We decided to go with someone else, (Lopez) did a really good job. He's practice well. That doesn't mean we won't go back to Brock."

With an ACC championship berth and the first-ever win at Miami in hand, getting to take home the inaugural Howard Schnellenberger Trophy was simply the icing on the cake in the Cardinals' historic day.

"(Schnellenberger) gave a lot to our University of Louisville. He gave a lot to Miami," Brohm said. "He's given a lot to a lot of other places. And, I just think because of it, all these programs are better, and because of it, all these programs are relevant. ... He's missed by all of us, but we carry on his legacy. I think both schools really played a hard football game and luckily, we came out on top."

Louisville returns home to play Kentucky next week for a chance to win back the Governor’s Cup for the first time since 2017.

C.L. Brown: Jeff Brohm leading Louisville football to first ACC title game is worth celebration

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

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville vs Miami football: Jeff Brohm to 2023 ACC Championship Game