DALLAS (FWAA) – In front of the largest crowd ever at L&N Stadium, the Louisville Cardinals outpaced No. 10 Notre Dame in a high-scoring second half for a 33-20 win. For pushing its overall win streak to seven games in their first 6-0 start since 2013, the Cardinals earned the Cheez-It National Team of the Week for games the weekend of Oct. 7, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the fourth time for Louisville to earn the national team of the week honor from the FWAA. Louisville forced five turnovers, its first time with five or more takeaways since it took eight vs. Wake Forest on Oct. 29, 2022, which is also the last time the Cardinals earned the national team of the week award.
Running back Jawhar Jordan rushed for 143 yards on 21 carries and scored on runs of 45 and 21 yards in front of the capacity crowd of 59,081. It was Jordan’s eighth career 100-yard rushing game and just two yards shy of his career high. Brock Travelstead made four field goals, three of them in a 16-point fourth quarter that put the game away for Louisville. Safety Devin Neal had two interceptions to go with eight tackles and a pass breakup.
"This was a huge victory for this team. A huge victory for this fan base. We felt them all week. I read Twitter (X) a little bit and they were ready to go. They expected to win. They came ready to win,” head coach Jeff Brohm said. “We are happy to be where we are at because it is a big win and we want to enjoy it. That is what excites us all. So of course, that is what I told the team, once you win a game like that the bar goes from here up to here. We want to enjoy it and relax and be around family and friends.”
Louisville pushes its home winning streak to eight games, tied for the seventh longest in program history and the longest since 2016.
The Cardinals play at Pitt at 6:30 pm ET Saturday on the CW.
Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2023 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Cheez-It "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Oct. 7 were:
- Georgia Tech (3-3): The Yellow Jackets won in improbable fashion as Paul Moala forced a fumble that was recovered by Kyle Kennard at Georgia Tech’s 26-yard line with 26 seconds remaining. Haynes King then marched Tech 74 yards in four plays, capped by a 44-yard touchdown pass to Christian Leary with one second left to win it, 23-20, over previously-unbeaten and No. 17-ranked Miami at Hard Rock Stadium. Tech’s defense forced five turnovers.
- Oklahoma (6-0): Quarterback Dillon Gabriel tossed a three-yard pass to Nic Anderson with 15 seconds left for a touchdown, the last of a series of highlight back-and-forth plays as the No. 12 Sooners topped the No. 3 Longhorns in their final Red River Rivalry game as Big 12 members. "Just proud of everyone coming together, controlling the chaos," Gabriel said. "It's something you dream of as a little kid,” said Gabriel, who missed last year’s 49-0 loss to Texas, came up big with 285 passing yards and 113 more on the ground.
- Wyoming (5-1): The Cowboys ended Fresno State’s 14-game win streak with a 24-19 win in Laramie, claiming a second win over a top-25 team in the same season for the first time since 2016. Wyoming’s defense held Fresno State more than 100 yards below its season average (324), allowing Andrew Peasley to manage the game with 183 passing yards and three touchdowns. Wyoming’s 24 points and 22 first downs in the first half were season-highs.
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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,100 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.
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2023 FWAA All-America Committee
Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman (Chair)
Travis L. Brown, Bryan-College Station Eagle
Ken Capps, Freelance
Angelique Chengelis, Detroit News
Brett Ciancia, Pick Six Previews
Scott Dochterman, The Athletic
Scott Farrell, collegepressbox
Bryan Fischer, FOX Sports
John Hoover, All Sooners
Mike Huguenin, Freelance
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Nate Mink, Syracuse Post-Standard
Ben Portnoy, The State
Tony Siracusa, Last Word on College Football
Phil Steele, Phil Steele Publications
Dusty Thibodeaux, WarhawkReport.com
Ryan Thorburn, Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune
John Wagner, County News Review (Minn.)
Jon Wilner, Bay Area News Group