Louisville outgained Boston College 369-79 in total yardage, but a handful of costly miscues left Cardinal fans holding their collective breath in the final minutes of a 17-14 win over the Eagles on Homecoming.
A week after being widely criticized for their second half performance against Florida State, the Louisville defense was dominant. The Cards notched eight sacks, held Boston College to -14 yards rushing, allowed just four first downs, and scored a defensive touchdown.
Watch Sheldon Rankins rumble for his first career touchdown: pic.twitter.com/IDxi7u7OLh
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) October 24, 2015
Unfortunately, the Cardinal offense was equally generous at times. Boston College finished with nine sacks of their own, 16 tackles for loss, four forced turnovers, and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. Toss in six false start penalties by the offensive line, and this becomes a game film that no one on the front five will be showing to their relatives.
Boston College's defense is good, we knew that, but the fact that so many of the Eagles' big plays were gifted to them by the Cardinals was disappointing. After playing perhaps their best game of the season against FSU, the offensive line once again will be a major topic of concern this week.
In the end, this was still a near must-have win for U of L's hopes of both making a bowl and having a second half of the 2015 season that spawns a great deal of optimism heading into the spring.
