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Louisville football makes big jump in AP Top 25 poll after beating Notre Dame

Kentucky fell to 24th following a loss at No. 1 Georgia.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville football team made a statement Saturday night with their 33-20 win over No. 10 Notre Dame, and it appears the college football world noticed.

The Cardinals (6-0, 3-0 ACC) were ranked No. 14 Sunday in the latest AP Top 25 college football poll, moving up 11 spots from the previous week. UofL is 6-0 for the first time since quarterback Teddy Bridgewater led the team to that start in 2013.

"We're happy to be where we're at because it is a big win," head coach Jeff Brohm said after the game. "But like I told the team, once you win a game like that, the bar goes from here up to here. People can say what they want after winning the game, but every week in college football, if you don't come ready to play, you're not going to win. So we'll get back to work."

This is the highest Louisville has been ranked in the AP poll since reaching No. 14 in 2017. It was the fourth time a Brohm-coached team knocked off a top 10 opponent in their last six opportunities.

Running back Jawhar Jordan ran for a career-high 143 yards, scoring on 45- and 21-yard runs on consecutive second-half possessions. 

The Fighting Irish converted Cam Hart's fumble recovery into a 10-7 lead on Spencer Schrader's 53-yard field goal midway through the third quarter before the Cardinals answered with Brock Travelstead's 44-yarder. Jordan took over from there with explosive runs.

Jordan followed Amari Huggins-Bruce's 19-yard run with a quick burst through the right side before finding another gear near the 20 to elude defenders for the go-ahead score at 17-10. Schrader's 54-yard field goal got Notre Dame to 17-13, but Jordan answered with another big run.

Jordan appeared to hit the hole even faster on his second scoring run early in the fourth, going virtually untouched to make it 24-13.

Notre Dame turned the ball over on downs and Travelstead added his third field goal from 45 yards for the 17-point cushion. He followed with a 35-yarder late in the fourth to seal it. 

UofL played in front of a stadium-record 59,081 fans. Many of them -- including Louisville rapper Jack Harlow -- stormed the field after the final whistle.

"The crowd was awesome, especially when we were on defense," quarterback Jack Plummer said. "Just making it hard on Notre Dame's offense to run plays and on third down, it really makes a difference. Just to see the stadium full, it was so awesome. It was one of the best environments I've ever played in."

Louisville will hit the road next weekend to take on Pittsburgh (1-4, 0-2). Kickoff is set for Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Kentucky (5-1, 2-1 SEC) fell to No. 24 after getting blown out 51-14 by No. 1 Georgia.

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