Louisville won one play after a lot of people thought the Cardinals lost.
Jaylin Alderman returned a tipped Dillon Gabriel pass for a touchdown with 13 seconds left to give Louisville a 42-35 home upset win over UCF on Friday night. Alderman’s interception came a play after UCF’s Tre’mon Morris-Brash intercepted Louisville QB Malik Cunningham on a tipped pass with 25 seconds left.
Gabriel looked for Amari Johnson over the middle and the pass bounced off Johnson and up into the air. Alderman snagged it and he sprinted down the sideline for the game-winner.
UCF had all three timeouts and needed just a first down or two to get into safe field goal range for a potential game-winning kick and a 38-35 win. But that all changed after Gabriel’s pass bounced off Johnson’s arms. The interceptions Gabriel and Cunningham threw in the final seconds of the game were the first of the game.
Both quarterbacks were phenomenal for most of the game too. Gabriel accounted for all five of UCF’s TDs. He threw three, caught one and rushed for the game-tying score in the fourth quarter. Cunningham threw for 265 yards and rushed for 99 and had three total touchdowns. He stayed in the game in the fourth quarter despite having a visible limp.
Gabriel was injured on the final play of the game. UCF tried a lateral-filled play as a last-ditch attempt for a touchdown and Gabriel appeared to land awkwardly as he was tackled while trying to keep the play alive. He was down on the field as Louisville players rushed from their sideline to celebrate and was reportedly carted to the locker room.
Both teams are now 2-1 and hopefully neither quarterback’s injuries are too serious.