42 - 28 
6 Weeks ago, Louisville was 10-1, and a dark horse playoff team. Then there was a disastrous 2nd half to an average Kentucky team that sent Louisville to 10-2. The Cardinals never recovered. They couldn’t put up an an offensive TD against FSU, and then against USC in the Holiday Bowl, their defense was shredded to pieces by a backup QB in a 42-28 loss.
This sums up Louisville’s season.
Winning 10 games, making the ACC Championship, and finishing in the top 20 is a really good season.
Losing the last three games of the season in the manner you did takes a lot of shine off of said season.
— Louisville Sports Live (@LvilleSprtsLive) December 28, 2023
In short, Louisville became 2022 North Carolina who started the year 9-1 only to lose their final 4 games for a 9-5 finish.
Once it starts going sideways it can go south fast.
Louisville at 10-1 showed the potential of the program. The 0-3 finish showed how far the program still has to go. They need to get better at quarterback. QB Jack Plummer was inconsistent at best, and by the end of the year, he was just bad. Issues in the secondary have to be answered. The defensive line has to be more physical and more disruptive.
In the end, Louisville exceeded expectations no matter what, and you can’t take that away from the Cardinals, but the lapses they managed to overcome most of the year could no longer be masked late in the year.
