Emmet Kenney kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired to lift host Stanford to a 38-35 upset of No. 19 Louisville on Saturday.
The senior’s heroics led to the crowd rushing to the field and snapped a six-game losing skid for the Cardinal (3-7, 2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference). It also capped a sensational comeback for Stanford, which trailed by 14 with less than 10 minutes remaining.
The game-winning kick was set up after Louisville (6-4, 4-3) turned it over on downs at the Stanford 45 with 5 seconds left. Louisville then committed unsportsmanlike conduct and offsides penalties to get Kenney closer.
Stanford got a season-high 298 yards passing and three touchdowns from Ashton Daniels, while freshman receiver Emmett Mosley V had 13 catches for 168 yards and three TDs.
Mosley caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Justin Lamson on a fourth-and-1 with 45 seconds left to tie the game.
Louisville appeared to have the game in hand after a 5-yard touchdown run from Duke Watson to make it 35-21 with 9:44 left. It was part of a career day for the true freshman, who stepped up after leading rusher Isaac Brown left with a shoulder injury in the first quarter.
Watson ran for 117 yards and three scores on 11 carries for the Cardinals, who rallied and appeared to take control of the game in the second half.
Stanford jumped out early. Gaethan Bernadel intercepted a Tyler Shough pass at the Louisville 25 thanks to a Zach Rowell deflection, and that led to a 41-yard field goal by Emmet Kenney.
After forcing a three and out, Daniels connected with Mosley for a 62-yard touchdown to give the hosts a 10-0 lead with 6:12 left in the opening quarter.
Watson’s 5-yard touchdown with 4:06 left in the first half gave the Cardinals their first lead at 14-13. He added a 68-yard touchdown with 4:48 left in the third quarter to extend the lead to 28-13.
According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, Brown suffered a shoulder contusion while being tackled on his second carry in the first quarter. The true freshman entered Saturday with the third-best rushing average in FBS at 7.6 yards per carry.
Shough finished 26-of-39 passing for 270 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Chris Bell caught nine of those passes for 112 yards and one score, while JaCorey Brooks made nine receptions for 104 yards.
