Bobby Petrino cost Louisville an easy win over Florida State with a bone-headed decision even for him.
Bobby Petrino has always been one of the most polarizing figures in sports, and the Louisville Cardinals head coach just gave college football fans yet another reason to make fun of him.
With two minutes left in the fourth quarter of an ACC Atlantic game against Florida State, Louisville had the ball on the opponent’s 21-yard line with a 24-21 lead. The game was theirs for the taking because all they needed to do was run down the clock after a seven-yard throw from Jawon Pass to Micky Crum netted the Cardinals a first down on 3rd-and-2
But instead of running down the clock and getting FSU to burn their two timeouts, Louisville elected to throw the football. And on that fateful 1st-and-10 on the 21-yard line, Pass tossed an interception to A.J. Westbrook.
Instead of running out the clock and potentially even taking a 27-21 lead on a field goal, Petrino gave Florida State one last chance to march down the field. Quarterback Deondre Francois shook off a mediocre performance to that point to help deliver the dagger to Petrino, as he hooked up with Nyqwan Murray for a game-winning 58-yard touchdown pass (Murray’s second of the game).
Just like that, Louisville blew the game 28-24, falling to 0-2 in ACC play and 2-3 overall. As of right now, Louisville and Georgia Tech are the only 0-2 teams in the ACC.
Petrino’s basic coaching blunder quite literally threw the game away for Louisville, as this team should have a winning record right now and could have defeated FSU if it weren’t for that snafu. This error comes a week after Petrino put the blame on himself for Louisville’s atrocious 27-3 loss to Virginia in their first ACC game of the season.
There is absolutely no doubt that Petrino is on the hot seat right now, and he’s embarrassed himself in two straight weeks. Following up a lifeless performance by blowing a game in the final minutes of the quarter with a textbook coaching mistake is a sure way to get yourself run out of town. If Louisville fails to show up against Boston College next week, it could be the beginning of a long season for Petrino and his team.