Louisville holds off Toledo in Boca Raton Bowl; Jeff Brohm declines comment on Michigan

Miller Moss threw for two touchdowns and Isaac Brown added two more on the ground to lead the Louisville Cardinals to a 27-22 victory over the Toledo Rockets on Tuesday in the Boca Raton Bowl.

On the field for the first time since Nov. 1, Brown scored twice in the fourth quarter. His first, an 11-yard run, gave the Cardinals (9-4) a 21-3 lead seven seconds into the final period. The sophomore added a 53-yarder with 5:03 remaining. However, Toledo's Avery Smith blocked the extra-point attempt by Cooper Ranvier and returned it for a two-point conversion to make it 27-16.

Brown, a sophomore running back, ran for 102 yards on just 10 carries. Keyjuan Brown, who also missed the final two weeks of the season, added 112 yards on 15 rushes. The Cardinals accumulated 180 yards on the ground, 100 coming in the final quarter.

"We found a way to run the ball," Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said during the trophy presentation ceremony. "We were a little more physical in the second half. We gave up a couple of big plays here and there in the second half, but that's football."

Louisville started the game with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that Moss capped with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Treyshun Hurry. After that score, which came with 10:26 left in the first quarter, the Cardinals gained just more 70 yards in the first half.

Toledo (8-5) managed only 126 yards in the half, with its only points coming on a 41-yard field goal by Robert Hammond III with 11 seconds left in the opening quarter. Penalties hurt the Rockets in the first half as they were assessed eight penalties totaling 65 yards.

The Rockets committed 14 penalties for 100 yards for the game.

Moss, a senior, completed 16 of 24 passes for 153 yards. He also threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Antonio Meeks with 3:40 left in the third quarter to make it 14-3. That drive came after Hammond missed a 41-yard field goal on the Rockets' first drive of the second half.

Kalieb Osborne, making his first start for the Rockets, threw for 167 yards and a score on 17-of-28 passing. He added a team-high 77 yards on the ground.

Chip Trayanum's 3-yard scoring run cut the Louisville lead to five points, 27-22, with 2:24 remaining. However, the 2-point pass was incomplete. Louisville rattled off four first downs to run out the clock.

Afterward, Brohm was asked whether the clock has run out on his three-year run as his alma mater's head coach. Specifically, he declined to comment on whether he or his representatives have had any contact with Michigan regarding its coaching vacancy.

"I don't speak on other jobs," he said. "I'm happy with this one and happy about the victory. We're going to enjoy that."

Brohm has been tied to the Wolverines' job since the school fired Sherrone Moore with cause earlier this month after an investigation found evidence of an inappropriate relationship with an employee of the football team.

With Tuesday's win, Brohm is 28-12 in his three years at Louisville. While he has directed several high-profile wins, such as a victory at then-No. 2 Miami earlier this season, his Louisville teams have also had several questionable losses, including stumbles at Pitt in 2023 and at Stanford last season.

This season, Louisville suffered a three-game losing streak in November that knocked the team out of College Football Playoff contention. That losing streak coincided with several key injuries on offense.

--Field Level Media