Emmet Kenney kicked a career-best 52-yard field goal as time expired to give Stanford a 38-35 win over No. 22 Louisville on Saturday, ending the Cardinal’s six-game losing streak.
Stanford (3-7, 2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) was trailing 35-21 in the fourth quarter but managed to tie the game with two touchdown passes from Emmett Mosley V. The second touchdown was a 25-yard pass from backup quarterback Justin Lamson with 45 seconds remaining.
After forcing Louisville (6-4, 4-3) to turn the ball over on downs, Stanford took possession at its own 45-yard line. The Cardinals were helped by two penalties: Louisville was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after a short swing pass, putting Stanford in position to attempt the game-winning field goal.
“I really felt comfortable in the moment,” Kenney said, who had also kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired against Syracuse on September 20. “We practice these moments all the time. We do pressure kicks throughout the summer, we try to prepare ourselves for this type of situation.”
Kenney had already made field goals from 41 and 24 yards earlier in the game. He initially lined up for a 57-yard kick, but Louisville’s Quincy Riley was called for being offside, which moved the ball 5 yards closer. Kenney then nailed the 52-yard attempt to give Stanford its first win over a Top 25 team since defeating No. 3 Oregon in 2021.
“It was just a matter of making sure I stayed calm,” Kenney said.
Kenney’s kick was his second field goal of 50 yards or longer this season. Before the kick, Stanford coach Troy Taylor briefly spoke with Kenney. “The only thing I said to Emmettt was, ‘Can you make it?’” Taylor said. “And he was like, ‘I’ll nail it.’”
Ashton Daniels passed for 298 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to Mosley, who had 13 catches for 168 yards.
Louisville’s Tyler Shough threw for 270 yards and a touchdown, while Duke Watson rushed for 117 yards and three touchdowns, including a 68-yard touchdown run in the third quarter following a blocked punt.
Watson, a freshman, became Louisville’s main running back after Isaac Brown was injured in the first half and didn’t return.
“A lot of silly things happened throughout the game that cost us,” said Louisville coach Jeff Brohm. “It really happened throughout the entire game, not just at the end. That’s on me. We’ve got to have more discipline. We gave in at the end and did some really dumb things, so we didn’t deserve to win.”
