CARDINALS

Not 'finishing' stands out in U of L's losses

Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

"Finish" is a word that's come up quite a bit this season when University of Louisville football's coaches talk about their offense, mostly because the unit hasn't done it.

"We didn't finish the game the way we wanted to," U of L offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said. "With the lead like that and the lead late, we wanted to drive the ball."

Finishing, or a lack thereof, hurt Louisville (6-3) in its loss to Virginia back in September, and it came back on Thursday, when the Cardinals took a 21-0 lead on second-ranked Florida State only to concede a 42-31 loss to the reigning national champions.

Louisville running back Michael Dyer ran for 134 yards and three touchdowns, but only 39 of those yards came in the second half.

The Cards' offense sputtered when it mattered most, McGee said, and that's not going to cut it against elite competition like FSU or Clemson.

"This business is about finishing," McGee said. "They made more plays, more game-winning, clutch plays than we did."

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).