#2 Miami Hurricanes upset by Louisville Cardinals

Entering “Hard Rock Stadium” into Apple Maps, I was on my way to watch what would turn out to be an epic showdown. Earlier in the week, I’d reached out to a player on the Louisville Cardinals to see if I could get tickets for Friday night’s game. Once they were secured, the mission was simple — get ready for what felt like a potential upset.

Funny enough, while I was arranging tickets, I was told not to wear anything representing Miami’s brand colors. That should’ve been my first sign of what was coming.

After leaving work around 2 p.m. on Friday (with a little mystery item in hand), I was excited. Most people probably had Miami winning easily — after all, they were ranked #2 in the country.

But when your brother is on the field, you always believe an upset is possible.

That brother just happened to be Louisville’s own Mahamane Moussa.

If you’d been watching the Cardinals’ last couple of games against Pitt and Virginia, you’d have seen the resilience of this team. They had to fight back in both — and that kind of toughness builds confidence. Against Miami, they didn’t just fight back — they set the tone from start to finish.

On the very first drive, after a 9-yard completion to Chris Bell, Mahamane (playing right guard) pulled left to open a lane for Isaac Brown’s 28-yard run. One play later, quarterback Miller Moss punched it in for a 1-yard rushing touchdown.

By the time I made it into the stadium — after getting the complete runaround from staff who

didn’t know where the visitors’ section was — Louisville was already up 14–0.

Here’s the funny part: my cousin Saikou and I were walking around Hard Rock Stadium carrying a Rock Hard Epoxy Football trophy. For context, I work at Xtreme Polishing Systems, an epoxy company, and earlier that week I had an idea to make a football covered entirely in gold epoxy.

When I shared it with our owner, Christopher Lavin, he said, “I’ve got two footballs in my trunk.” By Thursday, I was working with Rebecca, one of our artists, who asked, “What color?” I didn’t hesitate — “Gold.”

We used Arizona Gold to create the world’s first-ever Golden Epoxy Football — and yes, we brought it to Hard Rock Stadium. After a long escort and plenty of confusion, we finally found our seats. The score: 14–7, Louisville.

The biggest play of the night for me came just before halftime. Tayon Halloway made a touchdown-saving tackle that forced Miami to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Carter Davis. That moment felt like a turning point — the Cardinals never looked back.

It was an amazing experience attending the game with Saikou, especially since I also got to link up with my boss Christopher at the stadium. We vlogged the entire trip — from the game itself to me losing my wallet, waiting for shakes at Sonic, and just soaking in every moment.

But my favorite part? Watching my brother Mahamane walk out of Hard Rock Stadium after taking down the #2 team in the country — looking like an absolute rockstar. Even cooler? He was filming us through his Ray-Ban intelligent glasses.

I need that footage, bro.

Go Cards!