Saturday's game between Wake Forest and Louisville was very personal for Demon Deacons running back Matt Colburn II.
For his entire senior year of high school, Colburn had been committed to Louisville. Then, in 2015, he was told by Louisville the university had pulled his scholarship offer, fewer than 48 hours before National Signing Day. The Cardinals wanted him to grayshirt, basically a delayed scholarship that would have kept him from joining the program — or enrolling at the university — until the season had already ended.
MORE: Week 9 scores, highlights
Colburn ended up accepting an offer from Wake Forest, and now, as a senior, he's getting his full revenge on the team that spurned him. In Saturday's game, he exploded for a 74-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and celebrated by trolling Louisville fans with their "L" hand.
Colburn continued to dominate, rushing for 243 yards — a new career high. He also finished with three touchdowns, all on just 20 carries (12.1 ypc).
After the game, he admitted this was personal.
"Naturally it’s obviously going to heighten things. Just for me and my situation. I think after my freshman year, I just wanted to get rid of the whole revenge narrative because if it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t be at Wake," Colburn said, via The State. "I’m just so blessed and I thank God. But it definitely is personal and it’s really just the icing on the cake just to go out like this and to get our season rolling again."
This isn't the first time Colburn has faced Louisville. In fact, he has played against the Cardinals in all four of his years (winning his first game in 2017). Last season, he set a then-career high 134 yards against the Cardinals.
Heading into the game, Colburn had 360 rushing rushing and two touchdowns.
