Louisville states its case with big win
N o. 5 Cardinals hold on in a game between unbeatens, with huge B CS implications .
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 3, 2006
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Welcome to the national championship hunt, Louisville.
Brian Brohm threw for 354 yards and a touchdown, and the fifth-ranked Cardinals took advantage of key mistakes by No. 3 West Virginia for an impressive 44-34 victory Thursday night that could give them an inside track to the Bowl Championship Series title game.
The win will likely lift Louisville (8-0, 3-0 Big East) to at least fourth in next week's BCS poll - it was fifth this week - and could be the springboard the Cardinals need to propel them into the national championship game if they run the table.
But first, they must get past another undefeated conference foe. Louisville plays at No. 15 Rutgers (8-0, 3-0) next Thursday night.
"Now the biggest game in Louisville history is this Rutgers game coming up," Brohm said.
After that, Louisville hosts USF on Nov. 18.
The Cardinals avenged last year's triple-overtime loss to West Virginia (7-1, 2-1) by returning a fumble and a punt for touchdowns during a pivotal three-minute stretch in the third quarter. Then, they delivered on their offseason motto to "finish."
West Virginia quarterback Pat White ran for 125 yards and four touchdowns and added 222 yards through the air. But he couldn't overcome three WVU turnovers and a relentless Louisville offense that racked up 468 yards and kept the Mountaineers on their heels.
Heisman Trophy hopeful Steve Slaton ran for 156 yards and a touchdown for West Virginia, but fumbled on consecutive snaps in the third quarter - apparently bothered by weakness in his left arm. Louisville's Malik Jackson returned the second one 13 yards for a score that gave the Cardinals a 23-14 lead, and Trent Guy added a 40-yard punt return four plays later, pushing Louisville's advantage to 30-16 with 9:23 left in the third.
And unlike last season - when the Mountaineers rallied from 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Cardinals 46-44 - there would be no miracle comeback.
Though White led the Mountaineers on a pair of touchdown drives to get them back in it, the Cardinals responded each time with a score. Brohm connected with Mario Urrutia on a 6-yard touchdown pass and Anthony Allen added a 5-yard touchdown run to keep the Cardinals safely in front.
Set back by their own mistakes, the Mountaineers couldn't keep pace as their school-record 14-game winning streak ended while a packed Papa John's Stadium crowd - clad mostly in black T-shirts that read "Beat WVU" - stormed the field.
It used to be that the largest crowds at Papa John's Stadium were parked there for the Kentucky Derby. The Twin Spires of Churchill Downs are just down the block.
But Louisville's move to the Big East has given the Cardinals a chance at the big time.
Louisville coach Bobby Petrino had taken a page from Penn State's "White-Out" crowds and requested that Cardinals fans come dressed in black, ringing the stadium in a "Black-Out." With the place holding 43,217, tickets were scarce and scalpers reportedly were getting hundreds and even into the thousands.
Urrutia finished with six catches for 113 yards and Harry Douglas caught six passes for 116 yards as Louisville seemingly did whatever it wanted on offense.
The Cardinals punted just twice and scored on all but three of their possessions as they extended their home winning streak to 16 straight and beat West Virginia for the first time since 1990.
West Virginia finished with 540 yards but put the ball on the ground six times, committed seven penalties and appeared a step behind most of the night.
Neither team looked comfortable playing on a national stage early on. The Cardinals dropped passes, tripped over their own feet in the open field and settled for field goals deep in West Virginia territory. The Mountaineers, meanwhile, couldn't hold onto the ball.
Louisville led 16-14 at halftime behind Art Carmody's three field goals and a 10-yard touchdown run by Allen as the Cardinals controlled the clock and did a good job of keeping Slaton and White off the field.
Army faces Air Force
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Air Force safety Bobby Giannini bristles at the memory of losing at home to Army.
"Last year hurt a lot," said Giannini, a junior.
A year ago, the Black Knights won in Falcon Stadium for the first time since 1977, holding on for a 27-24 victory. The score might as well have been 100-0 in the eyes of junior fullback Ryan Williams.
"Anytime somebody comes in and embarrasses you like they did last year on our home turf, we want to go out and pay them back a little," Williams said.
The Falcons (3-4) have won 15 of the past 17 meetings between the academies, and they can exact a measure of revenge when the archrivals meet tonight at West Point's Michie Stadium. Army (3-6) has lost three straight and needs to win out to earn a berth in the Poinsettia Bowl.