2002 game recaps. Kentucky 22 Louisville 17. Papa John s Cardinal Stadium Louisville, Ky. TEAM STATISTICS INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

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1 Kentucky 22 Louisville 17 Papa John s Cardinal Stadium Louisville, Ky. Kentucky Louisville UK Simms 64-yd pass from Lorenzen (T Begley kick) - 3 plays, 65 yds (0.56) UK Begley 41-yd field goal 9 plays, 39 yds (3:38) UK Pinner 8-yd run (PAT blocked) - 5 plays, 18 yds (2:03) LOU Ghent 2-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 14 plays, 80 yds (3:40 LOU Clark 100-yd kickoff return (Smith kick) LOU Smith 24-yd field goal 12 plays, 84 yds (5:38) UK Begley 32-yd field goal 10 plays, 45 yds (4:49) UK Begley 31-yd field goal 9 plays, 25 yds (3:52) UK LOU First downs Rushed-yards Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 34:32 25:28 Kentucky - Pinner , Bwenge 3-5-0, Johnson 1-1-0, Team 1-(-3)-0, Lorenzen 9-(-12)-0. Louisville - Ragone , Gates 8-8-0, Patterson Kentucky - Lorenzen Louisville - Ragone Kentucky - Abney , Pinner , Simms , Cook , Bernard , Drobney , Johnson Louisville - Dorsey , Spillman , Ghent , Patterson 2-7-0, Jones 2-6-0, Russell , Glenn , Gates The University of Kentucky football team, depleted in numbers and pounded by NCAA probation, brought a few good men into Papa Johnís Cardinal Stadium last night and, on the site of a former railyard, derailed what had been viewed as the most promising season in University of Louisville history. The final score records what might have been the most painful night in U of L football history: Wildcats 22, Cardinals 17. No. 17-ranked U of L came into the game with Bowl Championship Series aspirations. For the Cards last night, BCS stood for this: battered, confused and stunned. The UK defense brought its own version of the Big Blue Line before a crowd of 42,660, the largest in stadium history. The Catsí front four of Dewayne Robertson, Jeremy Caudill, Otis Grigsby and Ellery Moore manhandled an inexperienced U of L offensive line and banged Heisman Trophy candidate Dave Ragone unmercifully, registering 19 knockdowns and three sacks. After the game, UK coach Guy Morriss and his players celebrated at midfield to the strains of the UK fight song. Morriss, just before taking possession of the traveling Governorís Cup, was embraced by new athletic director Mitch Barnhart. Close by in the celebration was Jared Lorenzen. The 275-pound junior quarterback always has been a big presence; last night he came up big in leadership. He directed a gutty nine-play drive for a field goal after U of L had taken its first lead of the game at in the third quarter and guided an offense that, while not overpowering, was mistake-free. Lorenzen completed 13 of 27 passes for 195 yards, and running back Artose Pinner banged out 87 rushing yards on 28 carries against a U of L defense that fought a losing battle to field position most of the night. The U of L offense, known as the teamís strength under head coach John L. Smith, never got rolling because of offensive line struggles. The Cards rushed for 55 yards in 24 attempts, and 47 came from Ragone. The Cardinalsí two running backs -- Lionel Gates and T.J. Patterson -- totaled just 8 yards on 11 attempts. After opening the season with their highest preseason ranking ever, the Cards now must regroup for three straight road games -- including one at red-hot Colorado State -- before a home matchup with Florida State on Sept. 26. U of L, which was a 12-point favorite last night, will visit Duke on Saturday. The question marks U of L had before the game did not produce answers. The offensive line struggled as it had in the preseason. And inexperienced receivers had difficulty getting open against an aggressive secondary. The Wildcats, meanwhile, kept the Cards pinned in poor field position and avoided the back-breaking mistakes that have plagued them in the past. After its first possession, U of L never started a drive outside its 25-yard line. The Cards had only 9 yards of offense in the first quarter. UK, meanwhile, struck on its second series. Lorenzen lofted a screen to wide receiver Ernest Simms with U of L defensive tackle Scott Lopez flying in the quarterbackís face. Simms found a seam and sped 64 yards for the touchdown. UK had its confidence -- and all of the momentum. While the Cards could get no offense going, the Wildcats drove nine plays and 39 yards to a 41-yard field goal by Taylor Begley, and they led 10-0 with 4:32 left in the first quarter. The defensive heat UK was putting on Ragone paid off with points midway through the second quarter. Claude Sagaille poked the ball loose on a Ragone scramble, then recovered it at the U of L 18-yard line with 6:01 left. Five plays later, Pinner scampered 8 yards on a misdirection play to make it 16-0, although the extra-point kick was blocked. Facing a drive in which it desperately needed to do something, the U of L offense finally came to life, helped by UK penalties. After a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty, Ragone found J.R. Russell for a yard gain. On fourth-and-seven from the UK 43 with 1:18 left, Smith decided to go for it, and Ragone delivered a 29-yard completion to Damien Dorsey on the sideline. After a 7-yard Ragone run set up a fourth-and-three at the UK 7 yard line with 43 seconds left, Smith again elected to go for it instead of taking the field-goal attempt. Ragone again delivered, completing a 5-yard pass to Tiger Jones that set up a 2-yard TD pass to Ronnie Ghent on third down. The Cards went into the half down 16-7, looking for answers. Redshirt freshman Broderick Clark gave them one on the second-half kickoff. He took the kick 4 yards deep in the end zone and skirted all the way to what officially was a 100- yard return, just the forth in U of L history. After a UK drive stalled in five plays, U of L drove 84 yards, aided by two holding calls against the Wildcats, to a 24-yard field goal by Nate Smith that gave the Cards their first lead at It may have had a familiar look to Wildcats fans -- early promise gives way to a lead slipping away and a second-half slide. But that didnít happen. This time Lorenzen showed poise in guiding the Wildcats 45 yards in 10 plays. Instead of a back-breaking mistake, Lorenzen brought the Cats some backbone. Back-to-back completions to Derek Abney (10 yards) and Chris Bernard (17 yards) put the Cats at the U of L 17 to set up a 32-yard field goal by Begley that put the Cats up Turnovers have played a large role in the recent series, but the biggest one last night may have been one that did not materialize. With 13:19 left in the game, a Wade Tydlacka punt landed among three UK players and Cardinals cover man J.T. Haskins. In replays, the ball appeared to glance off the leg of UKís Antoine Huffman before being recovered by U of L. But the replays were not clear whether the ball bounced off Haskins first. Officials held a lengthy discussion before ruling the ball hadnít hit a UK player, and the Wildcats maintained possession over Smithís protests. Four plays later, on third-and-17 from the UK 15-yard line, Lorenzen found Tommy Cook for a 31-yard completion. The Cats wound up punting, and Anthony Floyd, the nationís career interception leader, muffed it. The Wildcats recovered, but a 34-yard field-goal try sailed wide right and U of L still trailed by only two. But UK battered Ragone on U of Lís next series, which went three-and-out, and the Cats drove a short field to a 31- yard Begley field goal with 4:09 left. A Mike Williams interception -- off a tipped ball by Earven Flowers, with 3:09 left, sealed UKís victory. The Catsí secondary, considered a possible weak link, stayed with receivers despite the blitzes, several times forcing Ragone to eat the ball or throw it away even when he had time. Ragone, visibly weakened by gameís end, finished 14 for 39 for 193 yards with one touchdown and an interception. The Cards managed one last stab when Ragone hit Dorsey as time expired. Dorsey broke free around midfield and pitched to Patterson, who stumbled to the UK 41 before going down. And the UK celebration was on.

2 Louisville 40 Duke 3 Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, N.C. Louisville Duke LOU Lopez safety LOU Ghent 4-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 11 plays, 45 yds (4:25) LOU Smith 20-yd field goal 12 plays, 51 yds (6:13) LOU Spillman 38-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 1 play, 38 yds (0:06) LOU Johnson 27-yd blocked punt return (Smith kick) DU Garber 48-yd field goal 7 plays, 55 yds (2:05) LOU Miller 42-yd run (Smith kick) - 2 plays, 46 yds (0:43) LOU Ghent 2-yd pass from LeFors (Smith kick) - 7 plays, 38 yds (3:21) LOU DU First downs 21 8 Rushed-yards Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 34:14 25:46 Louisville - Miller , Gates , Ragone , Patterson , Clark Duke - Dargan , Douglas , Wade , Dapolito 8-8-0, Smith 4-(-30)-0. Louisville - Ragone , LeFors Duke - Smith , Dapolito Louisville - Ghent , Tinch , Spillman , Clark Duke - Sharpe , Wade , Dargan , Love , Powell 2-9-0, Douglas , Elliott , Roland To get to the field at Dukeís Wallace Wade Stadium, the University of Louisville football team had to emerge from a wooded area beyond the east end zone. The Cardinals took the field last night looking to ease the sting of last Sundayís upset loss to archrival Kentucky, and they left it after showing progress in a 40-3 victory over Duke. But they arenít out of the woods yet. U of L dominated the Blue Devils with defense, held a coming-out party for receivers Dontay Spillman, Joshua Tinch and Broderick Clark and ground its way to 222 rushing yards after a slow start. But the Cards also had some of the same problems that contributed to their loss to UK. Quarterback Dave Ragone was sacked four times, and three scores were nullified by penalties. U of L also turned the ball over four times without generating a Duke turnover. ìwe still have a long way to go,íí coach John L. Smith said. ìit should have been 70 (points). But we did some good things.... Weíve got to get a lot better. We did some crazy things, but it was a good, positive win. Everybody got to play.î The Cards will take a 1-1 record into Saturdayís showdown at No. 20 Colorado State. Duke fell to 1-1 after breaking its 23-game losing streak by beating East Carolina last weekend. Smith told his players during the week that he was on a quest for attitude. Toward that end, he installed Spillman and Tinch into primary receiving roles and made Jason Spitz and Will Rabatin the starting offensive guards. Spillman responded with five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. Tinch had six catches for 74 yards, and Clark had three for 43. Ragone shook off the cobwebs from the beating he took against UK to complete 23 of 34 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns, though he also threw a pair of interceptions. Two other TD passes were called back because of penalties. ìwe showed teams that you just canít sit back and zone us, because weíll throw effectively on it,íí the senior said. ìthey started to come after us a little more, but the line showed improvement. The line didnít miss many assignments. We missed some blocks, but we were a lot more solid and we mixed things up pretty well. This was progress for us. ì(after the UK game), I was hurting. Iíll be able to sleep tonight, so thatís an improvement.î The defense, meanwhile, was suffocating. In the first quarter U of L didnít allow a single yard of offense, a first down or a completion. Through three quarters the Cards held Duke to three first downs and minus-1 yard rushing on 21 carries. That forced Dukeís two quarterbacks to the air, and their inexperience showed. U of L registered six sacks, including two each by senior end Devon Thomas and senior safety Anthony Floyd - the first of his career. ìduke didnít even know we had another end,íí Thomas said. ìa couple of times they blocked Dewayne White with all five linemen. Thatís why everybody got a sack tonight. They had everybody blocking Dewayne, but we do have some other players.î The Cardsí defense started the scoring when Scott Lopez recorded a safety with his second career sack on Dukeís third play from scrimmage. That came after a 45-yard field goal by U of Lís Nate Smith was nullified by a delay-of-game penalty. 115 Ragone found a rhythm on the second drive, hitting Spillman for a couple of short gains before finding Tinch for an 18-yarder. He moved the Cards 45 yards in 11 plays, capped by a 4-yard TD pass to tight end Ronnie Ghent with 5:25 left that made it 9-0. Smith wanted to get Ghent more involved in the offense, and he did. The senior tight end caught 10 passes for 72 yards and two TDs. The Cards took control in the second quarter with a 12-play, 51-yard drive that ended with Smithís 20-yard field goal for a 12-0 lead. After Duke was stopped short on fourth-and-one at its 38-yard line, Ragone hit Spillman for a TD on the next play to make it Ragone narrowly missed the former Valley High School standout on a couple of other long passes. When Brandon Johnson blocked a punt and returned it 26 yards for a TD with 2:25 left, it was But those were the visitorsí last points for a while. The Cards lost a fumble and an interception in the third quarter, and Floyd fumbled a punt for the second straight week in the fourth. The Cards failed to create a turnover for a second straight week after leading the nation in turnovers forced the past two seasons. ìwe got pushed around pretty good tonight,íí Duke coach Carl Franks said. ìi thought weíd be stronger to keep them off our quarterbacks, and we just couldnít get it done. I didnít expect that from our offensive line.... Everything that could go wrong did go wrong with us. Our defense forced several turnovers, but we couldnít even take advantage of that.î The Cardsí running game produced only 13 yards on 10 first-quarter carries, but as the Duke defensive line wore down, the ground yards started to come. Until the fourth quarter, Ragone was U of Lís best ground threat, gaining 53 yards on four carries. But senior Henry Miller entered the game late and gave the running game a boost. He rambled 42 yards on a draw play for a touchdown and finished with 92 yards on 11 carries. The victory sets up a showdown against Colorado State next weekend in Fort Collins. Ragone said the Cards hope to repair their national reputation in the game. ìsure, itís on national television,íí he said. ìpeople are completely down on us, and thatís fine. We really just want the people who have been with us the whole time. ìthe bandwagon is gone, itís unhitched. Weíre definitely a team that wasnít used to it, and Iím glad we donít have it anymore. Weíre a lot better when people arenít focused on us and weíre the underdog and nobody cares about us.î

3 Louisville 33 Colorado State 36 Hughes Stadium ort Collins, Colo. Louisville Colorado State CS Sapp 1-yd run (Babcock kick) - 7 plays, 80 yds (3:50) LOU Miller 1-yd run (Smith kick) - 4 plays, 48 yds (1:27) LOU White 55-yd interception return (Smith kick) CS Sapp 12-yd run (Babcock kick) - 9 plays, 74 yds (4:28) CS Babcock 37-yd field goal - 9 plays, 29 yds (3:31) CS Babcock 42-yd field goal - 4 plays, 2 yards (0:52) CS Wynn 66-yd punt return (Babcock kick) CS Sapp 1-yd run (Babcock kick) - 8 plays, 83 yds (3:15) CS Babcock 44-yd field goal - 11 plays, 67 yds (5:02) LOU Tinch 22-yd pass from Ragone (Pass failed) - 12 plays, 84 yds (3:51) LOU Miller 1-yd run (Pass failed) - 4 plays, 40 yards (1:01) LOU Miller 2-yd run (Smith kick) - 2 plays, 2 yds (0:09) LOU CS First downs Rushed-yards Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 26:55 33:05 Louisville - Miller , Gates , Ragone 9-8-0, Patterson 1-(-8)-0. Colorado State - Sapp , Sanders , Walker , Van Pelt , Holland 1-(-5)-0. Louisville - Ragone Colorado State - Van Pelt , Holland Louisville - Ghent , Dorsey , Spillman , Tinch , Clark , Gates , Russell Colorado State - Sharpe , Wade , Dargan , Love , Powell 2-9-0, Douglas , Elliott , Roland The University of Louisville football team nearly pulled a victory out of thin air last night at Colorado State. With the Rams leading midway through the fourth quarter, a line of tail lights a mile long formed a traffic jam as contented fans tried to leave Hughes Stadium. But if they were listening on their car radios, they probably didnít believe what they were hearing. Think playing football at an altitude of 4,500 feet is breathtaking? Try this near-fantastic finish: The Cardinals struck for 19 points in a span of 1 minute, 41 seconds to pull within with just more than three minutes remaining. When they got the ball at their own 2-yard line with 2:12 left and quarterback Dave Ragone immediately completed passes of 13 and 16 yards, they looked destined to complete an astonishing comeback. It didnít happen. Three straight Ragone passes fell incomplete, and Colorado State, which dominated most of the game, escaped with a victory before what was left of a crowd of 31,607. For the Cards (1-2), a sense of offensive urgency came too late. They will enter Conference USA play with a losing record for the first time in coach John L. Smithís tenure. ìit was good that we came back - we could have been leaving here 36 to whatever it was,íí Smith said. ìbut the question we have to answer is did we really believe early in the game we could win? We didnít believe, or at least we didnít show it. ìand thatís preparation. Thatís me getting these guys ready, and that didnít take place. Itís my fault. Itís not those kidsí fault. We have to have more answers and a better plan from a coaching standpoint. They outcoached us.î U of L knew it was playing in a different time zone last night. It didnít expect it to be No. 24-ranked Colorado State (3-1) put on the kind of offensive show that U of L hasnít yielded since Smithís early days, piling up 470 yards - including 264 through the air - to manhandle a defense that had been respectable for two seasons. It was the most total yards against the Cards since they gave up 504 in a loss to Illinois last September. ìthey ran it all over us,íí Smith said. ìover us, around us, through us. Everywhere they wanted to. At times we firmed up and did some good things, but for the most part they controlled the game and took it to us. We were definitely not as good as they are.î The 9:30 p.m. EDT kickoff was the Cardsí latest this season and latest since a 1998 defeat at Utah. And it appeared they were pushing the snooze button for much of the game. When they finally woke up, it was just a bit too late. Howís this for a time difference? In the first half, Colorado State controlled the ball more than twice as long as the visitors. The Rams came out picking on sophomore cornerback Laroni Gallishaw, throwing in his direction on their first three passing plays. The first resulted in a 15- yard pass-interference penalty, the second went for a 36- yard completion and the third was a 13-yarder. In between, senior running back Cecil Sapp picked up where he left off against U of L in the 2000 Liberty Bowl. His first five carries totaled 59 yards, and his 1-yard touchdown run capped the Ramsí sevenplay, 80-yard opening drive. After the Cards went three-and-out, Sapp broke a 27-yard run on the next play, and Colorado State was on the march again. But that drive ended when U of L reacquainted itself with an old friend, the takeaway. Only Miami created more turnovers over the past two seasons, but the Cards hadnít gotten one this season until Sapp fumbled a yard from the U of L goal line and defensive tackle Tyrone Saterfield recovered with 8:07 left in the first quarter. Though the Cards didnít score on that possession, the defense was getting 116 warmed up. Curry Burnsí interception off a deflection by Josh Minkins set up their first scoring drive. Ragone found Ronnie Ghent for an 18-yard completion, then hit Dontay Spillman for 28. The Cards tied it at 7 on Henry Millerís 1-yard run with 1:49 left in the first quarter. Seven plays later, the U of L defense did it again. End Dewayne White stepped in front of Bradlee Van Peltís illadvised pass, snagged it and ran 55 yards for a touchdown - his second career TD interception return. Despite their struggles, the Cards led Then Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick threw a changeup. He replaced Van Pelt with redshirt freshman Justin Holland - a move he had planned before the game - and Holland showed why his coach was so eager to get him into action. He directed an impressive nine-play, 74-yard drive, completing a 35-yard pass in the process. Sappís 12-yard TD run and Jeff Babcockís extra point tied the score. Even when the Cardinalsí offense threatened to get rolling, it found a way to ground itself. Ragone completed a 13-yard pass to Spillman on U of Lís next play, but it was wiped out by a personal foul. After Babcockís 37-yard field goal put Colorado State up 17-14, the wheels fell off the Cardsí offense. Asleep at the switch, junior running back T. J. Patterson failed to catch a lateral from Ragone, then watched as the Rams recovered at the U of L 27. That resulted in another field goal to make it When the Cards went three-and-out to open the second half, Dexter Wynn returned the punt 66 yards for a touchdown, and Colorado State was in control at U of L drove to the Ramsí 11, but a pass from Ragone was picked off by lineman Wallace Thomas at the goal line, and Colorado State drove 83 yards in eight plays to make it By directing a 12-play, 84-yard drive in the fourth quarter and hitting sophomore Joshua Tinch with a 22- yard TD pass with 4:45 left, Ragone extended his streak of games with at least one scoring pass to 13. He has failed to throw for a TD only twice in 28 starts. Then the Cards made it interesting. After Josh Minkins recovered an onside kick, Ragone moved the Cards 40 yards in four quick plays, with Miller scoring on a 1-yard run. But for the second straight time, a two-point conversion attempt failed. Colorado State recovered the next onside kick, but Burns forced a second fumble by Sapp and Montavious Stanley - all 300 pounds of him - picked the ball up and ran 58 yards to the 2. Miller scored from there two plays later to make it with 3:04 left, and those fans not sitting in traffic outside the stadium fell quiet. But the Rams recovered another onside kick and eventually downed a punt at the 2 to finally put U of L in a hole from which it couldnít escape. As he did two years ago in the Liberty Bowl, Sapp ran over the Cards. He carried 30 times for 130 yards and three touchdowns. Van Pelt completed 11 of 25 passes for 170 yards. ìour defense was on the field the whole night and took a pounding the whole night,íí Smith said. ìbut they did get some turnovers, and they should get some credit for fighting.î

4 Louisville 45 Army 14 Michie Stadium West Point, N.Y. Louisville Army LOU Miller 1-yd run (Smith kick) - 5 plays, 47 yds (1:55) LOU Smith 22-yd field goal 16 plays, 66 yds (7:18) LOU Dorsey 81-yd punt return (Smith kick) LOU Tinch blocked punt return (Smith kick) LOU Spillman 8-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 8 plays, 57 yds (6:57) ARMY Kent 88-yd fumble recovery (Stelzer kick) LOU Miller 1-yd run (Smith kick) - 9 plays, 31 yds (3:35) LOU Patterson 5-yd run (Smith kick) - 4 plays, 22 yds (0:58) ARMY Stewart 1-yd pass from Silva (Stelzer kick) - 9 plays, 80 yds (4:22) LOU ARMY First downs Rushed-yards Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 36:10 23:50 Louisville - Ragone , Miller , Gates , Patterson , Kamer Army - Jones , Holden , Bybee 3-(- 1)-0, Pestel 1-(-1)-0, Silva 1-(-4)-0. Louisville - Ragone , LeFors Army - Silva , Dahman Louisville - Spillman , Dorsey , Tinch , Glenn , Russell , Clark , Ghent Army - White , Stewart 2-9-1, Comeaux , Alexander , Darensburg , Holden 1-9-0, Woody 1-8-0, Chapman University of Louisville senior quarterback Dave Ragone had been elusive all day, escaping one collapsing pocket after another, but there was no escaping the conclusion he drew after yesterdayís victory over Army. With a meeting against No. 5-ranked Florida State fast approaching on Thursday night at Papa Johnís Cardinal Stadium, Ragone wanted to face reality. Thanks to some special play by their special teams, the Cardinals had yesterdayís victory put away by halftime. But unless they play much better Thursday, Ragone said, they might find themselves in Armyís boots. ìnot to take anything away from Army,íí he said, ìbut if we think we can pull off a win (against Florida State) with the way we played today, youíll probably be able to send people home at halftime.î So much for the thrill of victory. The Cards improved to 2-2 and won their Conference USA opener before a crowd of 28,625 in Michie Stadium. After the game, however, coach John L. Smith said he told his players: ìcongratulations on the win, but we were óó.î ìi canít say the word,íí he told reporters. ìitís too bad to say here....i would love to have played a lot better.î In some areas the Cards were much better. Despite having a field-goal attempt blocked, U of Lís special teams were the difference. Senior Damien Dorsey got it going in the second quarter when he returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown to give the Cards a 17-0 cushion. ìwe had worked on it all week,íí Dorsey said. ìcoach had been stressing that we were going to run one back for a touchdown, and everybody did a great job blocking.î Ninety seconds later, the Black Knights were punting again, and this time redshirt freshman Brandon Johnson beat the Army center to block his second punt this season. The ball rolled 26 yards into the end zone, where sophomore Joshua Tinch fell on it to make it On the day, the Cards had 203 yards in punt returns, and Curry Burns gave them a second blocked punt in the fourth quarter to set up their first score of the second half. ìwe were just in a safe punt return in the first half, and their wing man showed me an opening he shouldnít have shown,íí Burns said. ìi told myself if we were set up in safe again and he did the same thing, I was going to get a block, and thatís what happened.î The Cards also got some encouraging play on defense, albeit against an Army offense that has struggled to do anything in stumbling to an 0-3 start. The key defensive stat was the participation chart - 27 players got into the game for that unit, including highly regarded true freshman Brandon Cornell, who made his college debut at tackle alongside fellow freshman Elvis Dumervil. They had three stops each. At halftime Army had only 43 yards of offense. The Black Knights didnít score until early in the third quarter, when Ryan Kent scooped up a fumble by J. R. Russell and returned it 88 yards for a touchdown. ìthat is the worst offensive showing I have ever been around in 21 years of being on the offensive side of 117 the football,íí Army coach Todd Berry said. ìweíre not running the ball very effectively. Weíre not blocking very effectively. Granted, Louisville is a very, very good defensive team... but weíve got to be more functional.î Smith came away saying the same thing about his offense. It bogged down in a variety of ways, most frequently because of penalties. In five trips into Armyís red zone, the Cards committed infractions four times. Ragoneís 71-yard touchdown pass was called back on the Cardsí second possession, and a 61-yard completion was negated by a hold on their third. The Cards were whistled four times for holding, twice for illegal procedure and twice for illegal formation. Overall, U of L had 17 penalties for 135 yards, including six by the third string defense on Armyís final drive. ìthis is a problem that wonít go away until we become more intelligent and learn to play like we should,íí Smith said. ìbut we get hold after hold, motion after motion, and we just kill ourselves offensively. Weíre never going to get anywhere on offense if we keep playing like that. We have to stop the holds, we have to stop the penalties or we wonít be able to move the ball on anybody.î When the flags werenít flying, Ragone made things happen. Army surprised the U of L coaches, to a degree, with the frequency of its blitzes and succeeded in getting Ragone out of the pocket. But the senior responded with his best game this season in terms of throwing on the move. U of L also got some big plays from junior-college transfer Dontay Spillman, who caught seven passes for 128 yards and a touchdown in looking more and more like the teamís goto wideout. Ragone completed 15 of 29 passes for 240 yards and didnít throw an interception. He also had the best rushing game of his career with 62 yards on eight carries. Not only was he the gameís leading rusher with a 7.8-yard average, but he converted two third downs and a fourth down on the ground, averaging 10.2 yards on four carries on those downs. ìheís a warrior,íí Smith said. ìif we could all be the warrior that he is, then we could go undefeated every year. He is really something.î But the U of L offensive line was something different, according to Smith. ìi donít really feel optimistic about their performance,íí he said. ìbut I still want a chance to take a look at the tape. Army had some guys running loose on us, and thatís because they kept up the pressure. I donít think the staff prepared our guys to handle all that pressure. I was very disheartened with the number of holds we had up front, more than anything.î Smith doesnít have much time to fix things. The Cards wonít have a day off this week until after Thursdayís game. Theyíll return to the practice field for a light workout today before a full practice tomorrow. ìthe biggest thing for us against Florida State is being able to take care of ourselves and just executing,íí Smith said. ìwe need to go out and play smart - a lot better than we did today.î

5 OT inal lorida State Louisville LOU Smith 45-yd field goal 4 plays, 7 yards (1:42) FSU Beitia 40-yd field goal 5 plays, 54 yards (2:57) FSU Gardner 23-yd pass from Rix (Beitia kick) - 9 plays, 77 yards (2:49) LOU Smith 26-yd field goal 13 plays, 74 yards (6:38) FSU Beitia 20-yd field goal 7 plays, 65 yards (1:59) LOU Tinch 30-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 7 plays, 51 yards (2:14) FSU Gardner 21-yd pass from Rix (Beitia kick) - 10 plays, 78 yards (3:44) LOU Dorsey 1-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 9 plays, 82 yards (3:44) Overtime LOU Miller 25-yd run lorida State 20 Louisville 26 Papa John s Cardinal Stadium Louisville, Ky. FSU LOU First downs Rushed-yards Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 28:36 31:04 Florida State - Maddox , Jones , Washington , Boldin 1-9-0, Rix Louisville - Miller , Ragone , Patterson , Haskins Florida State - Rix , Boldin Louisville - Ragone Florida State - Gardner , Boldin , Morgan 1-9-0, Sam 1-5-0, Jones Louisville - Tinch , Dorsey , Patterson , Ghent , Haskins , Russell , Glenn 1-6-0, Clark Youíve seen this before, and you havenít. A relentless storm. Overtime. An Anthony Floyd interception in overtime. A 25-yard run up the middle for a touchdown. Two years ago the University of Louisville football team won that way against Kentucky. Last night the victim was No. 4-ranked Florida State. After Floyd picked off Chris Rixís pass on Florida Stateís first play in overtime, senior running back Henry Miller broke through the line on the Cardinalsí first play, giving them a shocking victory over the Seminoles (4-1) before a Papa John's Cardinal Stadium crowd of 38,109. It was a familiar script but uncharted territory for the Cards (3-2), who had never beaten a team ranked in the national top five. ìto have these guys come to our house was big,î coach John L. Smith said. ìto beat them was even better. Letís go celebrate.î And thatís what the U of L crowd did, swarming the field and attacking both goal posts. Said senior quarterback Dave Ragone: ìit was UK all over again. I hand the ball off and there goes the running back for a touchdown. It was surreal. I've never experienced anything like this in my life.... ìeverybodyís going to say Louisvilleís back. And we are.î The rumors were true. U of L had ordered extra goal posts last week. After one of the most amazing performances in the school's football history, it appeared a smart move. A driving rain, courtesy of Tropical Storm Isidore, made the going tough for both offenses. But the Cardinals found their rhythm in the second half, driving impressively for TDs on their final third-quarter possession and their first in the fourth quarter. Ragone, who completed just 2 of 8 passes in the first half, was 13 of 19 for 163 yards and two TDs in the second half. He also carried 21 times for 43 yards on the night. But at halftime the U of L coaches urged him not to run so much. ìwe got him settled down,î said Smith. ìwe told him at halftime, Don't run. Throw the ball. Throw the ball.íî Ragone carried 14 times in the first half, only seven in the second. The Cards didnít come out of the locker room for the second half until 50 seconds before the clock ran out. After the coaches had left, the offensive players found themselves alone, and Ragone said: ìi yelled out, Believe,í and we just started chanting it over and over. Everybody on this team believed. Nobody else did, but we believed.î After a preseason full of sky-high expectations, the Cards turned in the kind of national-caliber performance they had been hoping for. ìbefore the season started I was very much concerned about this game,î Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said.... I knew it would be a tough game.î Before the game, Smith had remarked how fast Florida Stateís players looked in their gold pants. By the end of the first half, he was more worried about yellow flags. The Cards committed eight penalties for 100 yards before halftime, and personal fouls figured prominently in each of Florida Stateís three scoring drives in the half. U of L opened the game with a bang -- Broderick Clark returned the kickoff 34 yards to set the Cards up at the Florida State 34. They could move it only 7 yards before settling for a 45-yard field goal by Nate Smith that gave the Seminoles their first deficit of the season, But a personal foul on U of L on the ensuing kickoff gave FSU good field position, and the Seminoles drove for a tying field goal. After that came what might have been a critical play for the Cards. James Greene blocked a Florida State punt and Robert McCune pounced on it at the Seminolesí 2. But the Cards were unable to punch it in three plays, and Smith, after a timeout, elected to go for it on fourth down. But Ragone threw an interception. ìthat was really hard,î Ragone said. ìwe could have sat down and said, I can't believe that happened,í but we came back. You canít believe how much faith there was on that sideline.î After trailing 13-6 at halftime, the Cards managed two good defensive series in the third quarter before the offense got going. And the man who got it going was sophomore wide receiver Joshua Tinch. Ragone found Tinch for a 30-yard TD pass with 4:05 left in the third quarter, and the crowd came to life when Smith's kick tied it at 13. Florida State responded with an impressive march, 78 yards in 10 plays, and got a 21-yard TD pass from Rix to Talman Gardner to go up Then Ragone put together the kind of gutty drive that once had him in Heisman consideration. He found Robert Haskins for his first college reception, a 12-yard gain. Then he hit Damien Dorsey for a 44-yard TD pass that electrified the crowd. The fireworks shot off. Dorsey began celebrating. But it was called back for holding. The Cards didn't lose hope, however. Said Dorsey: ìi came back with a sense of calmness over me. I said, We did it once; why canít we do it again?íî Ragone then hit Tinch for a 23-yard completion to keep the wind in the Cardsí sails. After four straight gains by running back T. J. Patterson -- two rushing, two receiving -- Ragone found Dorsey with a 1-yard TD toss with 11:37 left. From then on, neither team could threaten. U of L won the overtime coin toss and elected to go on defense. On the first play, Floyd stepped in front of Gardner and registered his 18th career interception, a school record. Then Miller worked his magic, running a play that was a carbon-copy of a 25-yard run that Tony Stallings used to beat UK two years ago. Said Miller: ìi just decided to run and not let no man bring me down.î The game was a vindication for U of Lís maligned offensive line, which didnít always stop Florida Stateís rush but slowed it enough and created enough holes to keep U of L in the game. ìi thought we could put more pressure on the passer,î Bowden said. ìand we did get to him, but we couldnít get him down. I thought he hurt us running the ball and rolling out enough to beat us. ìtheir quarterback played better than ours.î

6 Louisville 38 Memphis 32 Liberty Bowl Memphis, Tenn. Louisville Memphis LOU Steele 5-yd blocked punt return (Smith kick) MEM White 5-yd pass from Wimprine (Kick blocked) - 9 plays, 68 yds (4:26) LOU Smith 47-yd field goal - 11 plays, 31 yds (3:14) MEM Harden 32-yd pass from Wimprine (Gostkowski kick) - 2 plays, 35 yds (0:41) LOU Miller 6-yd run (Smith kick) - 8 plays, 74 yds (2:27) LOU Owens 3-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 3 plays, 25 yds (1:27) LOU Miller 1-yd run (Smith kick) - 4 plays, 30 yds (1:19) MEM Gideon 14-yd pass from Wimprine (Gostkowski kick) - 8 plays, 65 yds (2:45) LOU Jones 4-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 8 plays, 61 yds (3:30) MEM Brown 3-yd run (Pass failed) - 12 plays, 87 yds (4:05) MEM Gideon 11-yd pass from Wimprine (Kick failed) - 7 plays, 54 yds (1:27) LOU MEM First downs Rushed-yards Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 30:01 29:59 Louisville - Miller , Ragone , Patterson , Smith 1-7-0, Kamer 1-2-0, Gates 1-(-1)-0. Memphis - Brown , Wimprine , Williams , Anglin , White Louisville - Ragone Memphis - Wimprine , Price Louisville - Dorsey , Ghent , Tinch , Russell , Glenn , Haskins , Spillman , Clark 1-6-0, Jones 1-4-1, Owens Memphis - Gideon , Harden , White , Anglin , Williams , Webb 1-9-0, Doucette 1-7-0, Brown FedEx bought 20,000 tickets to last nightís football game between the University of Louisville and Memphis in the Liberty Bowl, but it was the Cardinals who delivered when they absolutely, positively needed it. But not a minute before. After a lackluster first half marked by sluggish offense and saved by sparkling special teams, the Cardinals awoke midway through the third quarter to turn a deficit into a lead, then held on for a victory before a crowd of 44,081. U of L scored 21 straight points in a 4:56 span of the third quarter, but even that wasnít enough to guarantee comfort in a series in which the previous two games here were each decided by one point. The Tigers roared back and had the ball just 26 yards from a winning touchdown with less than two minutes left, but the U of L defense had just enough big plays left to save the Cardsí third straight victory. U of L (4-2, 2-0 Conference USA) should have expected a wild finish. Last season the teams combined for 28 points in the fourth quarter of a U of L win. ìthatís just Memphis,íí senior bandit Michael Brown said. ìmy freshman year, Lavell Boyd made a catch on the last play of the game to beat them here. Whenever we play them, you know itís going to be a wild game. Iím just glad we were able to come away from this one with a win.î Coach John L. Smith felt the same way. ìhalf of us goofed it up in the first half, and the other half goofed it up in the second,íí he said. ìbut it was a win. Hopefully we will learn that every team is going to give us their best shot, and weíve got to be ready for it.î Memphis (2-4, 1-3), which revamped a struggling defense in preparation for its first-ever Tuesday night game, succeeded in showing Cardinals quarterback Dave Ragone something he hadnít seen before. The Tigers used a mix of spot blitzing and multiple coverages to confuse the senior in the first half. ìthis is the second straight week that a team has shown us a defense that is totally foreign to what weíve seen on tape,íí Ragone said. ìi came into the first half with 15 checkoffs (play changes), and I didnít use one of them. It took until the second half for me to believe what I was seeing.î The win might have been costly for the Cards, who lost starting tight end Ronnie Ghent on a fourth-quarter hit. He was wheeled off the field with an injury to his right leg, and no diagnosis was available after the game. Still, U of L managed to turn back an emotional team. Among the stars: Defensive end Dewayne White returned to his All- America form with two sacks, a blocked extra-point attempt and a fumble recovery. Special-teams prodigy Brandon Johnson, a redshirt freshman linebacker, blocked his third punt of the season in the first quarter. It was recovered by B. J. Steele, who ran 5 yards for the Cardsí first score. Running back Henry Miller ran for 79 yards on 21 carries and had two TDs. He has scored nine of the Cardsí 10 rushing touchdowns this season, the most for U of L since Frank Moreau ran for 17 in It matches the fifth-highest total in the past 23 years of U of L football. Ragone, who completed just nine passes for 61 yards in the first half, was sharp in the second, 119 completing 12 of 14 passes for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Altogether he hit 10 different receivers. The offense benefited from excellent field position throughout the game and from a couple of big defensive plays in the second half. Chad Lee forced a fumble, and White recovered to set up Ragoneís 3-yard TD pass to Richard Owens with 6:47 left in the third quarter. That gave the Cards a cushion. Three plays later Brown intercepted a Danny Wimprine pass and returned it 22 yards. Ragone drove the Cards 30 yards in four plays, and Millerís 1-yard run made it But after the U of L offense got going, the defense began to struggle. Memphis scored on an efficient, eight-play, 65-yard drive when Tavares Gideon caught his fourth pass of the game, a 14-yarder for a touchdown. After U of L answered with a score early in the fourth quarter, Memphis went back to work. The Tigers took advantage of two pass-interference calls to set up Dontae Brownís touchdown with 5:21 left. That made it The Tigers went for two even after a 5-yard illegalprocedure penalty, but their pass play failed. On the ensuing onside kick, defensive back Cameron Essex took a loose ball away from U of L wide receiver Dontay Spillman. With U of L playing without starting cornerback Laroni Gallishaw, who didnít make the trip because of a team rule violation, Memphis picked on replacement Chris Johnson all night. After another U of L pass-interference penalty, Wimprine found Gideon in the left corner of the end zone. The junior jumped over Johnson for a touchdown grab that made it with just more than three minutes remaining. The extra-point try by Stephen Gostkowski hit the upright. On third-and-11 with 1:54 left, Ragone passed to Ghent for a 7-yard gain. Ghent was hit by linebacker Derrick Ballard and suffered an ugly blow to the knee. He also was stripped of the ball by Essex, and Coot Terry recovered at the U of L 26 with 1:54 left. ìwe relaxed, and thatís when they came back,íí White said. ìwe got the lead, and we put the second-team defense in, and I donít think we should have done that. Memphis wanted this game, and they never quit coming.î The fumble set up the Tigers for an upset bid. They started poorly, with an illegalprocedure penalty, then Brandon Johnson batted down Wimprineís pass. But Wimprine hit Gideon - his eighth catch of the game - for a gain of 10 to the 21-yard line. On third-and-five with 1:46 left, Wimprine overthrew a wideopen Antoine Harden, bringing up a make-or-break fourth down. Wimprine threw to Darren Garcia, but Chris Johnson was there this time, making a hit just as the ball arrived to break up the pass and save the Cardinalsí victory. Johnson, who found out he would be the starter before the flight to Memphis on Monday, said he felt uncomfortable at the start but settled in as the game went on. ìi didnít run with the ones (starters) all week, but the coaches have been telling me to look at myself as a one,íí he said. ìit was a rough game at times, but I knew I had to step up and make a play if it came to me at the end, and Iím just glad I was able to.î

7 TCU 45 Louisville 31 Papa John s Cardinal Stadium Louisville, Ky. TCU Louisville TCU Dunbar 17-yd pass from Gunn (Browne kick) - 8 plays, 72 yds (3:39) TCU Browne 37-yd field goal - 6 plays, 9 yds (2:17) TCU Hobbs 1-yd run (Browne kick) - 7 plays, 72 yards (2:24) TCU Madise 20-yd pass from Gunn (Browne kick) - 1 play, 20 yds (0:06) TCU Madison 11-yd run (Browne kick) - 7 plays, 35 yds (2:56) LOU Dorsey 40-yd pass from Ragone (Pass failed) - 3 plays, 55 yds (0:37) TCU Holts 6-yd pass from Gunn (Browne kick) - 7 plays, 60 yds (3:27) LOU Owens 6-yd pass from Ragone (Ragone pass to Harris) - 5 plays, 55 yds (0:44) LOU Team safety LOU Miller 4-yd run (Miller rush) - 2 plays, 51 yds (0:33) TCU Hobbs 1-yd run (Browne kick) - 5 plays, 30 yds (2:14) LOU Dorsey 15-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 7 plays, 69 yds (2:02) TCU LOU First downs Rushed-yards (-26) Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 40:23 19:37 TCU - Dargan , Douglas , Wade , Dapolito 8-8-0, Smith 4-(-30)-0. Louisville - Miller , Patterson 3-1-0, Team 1- (-12)-0, Ragone 11-(-39)-0. TCU - Gunn Louisville - Ragone TCU - Madise , Dunbar , Holts , Ellis , Williams , Harrell , McCarty , Brown 1-9-0, Madison 1-(-3)-0. Louisville - Dorsey , Owens , Patterson , Harris , Glenn , Russell , Miller True to senior wide receiver Damien Dorseyís pregame words, the University of Louisville football team went to the woodshed yesterday. But it was Texas Christian that laid the lumber. The Cardinals supposedly were determined not to suffer a replay of last seasonís loss in Fort Worth in which they fell behind 14-0 in the blink of an eye. They didnít. This time was worse. TCU led 31-0 with 4:27 left in the first half, and despite a five-minute awakening by the Cards early in the second half, the Horned Frogs held firm for a victory before a homecoming crowd of 34,127. ìas a coach, Iíve never been quite so embarrassed,íí U of Lís John L. Smith said. ìas a coaching staff, I think weíre embarrassed. As a football team, I think weíre embarrassed. If weíre not, we definitely should be. Weíd better take a look at what weíre doing, take a look in the mirror first, because we still have a long way to go. It was about as ugly as I can ever remember.î TCU (6-1, 3-1 Conference USA) won its sixth straight game and amassed the second-most points U of L (4-3, 2-1) has surrendered in Papa Johnís Cardinal Stadium. By halftime the Horned Frogs had piled up more total yards (294) than Kentucky, Army or Duke managed in a whole game against a U of L team ranked No. 15 in NCAA Division I-A in total defense and No. 10 against the run. TCU, however, had no trouble running against the Cards. Senior tailback Ricky Madison carried 23 times for 138 yards and a touchdown and true freshman tailback Lonta Hobbs added 109 yards and two TDs on 22 rushes as the Frogs totaled 250 yards on the ground. Senior defensive end Devon Thomas shook his head as looked at the stat sheet. ìforty-five points at home is embarrassing,íí said Thomas, who had four tackles for loss and three sacks. ìwe had a good scheme; it just came down to individuals yards rushing is ridiculous. They just handed it to us. Itís the same thing they did to us last year.î Said senior running back Henry Miller: ìwhen youíre ready to play, you feel it. Itís just something in the locker room. You know. And when you donít get that feeling, and you see a lot of people around you donít have that feeling, you already know itís going to be a long, long game.... ìwe werenít as energized as I thought we should be. I knew we were going to come out flat just by the energy in the locker room.î How could a U of L team that had the motivation of revenge along with its C-USA supremacy on the line manage to come out flat for homecoming and its biggest conference game thus far? Smith, who has struggled with the problem all season, again put the bulk of the blame on himself and his staff. ìitís the coachesí fault, because weíve got to get them prepared,íí he said. ìand if they wonít get prepared, then weíve got to find kids that will prepare. And if that means playing with rookies, we play with rookies. Weíve got to do what weíve got to do.... ìone thing is we got a false sense of where we were because our black shirts (scout team) prepared us terribly. They were pathetic during the week. ìbut still, it boils down to taking the field and playing with emotion. How can you take the field and play with no emotion? None. They were in high speed, and we were in low speed. Itís beyond me. It boggles my mind.î TCU didnít lack for emotion. Afterward the Horned Frogs left the field chanting the ìwe Readyíí theme music that U of L plays before kickoffs. And they were ready. ìi think we caught them flat-footed,íí said quarterback Tye Gunn, a true freshman who won Texas high school championships as a freshman and senior before becoming coach Gary Pattersonís most celebrated recruit when he picked TCU over Purdue. 120 ìi think they didnít think we were as good as we were. We hit some big plays on them early and took advantage of it. Everything was going our way. Those situations donít happen very often. We came into their house in the rain and got it done.î The Cardinals gave up 13 touchdown passes all last season. Over the past three games they have given up nine, including Gunnís three in the first half. After U of L went backward on its first possession - thanks to two false-start penalties - TCU drove 72 yards in eight plays, keyed by Madisonís 32-yard run. Gunn found LaTerance Dunbar wide-open on a crossing route for a 7-0 lead with 10:27 left in the first quarter. Last season TCU recovered a pooch kick after its first score to set up a quick second TD. Yesterday U of L return specialist Broderick Clark fumbled at the Cardsí 20 to set up a TCU field goal that made it 10-0 before the game was five minutes old. After the Frogs punted on their last possession of the first quarter, they didnít punt again in the half. A 50-yard run by Hobbs set up a touchdown that made it 17-0 with 13:41 left in the first half. After U of L stalled on the ensuing possession, Wade Tydlacka uncorked a 56-yard punt, but Terran Williams returned it 43. U of L stopped TCU on fourth down at the 6-yard line, but Miller immediately fumbled the ball away at the end of a 15-yard run. On the next play, Gunn found a wide open Madise for a 24-0 lead. U of L then went three-and-out, with punter Nate Smith muffing a snap with the Cards in their ìrugbyíí formation. TCU took over and seven plays later made it ìi think they were shocked,íí Madison said. ìthere was a lot of chit-chat going back and forth at the beginning of the game. But after we got rolling, they got quiet.î U of L quarterback Dave Ragone hit Dorsey with a 40-yard TD pass 3:50 before halftime, but TCU answered by faking an end-around to let Gunn find a wide-open Reggie Holts for a 27-yard TD pass that made it 38-6 at halftime. In the locker room, the Cards got an impassioned speech from Dorsey. ìhe had some choice words,íí Ragone said. ìhe gave his all out there.î For a few minutes in the third quarter, it appeared the halftime talk might have worked. The Cards put 18 on the board in a span of 4:57. After a defensive stop, Ragone hit back-to-back passes to tight end Richard Owens, the second for a 6- yard TD, and the two-point conversion made it Next, Jonathan Jackerson got the Cardsí sixth blocked punt of the season. The ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety, and the Cards trailed On U of Lís first play following the free kick, Ragone found running back T.J. Patterson for a 47-yard completion, and Miller ran it in from 4 yards out. The two-point conversion made it 38-24, and U of L was back in business. But not for long. TCU answered with a 13-play, 5- minute drive that produced no points but stopped U of Lís momentum. ìwe didnít play a different game plan in the first half than we did in the second,íí coach Smith said. ìso whatís the difference? The kids and their effort. Itís wanting to be emotional and executing.... Weíve got to get them somehow excited about the game.î Gunn was 17 of 23 passing for 187 yards and three TDs, and TCU held more than a 2-1 edge in time of possession. Ragone passed for a season-high 309 yards and three TDs, but he was sacked six times. The Cards were held to minus-26 yards rushing on 22 carries. Dorsey had the best day of his U of L career with six catches for 125 yards and two TDs. ìi didnít expect this, not with them having a week and a half to prepare,íí Patterson said. ìtheyíre a good football team. I wouldnít want to play them 10 times.î But, said Smith, ìweíve got a long, long way to go.î

8 East Carolina 20 Louisville 44 Papa John s Cardinal Stadium Louisville, Ky. East Carolina Louisville ECU Miller 33-yd field goal - 4 plays, 6 yds (1:20) LOU Russell 30-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 6 plays, 77 yds (2:16) ECU Townes 1-yd run (Miller kick) - 12 plays, 65 yds (3:51) LOU Dorsey 10-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 9 plays, 55 yds (4:14) LOU Dorsey 18-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 4 plays, 43 yds (1:07) LOU Dorsey 4-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 11 plays, 55 yds (4:32) ECU Miller 31-yd field goal - 10 plays, 66 yds (2:31) LOU Miller 8-yd run (Smith kick) - 7 plays, 80 yds (2:59) ECU Brown 1-yd run (Miller kick) - 4 plays, 76 yds (2:07) LOU Smith 22-yd field goal - 5 plays, 54 yds (1:26) LOU Tinch 32-yd pass from Ragone (Kick failed) - 8 plays, 63 yds (3:29) ECU LOU First downs Rushed-yards Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 28:36 31:24 East Carolina - Brown , Troth , Leach 5-7-0, Townes 5-4-1, Robinson 2-(-9)-0. Louisville - Miller , Patterson , Ragone , Gates East Carolina - Troth , Robinson Louisville - Ragone East Carolina - Morris , Alston , Copper , Moye , Brown , White , Rios , Tox Louisville - Dorsey , Tinch , Russell , Glenn , Harris , Owens , Miller Dave Ragone said ìa stupid drillíí may have helped produce his biggest passing day as a college quarterback yesterday during the University of Louisvilleís victory over East Carolina. The senior left-hander hurt his throwing arm last week during an exercise in which U of Lís quarterbacks had to do a push-up each time they threw an incompletion. ìmy receivers were point-shaving that day and dropping a lot of passes,íí Ragone said. ìand I started to feel a little tingle.î In retrospect, maybe it was goosebumps. Unable to put full velocity on the ball, Ragone discovered accuracy as never before. In fact, he was more accurate than any previous U of L quarterback, completing a school-record 18 straight passes in one stretch to spark the Cardinals (5-3, 3-1 Conference USA) over the Pirates (2-5, 2-1) in front of a crowd announced at 32,428 in Papa Johnís Cardinal Stadium. Ragone threw a career-high five touchdown passes - three to senior wideout Damien Dorsey - and his 352 yards were just 18 shy of his career high. After completing 19 of his first 20 passes, he finished 23 of 32 without an interception. ìthatís the best Iíve ever felt in my whole, entire life throwing the football,íí said Ragone, who has posted consecutive 300-yard games for the first time in his career. ìevery ball I threw today felt really good. I was grooving it and didnít try to force anything.... It was like I was throwing darts.íí ìiím going to send that boy a graduation card as soon as I get home,íí East Carolina coach Steve Logan said. ìhe was excellent.î One exchange in the second quarter, related by center Dan Koons, illustrates Ragoneís day. ìthey called a run play at one point, and he told us in the huddle, Iím checking this right now; Iím going to throw it,í í Koons said. ìand I said, Go ahead, keep throwing, man.í í A rejuvenated offensive line and running game paved the way for Ragoneís big day. Though he was sacked three times, he had more time to throw than he has had all season. And with the return of redshirt freshman guard Will Rabatin, the line opened holes for senior running back Henry Miller, who carried 18 times for 127 yards and a touchdown. The Cards ran for 204 yards and posted a season-high 556 total yards. ìwe played harder and with more enthusiasm,íí coach John L. Smith said. ìitís amazing, if you play with a little energy and enthusiasm, how much better you can play.... Dave was Dave. The line protected him, he had time and we were throwing some quick balls and making them miss on the tackles. ìwe almost looked like our old offense, right? Like we used to look, like we knew what we were doing for a change.î Smith rolled his eyes after that statement, perhaps recalling the criticism following the blowout loss to Texas Christian a week earlier. Ragone said the players never lost confidence, and Dorsey said he took it upon himself to help make sure his teammates were ready to play. Nobody was more ready than Dorsey, who made nine catches for 158 yards and three 121 touchdowns. But he fumbled at the East Carolina 22-yard line on the Cardsí first play from scrimmage. The Pirates got a field goal out of that, and after Ragone hit J. R. Russell with a 30-yard strike for his first TD pass of the game, the Pirates drove 65 yards in 12 plays to take a 10-7 lead. Then Ragone heated up. He went 7 for 7 for 88 yards on the Cardsí next two drives, and his two TD passes put the Cards up The second of those was set up by a blocked punt by Curry Burns - the Cardsí seventh of the season. Midway through the second quarter, U of L made it with a 45-yard drive that ended in a 4-yard TD pass from Ragone to Dorsey. ìwe knew we had a mismatch in the secondary,íí Ragone said. ìwe were able to hit some quick stuff, and that opened up some bigger things.î After giving up early yardage and 10 first-quarter points, the U of L defense gave up just 67 yards in the second quarter while the offense pulled away. The Pirates got more than half their second-half yardage on one play - a 71-yard pass from Paul Troth to Richard Alston on their first play from scrimmage to set up their only score of the half. Troth, a sophomore, completed 14 of 36 passes for 211 yards with an interception. Art Brown, a junior who came into the game averaging 112 rushing yards per game, gained just 56 on 14 carries. ìwe really studied it up, finally,íí U of L defensive end Devon Thomas said. ìwe came out as a cohesive group, and I think we did a much better job.î Working against a defense that was missing two starting linebackers because of injuries, U of Lís running game also prospered. Miller broke the Cardsí secondlongest run of the season with a 37-yard dash in the third quarter. On their first possession of the second half, he carried three times for 50 yards and a touchdown, and he had a 16-yard run called back by a holding penalty. ìthe line did it,íí Miller said. ìwhen they block good, I run good. Itís as simple as that. They were more physical than these guys this week. Now we just have to keep it going. We know we canít lose another game, and that should keep us focused.î Said Koons: ìwe just kicked their butt up front. Thatís what it came down to.î The Cards have a layoff before playing host to Cincinnati on Thursday, Nov. 7. ìiím still a little disappointed in us, and with myself,íí Smith said. ìweíre going to make some other corrections.... ìbut it was good to see that we ran the ball late to win, and it was our best game up front offensively. And if you do those things, Dave will throw you to a win.î

9 Cincinnati Louisville LOU Miller 4-yd run (Smith kick) - 9 plays, 75 yards (3:45) CIN Peek 15-yd fumble recovery (Ruffin kick) LOU Clark 92-yd kickoff return (Smith kick) CIN McCleskey 1-yd run (Ruffin kick) - 8 plays, 50 yds (3:39) CIN McCleskey 1-yd run (Ruffin kick) - 8 plays, 69 yds (2:58) CIN Cincinnati 24 Louisville 14 Papa John s Cardinal Stadium Louisville, Ky. Ruggin 29-yd field goal 11 plays, 38 yds (5:17) CIN LOU First downs Rushed-yards Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 33:09 26:51 Cincinnati - McCleskey , Hall , Guidugli , Murray , Wolke 1-0-0, Harwell 2-(-1)-0, Team 4-(-6)-0, Vann 1-(-7)-0. Louisville - Miller , Gates , Patterson 4-2-0, Dorsey 1-(-2)-0, Ragone 7-(-14)-0. Cincinnati - Guidugli Louisville - Ragone , Dorsey Cincinnati - McCleskey , Keith , Vann 2-8-0, Olinger , Lucius Louisville - Harris , Russell , Tinch , Patterson 1-8-0, Owens 1-7-0, Dorsey 1-3-0, Gates 1-(-1)-0. The University of Louisville football program installed a new trophy case in its recruiting lounge in August, but so far the Cardinals have succeeded only in giving trophies away. For the second time this season, U of L handed over a traveling trophy to a rival after a loss on its home field. And in last nightís loss to Cincinnati, the Cardinals also lost their hopes for a third straight Conference USA title, their two-year run of league domination and the patience of most of their fans. Papa Johnís Cardinal Stadium was eerily empty for the final seconds of the teamís third home defeat this season, and afterward the jubilant Bearcats planted the Keg of Nails at midfield and danced on the U of L logo. After starting the season with unprecedented hype and their highest preseason ranking ever, No. 17, the Cards have fallen to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in C-USA. ìright now I have to apologize, because we look like a very poor-coached football team, and thatís right here,íí coach John L. Smith said. ìall we can do at this point is say goodbye to the conference title and try to get the seniors a winning season and get to a bowl game. We have those two goals yet, which are two of the three we have every year. Weíll see if we can come back and make that happen.î It will be difficult. With a game at co-league leader Southern Mississippi coming up next Thursday, the Cards showed some signs of dwindling chemistry. Players challenged each other openly on the sideline, and a couple appeared to shout back at fans. Afterward, senior defensive end Devon Thomas, who played only two days after suffering a knee injury, said that all the Cards have left to play for is pride - and that they will have to find some. ìwe were talking in the locker room that almost every trophy we won in Louisville the past three years, we gave them all back this season,íí he said. ìthe Governorís Cup (to the University of Kentucky), the Keg of Nails, our conference championship trophy and the Liberty Bowl trophy. Theyíre all gone. Now we can only play for pride.... ìthree or four years ago, seven or eight wins would have been wonderful. Iím disappointed. Weíre not performing the way we should. Things on the sideline could be a lot better. Weíve got to be more cohesive. Weíve got to be able to check with each other. When something goes bad, weíve got to be able to deal with each other constructively.î Twelve days after its best performance of the season, the U of L offense posted one of its worst nights in three years. Senior quarterback Dave Ragone completed a career-low 11 passes in 31 attempts for a career-low 91 yards. The Cards managed just 176 yards of offense, their lowest output this season. In the second half, U of L had just five first downs, 10 rushing yards and four completions. 122 Total second-half yards: 28. When star defensive end Dewayne White went out with an injury early in the third quarter and starting defensive tackle Bobby Leffew was carted out after reinjuring his right knee moments later, the Cards were in trouble. Ragone credited Cincinnati adjustments for U of Lís second-half struggles, but he voiced frustration that even when the Bearcats dropped eight players into pass coverage, they were able to get to him with three linemen. He was sacked four times, and the Cards converted only two third downs all night. The U of L offense started well enough. After a couple of penalties helped stall the Cardsí first series, they scored on the second after a little razzle-dazzle, including a leaping pass from wideout Damien Dorsey to J. R. Russell 15 yards downfield. Henry Miller capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. That was the only scoring in the first half. Cincinnati quarterback Gino Guidugli missed on his first 10 passes and didnít have a completion until 5:06 remained in the first half. The Bearcats had just 52 yards of offense in the first half, the second-lowest halftime total by a U of L opponent all season. The Cardinalsí defense picked up where it left off to open the second half, holding Cincinnati to eight yards on its first possession and tackling the holder on the fieldgoal try. But three plays later the Bearcats tied it when Ragone fumbled under pressure and Antwan Peek scooped the ball up and ran 15 yards for a touchdown. ìjust like that, we were back to square one,íí Ragone said. And just like that, they went back ahead when Broderick Clark returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a TD and a 14-7 lead. They didnít score again. Cincinnati drove 50 yards to a tying touchdown on a 1-yard run by DeMarco McCleskey with 3:24 left in the third quarter, then marched 69 yards in eight plays early in the fourth to another 1-yarder by McCleskey for the lead. Jonathan Ruffinís field goal with 2:06 to play ended a five-minute drive and sealed the outcome. ìwe feel very good to come down here and get the keg,íí Cincinnati coach Rick Minter said. ìa lot of our kids had never gotten a glimpse of it. I couldnít be more happy for our kids.î

10 Louisville 20 Southern Miss 17 M.M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, Miss OT OT inal Louisville Southern Miss USM Browden 5-yd pass from DíAngelo (Jones kick) - 5 plays, 16 yds (2:16) LOU Smith 22-yd field goal 7 plays, 21 yds (3:12) USM Jones 48-yd field goal 10 plays, 43 yds (5:50) USM Johnson 67-yd pass from DíAngelo (Jones kick) - 1 play, 67 yds (0:12) LOU Tinch 13-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 5 plays, 23 yds (1:55) LOU Russell 34-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 3 plays, 37 yds (0:49) Second Overtime LOU Smith 27-yd field goal 7 plays, 15 yds (0:00) LOU USM First downs Rushed-yards Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 42:25 47:35 Louisville - Patterson , Miller , Gates 2-6-0, Harris 1-3-0, Ragone 17-(-41)-0. Southern Miss - Nix , Walley , Team 1-(-1)-0, DíAngelo 10-(-42)-0. Louisville - Ragone Southern Miss - DíAngelo Louisville - Dorsey , Tinch , Russell , Harris , Owens , Miller Southern Miss - Johnson , Young , Garner 1-7-0, Johnson 1-6-0, Nix 1-6-0, Browden The University of Louisville football team may not win a piece of the Conference USA championship, but last night it took a piece of The Rock. A second-half stranglehold by its defense and a second-overtime field goal by Nate Smith gave the Cardinals a victory over Southern Mississippi in M.M. Roberts Stadium, making U of L the first visitor to win back-to-back games in what the Golden Eagles affectionately call The Rock since Texas A&M, which won here in 1989 and again nine years later. As the Cardinals walked off the field, they yelled, ìwe own The Rock!î Uncharacteristically, it was their first noticeable trash talk of the night. ìi guess I could have yelled that because I donít have to come back here, but I didnít,íí senior quarterback Dave Ragone said. ìi love playing here. This is my favorite place to play in college football. These fans are the most original that Iíve seen since Iíve been playing, with some of the stuff they say to you. And I have great respect for this program and this defense here. When you win here, youíve done something.î On the field where Brett Favre played his college football, the Cards got a Favre-esque performance from Ragone. He completed just 19 of 37 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw no interceptions while enduring a blistering pass rush that sacked him eight times and punished him countless others. Perhaps most meaningful to him, however, was that his 26th win as a starting quarterback tied him with Frank Gitschier for the school career record. ìi guess thatís appropriate that it should be a win like this,íí Ragone said. ìthe numbers donít look good, but we won.î Said coach John L. Smith: ìwe didnít play well, but we showed a lot of character. We kept our mouths shut. We didnít respond when the fans were on us. We werenít the team out there getting the 15-yard penalties to kill ourselves. We came together as a team, and I think our guys learned from that. ìdid we play well? Not in a lot of ways. But we played as a team, and thatís what weíve been looking for.î After having their commitment, dedication and even work ethic questioned was what was supposed to be a grand season careened into a 5-4 disappointment, the Cards proved that there is one way they like to work best - overtime. The Cards (6-4, 4-2) improved their bowl stock and kept alive their hopes of getting a share of the Conference USA title should Texas Christian stumble. The true stars of the game came on the U of L defense. Senior linebacker Chad Lee forced a fumble and recovered another. Junior cornerback Josh Minkins had an interception and 42-yard return, a forced fumble and three passes broken up. Senior safety Anthony Floyd played his best game of the season with 10 tackles, and junior defensive end Dewayne White, playing on a bad ankle, had nine tackles and a sack as the Cards held Southern Miss (6-4, 4-2) out of the end zone after a bigplay TD in the second quarter. ìthatís how we pictured those guys playing all season,íí Smith said. ìwe were kicking ourselves for giving up a big play, but those guys ran to the ball and made big plays and came through time after time after time.î Southern Miss started its first three drives of the fourth quarter in U of L territory and came away with a blocked field goal, a punt and a fumble. By blocking a kick in their eighth straight game, the Cards may have rattled Southern Miss kicker Curt Jones, who missed on two overtime field-goal attempts. ìwe knew this would be a defensive game,íí White said. ìit always is when you play them. Itís a fun game as a defensive player. We just felt like there was no way we were going to let them beat our defense. And we knew our offense would come through.î 123 The last time U of L visited Southern Miss in 2000, the Golden Eagles committed four turnovers, and the Cards seized the mantle of C-USA leadership from their longtime rivals with a victory. Last night Southern Miss offered opportunities again, but the Cardinals could not grab the prize until the second overtime. After appearing to seize the momentum with a 14- point third quarter, the Cards stalled, and the field position swung in Southern Missí favor. Pinned deep in their territory in the fourth quarter, the Cards couldnít punch it out, stopped by their own penalties and Southern Missí pass rush. But despite the advantage in the field position, the closest Southern Miss could come to scoring was a 37- yard field-goal attempt by Jones that was partially blocked by Kerry Rhodes. ìwe feel like weíre going to block one every game,íí Rhodes said. ìtonight it was just my turn.î After scrapping and clawing to force overtime, the Cardinals put together a dominant stand, with a sack and another tackle for loss that helped lead to a 48-yard missed field goal by Jones. Again, the Cards appeared to be in control. They ran twice up the middle from the 25-yard line and got a 5- yard face-mask penalty to set up a potential mediumrange field goal. But a teammate inadvertently knocked the ball out of Ragoneís hands on third down, and the Golden Eagles fell on the fumble, forcing a second overtime. The Cardinals got the ball to start the second extra period. After Ragone was sacked for the eighth time, he completed two huge passes to Damien Dorsey to set up Smithís 27-yard field goal. ìdamien was the hero down there,íí Smith said. ìif he doesnít make those two catches, we donít have a shot at the field goal.î For Ragone, who left the stadium with a large ice pack on his left hand after a teammate stepped on it in the third quarter, the completions were his first since the third quarter. The Cards first half was as fruitless offensively as any half theyíve had this season - not because they couldnít move the ball, but because they couldnít sustain their drives. After going three-and-out on their first drive, Wade Tydlacka dropped the snap and had his punt blocked, giving Southern Miss the ball at U of Lís 16. Five plays later, Micky DíAngelo threw to Terrell Browden for a touchdown. U of L responded with what is becoming commonplace - an outstanding kickoff return by redshirt freshman Broderick Clark. He took a bouncing squib kick and ran it back up the middle 53 yards to the Southern Miss 46. U of L got to the 23 on a 19-yard pass from Ragone to tight end Richard Owens. But Ragone got pummeled on the next three plays - he was sacked twice - and the Cards were out of field-goal range. Chad Lee recovered a fumble at the Eaglesí 26 to set up U of Lís only first half score, a 22-yard field goal by Smith. The rest of the half looked all too familiar for the Cards. Ragone lost a fumble that led to a 48-yard Southern Miss field goal that made it The Cards again drove into Southern Miss territory with six minutes left in the half, but T. J. Patterson fumbled and Southern Miss recovered. On the next play, DíAngelo hit Chris Johnson for a 67-yard score that gave the Eagles their 17-3 halftime lead. U of L rushed for just 14 net yards on 21 carries in the half while holding Southern Miss to 36 yards on 19 carries. Only the 67-yard completion allowed the Eagles to finish with more first-half yards than U of L, and the Cardinals largely contained Derrick Nix. U of Lís defense got even tougher in the second half. For the game, U of L managed only 223 yards of offense but held Southern Miss to just 5 of 20 on third-down conversions.

11 UAB 21 Louisville 41 Papa John s Cardinal Stadium Louisville, Ky. UAB Louisville UAB Gibson 5-yd run (Hayes kick) - 2 plays, 10 yds (0:38) LOU Dorsey 30-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 1 play, 30 yds (0:07) LOU Gates 16-yd run (Smith kick) - 5 plays, 49 yds (1:02) LOU Smith 28-yd field goal - 10 plays, 65 yds (2:12) LOU Slatter 1-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 2 plays, 16 yds (0:14) LOU Smith 52-yd field goal - 5 plays, 12 yds (1:18) LOU Patterson 6-yd run (Smith kick) - 6 plays, 56 yds (1:51) UAB Dudley 4-yd run (Hayes kick) - 9 plays, 54 yds (2:14) LOU Harris 12-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 10 plays, 68 yds (4:42) UAB Simmons 16-yd pass from Cox (Hayes kick) - 9 plays, 69 yds (2:38) UAB LOU First downs Rushed-yards Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 30:38 29:22 UAB - Gibson , Burks , Cox , Dudley , Hackney 5-(-7)-0. Louisville - Patterson , Gates , Miller , Team 3-(-8)-0, Ragone 6-(-9)-0. UAB - Hackney , Cox Louisville - Ragone UAB - Cook , Chavez , Quinnie , White , Borders , Simmons , Southall , Gibson Louisville - Dorsey , Russell , Owens , Tinch , Patterson 2-6-0, , Gates , Harris , Glenn , Clark 1-4-0, Slatter The University of Louisville football team had an afternoon filled with the unexpected yesterday. For one thing, a strange visitor came calling at Papa Johnís Cardinal Stadium. Itís called a running game, which quarterback Dave Ragone happily greeted as the Cardinals whipped Conference USA rival Alabama Birmingham after what coach John L. Smith termed a ìpooríí start by the offense. And then, not long after this giddy bunch of Cards became the first in the programís 91-year history to realize a fifth consecutive winning record, U of L team quarters rocked with news that a third straight C-USA title will be at stake Saturday when Smithís squad visits Houston in the regular-season finale. That scenario surprisingly came about when East Carolina upended No. 22-ranked Texas Christian TCU began the day atop the conference standings but now is fit to be tied with two league losses, the same as U of L, East Carolina and Cincinnati. Even Frank Modarelli, executive director for the Dec. 18 GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala., was unable to carry out his business in Louisville. His bowl appeared on the verge of inviting U of L. But now that thereís gridlock for first place in C-USA - and the league has no tiebreaker system to determine a champion - the GMAC must wait to see what Liberty Bowl officials do, and that decision wonít come before Saturday. The Liberty Bowl has first dibs on the C- USA. ìweíd love to have Louisville, but there are just too many things undecided,íí Moderalli said. In the meantime, U of L (7-4, 5-2) is delighted to see some consistency return as it managed a twogame winning streak for only the second time this season - it won three straight following the loss at Colorado State. ìweíre an up-and-down team with the ebbs and flows,íí Ragone said. ìweíre nothing very pretty.... Weíre pretty ugly at times.î Yesterday was further proof of that. Ragone completed 21 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns but also fired three interceptions and fumbled once. The Cards - among national leaders in penalties and yards penalized - continued to have a few problems there, with seven infractions for 55 yards. And they failed to cash in on three scoring opportunities, twice after UAB turnovers. ìthe thing that upsets me more than anything is that we were capable of putting more points on the board,íí said Smith, adding that the Cards must eliminate holding and illegal procedure penalties. In fact, U of Lís offense did little until the second quarter, when it reached the UAB 21-yard line before Ragone threw his first interception. ìshaky is a compliment to how we started,íí Smith said, smiling. ìwe were poor. We got off to a real poor start.î But U of L continued to work at its running game, and by dayís end the Cards had amassed a seasonhigh 205 yards. Junior T. J. Patterson, U of Lís leading rusher last season but relegated to backup duty this year behind Henry Miller, ran 18 times for 135 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Lionel Gates added 65 yards and a TD on 13 carries as Miller played sparingly because of an ankle injury. Pattersonís previous high this year had been 44 yards. ìour guys up front came back after the first series and said they could beat their man,íí said Ragone, explaining why a rushing offense that ranked 105th in NCAA Division I-A at kickoff suddenly came to life. ìwe could just tell they werenít real physical,íí tackle 124 Jerry Spencer said. ìand (Patterson) came out and played the way he was supposed to.î U of L wide receiver Damien Dorsey certainly was glad to see a ground attack. ìi was so happy to see it pick up,íí he said. ìthat was the game for us, to tell the truth.î And, of course, Smith flashed a big smile when the running game was mentioned. ìwe ran the ball extremely well,íí he said. ìwe intend to run it every week.î UAB coach Watson Brown was surprised by U of Lís success on the ground. ìi didnít think they could run the football against us like that.... Nobody has done that the last several weeks,íí he said. So why yesterday? ìi donít know,íí he said. ìi know we missed a lot of tackles.... But I thought their running game was the difference.î The ability to run the ball clearly enabled U of L to turn the game into a rout. The Cards fell behind 7-0, then scored 34 unanswered points and led late in the game before an announced crowd of 35,261. ìthey beat us in all phases,íí Brown said. ìwe knew we had to play our best ballgame, and we didnít do that.î Dorsey, who sustained a shoulder injury, complemented the running game with eight catches for 98 yards and one touchdown. Heís uncertain of his status for the Houston game. U of L also did the job on defense, holding UAB (5-6, 4-3) to 377 yards. ìwe ran to the ball,íí linebacker Michael Brown said. ìwe were excited. We wanted to show everybody how we can perform.î Several U of L players said Senior Day also factored into the Cardsí performance. ìcoach said to play for the seniors, and we did,í senior defensive end Devon Thomas said, adding that he lingered with fans for a while. ìi tried to sign every autograph put in front of me.... I kissed a couple of kids.î And, he added with a laugh, ìi raised a little money.î Said senior tight end Toneí Slatter, who caught his first career touchdown pass: ìi thought, This is the last game Iíll play at Papa Johnís Cardinal Stadium.í Everybody who lined up said, Theyíve got it coming.í í Slatterís catch - a 1-yarder from Ragone - also was his first reception of the season and just the second of his career. Two other U of L players reached milestones. Ragone became the all-time leader in victories as a U of L quarterback with a 27-9 record. Frank Gitschier, who primarily is known for recruiting the legendary Johnny Unitas, set the old mark of from Nate Smithís 52-yard field goal in the third quarter enabled him to tie three players for the longest in U of L history.

12 Louisville 10 Houston 27 Robertson Stadium Houston, Texas Louisville Houston LOU Smith 45-yd field goal 8 plays, 52 yds (2:47) HOU Reynolds 21-yd pass from Eddy (Bell kick) - 8 plays, 85 yds (3:34) HOU Bell 41-yd field goal 6 plays, 55 yds (3:20) HOU Bell 26-yd field goal 13 plays, 64 yds (6:05) HOU Reynolds 25-yd pass from Eddy (Bell kick) - 3 plays, 19 yds (2:20) LOU Harris 57-yd pass from Ragone (Smith kick) - 3 plays, 64 yds (0:54) HOU Robinson 40-yd pass from Eddy (Bell kick) - 5 plays, 55 yards (2:57) LOU HOU First downs Rushed-yards Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 19:33 40:27 Louisville - Ragone , Patterson , Miller 1-2-0, Gates 5-(-2)-0. Houston - Reynolds , Botts 2-8-0, Evans 3-1-0, Bell 1-(-3)-0, Eddy 2-(-4)-0. Louisville - Ragone Houston - Eddy Louisville - Russell , Clark , Harris , Owens 2-1-0, Glenn , Patterson Houston - Robinson , Reynolds , Cucci , Middleton , Clark , Bell , Feathers 1-6-0, Mattox ìgood job taking care of Florida State.î As the University of Louisville football players dragged themselves into the Robertson Stadium locker room yesterday, a Houston fanís sarcastic shout seemed to serve as a jarring reminder: The Cardinals failed miserably to live up to lofty expectations this season, and a stunning loss to the Cougars yesterday left them with a 7-5 record and without an immediate bowl bid. ìthe season from hell,íí coach John L. Smith said. ìweíve had so much turmoil. Itís been terrible.î Septemberís raucous upset of the Seminoles in overtime seemed like years ago by the time U of L gasped and wheezed to a 17-point loss against a perennial Conference USA bottom feeder. The Cards - who talked openly during the preseason about going undefeated and crashing the Bowl Championship Series but lost their opener to Kentucky - will have to wait to see what bowl will take them. GMAC Bowl president Jerry Silverstein came to Houston ready to announce a Louisville-Marshall matchup for the Dec. 18 game in Mobile, Ala., but postponed any decision until at least today. ìto go into the locker room after a loss like that wouldnít be the right thing to do,íí he said. The Cards actually had a chance to salvage something yesterday. A victory would have given them a share of their third straight C-USA title and momentum heading into a postseason game, possibly the AXA Liberty Bowl. But they seemed to play with no fire or emotion and trailed 20-3 late in the third quarter. ìiím just happy theyíre going to allow us to go to a bowl at all, the way we played,íí senior defensive end Devon Thomas said. ìwe didnít play like a bowl-eligible team, thatís for sure.î Silverstein said U of L is still the front-runner for the GMAC berth, having finished one game behind Texas Christian (6-2) in the league. The Horned Frogs accepted C-USAís Liberty Bowl bid after beating Memphis. Houston (5-7, 3-5) came into the game with one of the worst defenses in Division I-A, giving up nearly 45 points per game in their last three outings. Yet Louisville managed just one touchdown and only 184 yards of offense. The Cards said all week that they relished a shot at a conference three-peat, but their play hardly reflected that. ìiíve never had a loss so bad,íí Smith said. ìthat was the most disheartening day Iíve ever gone through as a coach.î The exact opposite was true on the other sideline. The Cougars rallied around their coach, Dana Dimel, who was fired last Sunday after three seasons. The players carried him off the field. ìthis is the greatest day Iíve ever had as a football coach,íí Dimel said. Smith said he was worried that Dimel would empty the playbook in his final game, gambling on blitzes and trick plays. Instead, Dimel played it straight - he handed the ball to tailback Joffrey Reynolds, who rushed 41 times for 149 yards. The only trick play Dimel called was a first-half reverse that resulted in a fumble and a loss of 3 yards. Louisville scored first, driving to the Houston 30- yard line on the gameís first series before settling for a Nate Smith field goal after Dave Ragone threw two incompletions in the end zone. Ragone, who was 15 of 29 for 184 yards, injured his left ankle on a scramble during his second series. He played the second half with most of his lower leg covered in tape, then didnít speak to the media after the game. Smith refused to blame Ragoneís injury or the absence of senior wideout Damien Dorsey (injured shoulder) for the teamís poor offensive showing. ì(dave) came out and did everything he can do,íí Smith said. ìitís our fault for not giving him the right things to do.î Houston quarterback Nick Eddy threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Reynolds. His 40-yard scoring strike to Brian Robinson late in the game sealed the outcome. Louisville trailed only 13-3 and had forced a punt in the third quarter when return man Anthony Floyd fumbled on a fair catch and Houstonís Thomas Gafford recovered at the U of L 19. Three plays later, Eddy hit Reynolds for a 25-yard score. Ragone came back on the next series and found Antoine Harris on a short out pattern. Harris faked toward the sideline after the reception, then cut back toward the middle of the field for a 57-yard touchdown play. That was the extent of U of Lís offensive fireworks. ìwe underestimated Houston, basically,íí receiver Broderick Clark said. ìwe thought they were going to lay down for us.î For the second straight year, the Cardinals came out flat in their final regular-season game in Texas. Last year they lost at TCU. ìwe didnít play like there was a championship on the line,íí said offensive lineman Antoine Sims. ìit was not so much what they were doing as what we werenít doing, or what we should have done.î Defensive back Josh Minkins said he sensed a problem early. ìi could see it in the locker room,íí Minkins said. ìeverybody was dead. Nobody was talking. We came out with no emotion, no excitement, and they ran all over us.î Exactly why the team couldnít respond with so much on the line was a mystery to the coaches and players. ìall the moons were aligned right - we had our shot today, and we go out and blow it again,íí Thomas said. ìwe have no one to blame but ourselves. Itís funny that fan mentioned Florida State, because thatís what our entire season is going to be remembered for. We didnít do anything but beat Florida State.î 125

13 Marshall 38 Louisville 15 Ladd-Peebles Stadium Mobile, Ala. Marshall Louisville MAR Marriott 9-yd pass from Leftwich (Head kick) 10 plays, 76 yds (3:55) MAR Head 23-yd field goal 9 plays, 53 yds (2:58) MAR Doss 8-yd pass from Leftwich (Head kick) 5 plays, 24 yds (1:43) LOU Patterson 2-yd run (Smith kick) 11 plays, 63 yds (4:30) MAR Doss 12-yd pass from Leftwich (Head kick) 10 plays, 54 yds (5:15) MAR Marriott 26-yd pass from Leftwich (Head kick) 10 plays, 80 yds (3:36) MAR Wallace 15-yd run (Head kick) 1 play, 15 yds (0:08) LOU Jones 11-yd pass from Ragone (Ragone pass to Jones) 12 plays, 95 yds (2:33) MAR LOU First downs Rushed-yards Passing yards Passes (Att-Cmp-Int-TD) Sacked-yards lost Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession 33:01 26:59 Marshall - Wallace , Hargrove , Carey , Leftwich 3-(-6)-0. Louisville - Ragone , Patterson , Gates , Miller 1-(-1)-0, Team 1-(-4)-0. Marshall - Leftwich Louisville - Ragone , LeFors , Smith Marshall - Marriott , Watts , Doss , Davis , Rader , Carey 1-4-0, Wallace Louisville - Owens , Miller , Glenn , Jones , Haskins , Tinch , Harris , Slatter , Russell 1-9-0, Clark The spreading word of John L. Smithís possible departure to Michigan State overshadowed last nightís GMAC Bowl. Or maybe the University of Louisvilleís performance simply shrunk from the light. The Cardinals added a final bit of frustration to their bitterly disappointing season, falling to Marshall before 40,646 fans at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The muchhyped quarterback duel between the Cardinalsí Dave Ragone and the Thundering Herdís Byron Leftwich fizzled, thanks in part to Leftwichís injured leg but mostly because of Ragoneís passing struggles. U of L finished the year 7-6 and now must worry about the status of its coach. Marshall capped its 11-3 season with its fifth straight bowl victory. Many expected offensive fireworks from this matchup of pass-happy teams, but Louisville couldnít hold up its end of the deal. The Cards exhibited the same problems that doomed them in the loss at Houston in the regular-season finale: poor timing in the passing game, no rushing attack and penalties. Ragone bounced his first pass in front of Antoine Harris, a sign of bad things to come. He missed on eight of his first nine attempts and went 0 for 9 to start the second half. Clearly missing favorite targets Ronnie Ghent (injured) and Damien Dorsey (injured and suspended), Louisvilleís all-time winning quarterback looked out of sync with just about every receiver. Ragone finished 20 of 45 for 193 yards. But most of those completions came late in the game as he refused to finish his career quietly. At the end of three quarters he was just 8 of 26 for 78 yards. Leftwich had his own problems. Already burdened by a severely bruised shin, he incurred more damage when Louisville defensive lineman Scott Lopez flattened him after an incomplete pass in the first quarter. Lopez was assessed a 15-yard personal foul penalty. Leftwich threw for two scores in the first half. But the limp he displayed during practice all week grew even more exaggerated, and he overthrew several open receivers. At one point he saw an open seam and tried to scramble. His bum wheel gave way almost instantly, and he collapsed after a 2- yard gain. Coach Bob Pruett sent his future first-round National Football League draft pick to the locker room about three minutes before halftime. But Leftwich, who earlier this year returned to a game from the hospital and had to be carried by teammates, couldnít be kept out of his final college game. He started the second half, threw for two more scores, finished 22 of 44 for 249 yards and was named the gameís MVP. He had a 4-1 TD-interception ratio. 126 It was a long, sometimes ugly game marred by penalties. Marshall committed 17 for 147 yards, while Louisville had 10 for 88 yards. Down 17-0 in the second quarter, the Cards finally put together their first successful drive. Aided by three Marshall penalties, they marched 63 yards for a score to cut their deficit to T. J. Patterson punched in the final 3 yards by following the lead block of offensive lineman Travis Leffew, who lined up in the fullback position. Any thoughts of a major comeback like Marshall pulled in last yearís victory over East Carolina in this same bowl quickly vanished, however, as the rest of the night featured little but futility for Louisville. The Cards went 0 for 12 on third down conversions. They went three-and-out on three of their first four series and punted seven times. Ragone threw an interception and lost a fumble that led to another Thundering Herd score. If not for Tiger Jonesí touchdown catch on fourth down with 13 seconds left in the game, the final score would have been even more one-sided. Smith emptied his playbook in search of anything that would spark his offense. He had Ragone run the option. He called a reverse that had Ragone going out as a receiver. He even tried a fake on one of Nate Smithís rugby punts. Nothing worked. Meanwhile, Marshall executed a simple offensive strategy: Pick on Chris Johnson. The senior defensive back filled in for regular Laroni Gallishaw, who was suspended for violating team rules. Leftwich picked on Johnson on almost every passing play in the first half, with great effect. The biggest beneficiary was Demero Marriott, who finished with 10 receptions for 137 yards and two TDs. Marriottís first score, on a 9-yard catch, gave Marshall a 7-0 lead with 4:50 left in the first quarter. A 19-yard catch by Marriott two series later set up Curtis Headís 23-yard field goal that made it On Marshallís next possession, Johnson was called for interfering with Marriott in the end zone. Leftwich completed the drive by connecting with Demetrius Doss for the first of his two TD catches. After Louisville went threeand-out on its first drive of the second half, the Herd punched in another touchdown. Marriott hauled in a 24-yard catch on a third-and- 18 to keep the drive alive, and Leftwich later found Doss for a 13-yard score. That gave Marshall a 24-7 lead, and it left Cardinals fans wondering whether theyíd have to deal with a coaching search in the near future.