By David Mann

With a brisk northeast wind in their face, the University of Louisville football Cardinals took to the field on Saturday. The Cards ran away with the game late, outscoring the Memphis tigers 38-21. The game marked the beginning of Conference USA play and the win didnÕt come without a lot of effort by key players on the team.

Things began on a sour note for the cards; Memphis was able to capitalize on a fumble by U of L quarterback, Dave Ragone, during the opening drive of the game. The Cards found themselves down 7-0 after only 2:48 had ticked off the clock. However, U of L was able to tie things up by the end of the first with an 11-play, 80-yard drive down field that was capped off by a10-yard TD pass to wide receiver Deion Branch. The on-the-run reception was the beginning of a beautiful day for the senior wide receiver.

The two teams were tied at seven at the end of the first quarter and Memphis was not able to regain the lead after that. By the second play of the second quarter the Cardinals special teams managed to put three more on the board with 27-yard field goal by Nathan Smith.

However, the Tigers were not without highlights of their own. U of LÕs defense struggled with the opposing teamÕs running game early, allowing Memphis junior, Dante Brown, to go 97 yards on 9 carriers in the first half. A key turning point for the Cards came late in the second when Dave Ragone connected with Deion Branch once again, this time for a 69-yard touchdown pass. “It was a basic catch-and-run play,” Branch said. Branch caught four passes for 122-yards and two touchdowns in the first half. It was the third time in five games Branch had over 100-yards receiving in a single game. The Cardinals were up 17-7 at halftime.

By far the big story in the first half was the passing game that the Cards put together. QB Dave Ragone passed for 148-yards on eight completions by halftime.

In the second half Louisville head coach, John L. Smith, stitched together a running game unmatched by any other thus far this season. The team ended up with a season-high 235 rushing yards. The charge was lead by running back Tony Stallings who ended up with 17 carries for 155 yards including two touchdowns. True freshman teammate Lionel Gates ran for 68 yards on 16 carries in his collegiate debut, and in the midst of all that, managed to score his first career touchdown late in the third quarter raising the CardsÕ lead to 24-7 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Smith said of the young player “I think he did pretty good the first time out of the box.” Smith also stressed the need for Gates to understand all that will be asked of him.

Late in the fourth quarter Louisville still held firmly to its 24-7 lead, but that was when the real fireworks started. A total of four touchdowns were scored in the last 2 1/2 minutes of the game. First there was a 21-yard Touchdown pass to Memphis Senior Bunkie Perkins by second-string QB Danny Winprine and that started the scoring flood. Sixteen seconds later, Tony Stallings ran in a 45-yard U of L touchdown on their first play from scrimmage. Two minutes later Memphis struck once again with a 17-yard pass to Darron White. Then with 15 seconds on the clock Stallings takes another one in, this time from 2 yards out, leaving the Cardinals with a 38 to 21 final score. After the game, Smith said, “I donÕt want to discuss about how they started, but IÕm proud of the way they fought back.” Both the passing game and the ground attack played key roles in the win. By the end of the day Ragone had passed for 207 yards. ” It was a good conference win for us against a quality opponent. They have a great defense and we were able to have good balance today.”

The Cards Take on Colorado State for a liberty bowl rematch on Thursday.