By Glypie Grider
Louisville clinched its third Conference USA championship since 2000 with a 70-7 victory over regional rival Cincinnati on Saturday. This marked the sixth Cardinal victory in seven meetings with the Bearcats.
Louisville also accepted the automatic bid to the Dec. 31 AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis (provided the Bowl Championship Series doesn’t present an opening) following Saturday afternoon’s win.
“We’ve been trying to just dominate, dominate, dominate from the very opening kickoff on Sept. 5,” senior linebacker Brandon Johnson said.
And the 63-point spread proved the Cardinals can dominate.
Saturday’s victory marked the biggest margin of victory for the Cards all season. The Louisville football program also posted the program’s highest point total since 1955 when U of L topped Wayne State 72-0.
Eric Shelton started the Cardinal barrage with an 80-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage by breaking a tackle and outrunning three defenders. This play marked Louisville’s longest scoring play of the season. Shelton rushed for 158 yards on 10 carries.
Cincinnati’s coach Mark Dantonio admitted that the opening sequence was a blow to Cincinnati’s program. “Obviously, that first play of the game probably had as much to do with everything as anything. I think we were reeling from that point on,” he said.
After Shelton’s early burst, Antoine Harris intercepted Cincinnati backup quarterback Collin Carey’s pass, setting the Cardinal offensive attack in motion. Cincinnati’s senior starting quarterback Gino Guidugli sat out after breaking a bone in his throwing hand last weekend.
Louisville’s senior quarterback Stefan LeFors was able to capitalize on his final year at the helm for the Cards, hitting Montrell Jones with a 43-yard touchdown pass three plays later. The play marked LeFors 17th touchdown pass of the season.
After the Bearcats were three-and-out in the final seconds of the first quarter, Johnson blocked a punt, scooped up the ball and returned it 7 yards to the end zone to put the Cards up 21-0.
Freshman Brian Brohm took over at quarterback to open the second quarter and hit J.R. Russell with a 42-yard TD pass to make it 28-0. Brohm also connected on a 13-yard TD pass to Jones.
Kolby Smith had three short touchdown runs while Tiger Jones rounded out the Cardinal scoring with a recovered blocked punt in the end zone.
Butler Benton spoiled Louisville’s shot at a shutout with a 1-yard run with 9:02 left in the game.
“I think people know we’re a good football team now,” LeFors said. “And they know we’re consistent. Whereas before we might have been up and down, taken a week off here and there and let a team that shouldn’t have sneak up on you, we come out with a lot of excitement, played hard and put up a lot of points early.”
Louisville totaled 357 rushing yards and 491 total yards. The Cards averaged a C-USA record 10.7 yards per play and a record 11.5 yards per carry. The 70 points were the most ever scored by one team in a C-USA game.
“It just typifies what we’ve been all year, and that is a good football team,” Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino said. “Taking care of each other, playing hard for each other. And it’s a good group. We’ve got to have fun while we can for the next month, keeping everybody together, then send our seniors out.”
The official turnout of 37,617 on a cold, rainy afternoon at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium was U of L’s fourth sellout in five home games.
The 7th-ranked Cardinals (9-1, 7-0) now stand within one win of an undefeated conference season. Louisville will battle it out against Tulane on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in New Orleans for the perfect C-USA record.
