By Josh Lipka
The University of Louisville football team defeated Southern Mississippi in the Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl game to a score of 31-28. First year head coach Charlie Strong helped guide the Cardinals to the program’s first winning season since 2006.
The match was played on Dec. 21 in St. Petersburg, Florida at Tropicana Field, home to the Major League Baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays. For the Cardinals 25 seniors, this was the last opportunity to earn a Bowl Championship. Hopes for victory began to fade as the Cardinals finished the first quarter trailing Southern Miss by 14 points. Senior quarterback Justin Burke and the offense managed to level the score 21-21 by the end of the half. The second half was a different story due to the Cardinal defense allowing no points in the third quarter. Senior linebacker Brandon Heath was one of the key players in the Cardinal defense finishing the game tallying nine tackles.
The score remained even entering the fourth quarter until Southern Mississippi scored a touchdown and kicked an extra point to gain the lead to 28-21 with 14 minutes left on the game clock. The Cardinals would answer the following play when redshirt freshman running back Jeremy Wright returned for a 95 yard kick-off for the touchdown. The Cardinals for a second time tied the match to 28-28 with 14 minutes left in the game.
No points were scored until the game clock was at the six minute mark, as junior kicker Chris Philpott kicked a 36 yard field goal to nudge the Cardinals ahead 31-28. And with the Cardinals offense running the clock out and a defense allowing no points, Cardinal Country finally has witnessed a winning football team since 2006. Coach Strong and the Cardinal football team finish the 2010 season with seven wins and six losses and the programs first Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl Championship.
