By Sam Draut
The No. 9 University of Louisville football team opened the season with a 49-7 win over Ohio.
Junior quarterback and Heisman hopeful Teddy Bridgewater set a career high with 5 touchdowns to go
along with 355 passing yards in front of a sellout crowd of 55,332 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
Bridgewater connected with a primarily unheralded target in junior wide receiver Kai De La Cruz.
“It just took me a while to get the mental aspect of the game, to understand the playbook,” Cruz said. “I
know every position so it helps me to play faster and understand the game better.”
Cruz’s first career catch went for a 40 yard touchdown and he added another 30 yard touchdown
reception in the fourth quarter. Cruz finished with four catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
“It was great to see a guy come up like that out of nowhere. It started in training camp, he had great
practices, and it carried over into the game,” senior wide receiver Damian Copeland said.
Copeland matched his career high with 6 receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
Juniors DeVante Parker and Robert Clark each added four receptions and a touchdown.
As effective as the passing game was, the running game pounded out 199 yards and average five yards
per carry.
9 months from an ACL tear, junior Senorise Perry started at running back, rushing for a team high 62
yards on 13 carries.
Junior Dominique Brown returned after redshirting the 2012 season. He ran for 40 yards on seven
carries.
“It felt great to get back out into a game situation,” Brown said.
Transfer Michael Dyer stole the show with the longest play from scrimmage, a 46 yard touchdown run at
the beginning of the third quarter. Dyer finished with 50 yards on four carries.
“Just to watch him have an explosive play was good for him. It’s good for his confidence and it’s also
good for our team. You saw how they all ran up when he scored that run. It’s a good feeling when
you’ve been out of football for that long and been battling what he’s been battling and then go have a
good run,” U of L head coach Charlie Strong said.
The defense was stout for a majority of the game, holding the Bobcats to just 273 yards of total offense
and 13 first downs.
Sophomore James Burgess led with six and half tackles and a forced fumble. Senior Preston Brown
added five tackles, while senior Hakeem Smith added his second career interception at the start of the
second quarter.
The Cardinals play next Saturday at noon at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium against FCS foe Eastern
Kentucky.
