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Joy in Mudville: Cards stun ACC bullies
By CHRIS DUNCAN
AP Sports Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky (AP) � The Louisville players ran through the
puddles on the field, with the rain-soaked fans not far behind. Before long
both goal posts were carried off.
``To have these guys come to our house was big,'' Louisville coach John L.
Smith said. ``To beat them was even bigger.''
This was big, all right, for the Cardinals � a 26-20 overtime victory over
No. 4 Florida State on Thursday night.
In a hard and steady downpour, Henry Miller ran 25 yards for a touchdown on
the second play of overtime following Anthony Floyd's interception.
``It was a national stage, they're ranked fourth in the country and they're
Florida State,'' said Louisville's Dave Ragone, who completed 15 of 27
passes for 182 yards and two TDs. ``How do you get any bigger than that?''
The Cardinals (3-2) salvaged a season on the brink after a 2-2 start with
one of the biggest wins in school history.
The Seminoles (4-1) were the highest-ranked team to play in the 4-year-old
Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
``They were better than we were,'' Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said.
``Before the season, I was very concerned about this game because they were
playing as good as anybody last season. We came in here 4-0, but they could
have been 4-0 just as easily.''
Florida State was playing its first overtime game and lost to an unranked
team for the second time in two seasons. N.C. State beat the Seminoles 34-28
in 2001.
``It's kind of like playing golf,'' Bowden said. ``You come to the last hole
even and then you hit your drive out of bounds.''
The Seminoles, fourth nationally in scoring defense entering the game, had
only 335 yards. Chris Rix was 14-of-33 for 173 yards with an interception.
The Seminoles led 20-13 after Rix found Talman Gardner on a 21-yard TD pass
in the final minute of the third quarter. Ragone's 1-yard TD pass to Damien
Dorsey made it 20-20 with 11:37 left.
``We got to him, got in his face,'' Bowden said. ``But he tucked it and ran
for a first down over and over and over. He killed us.''
Remnants of Tropical Storm Isidore soaked Louisville all day and through the
game, but most of the crowd of 38,109 stayed until the end.
The Cardinals won the overtime coin toss but chose to play defense. Rix eyed
Gardner in the end zone on first down, but Floyd caught it at the 2 to set
up Miller's run.
``Man, you dream of things like this all your life,'' Miller said.
The Cardinals trailed 13-6 at halftime, finishing the half with more
penalties (eight) than first downs (six) and more penalty yards (100) than
total yards (77).
Ragone finished a 51-yard drive in the third quarter with a 30-yard TD pass
down the sideline to Joshua Tinch with 4:05 left.
Rix was just 2-for-12 in the first half, but was 5-for-5 on Florida State's
answering drive. Gardner's 21-yard TD catch was his fourth reception of the
drive.
A holding penalty nullified a 43-yard TD pass from Ragone to Dorsey early in
the fourth quarter. Unfazed, Ragone found Tinch for 23 yards on the next
play. Two passes to T.J. Patterson drove the Cardinals to the 2. After a
penalty moved the ball to the 1, Ragone rolled right and hit Dorsey for the
tying touchdown.
``I couldn't take him down enough,'' Florida State defensive end Alonzo
Jackson said. ``He's a great player.''
The Seminoles gave up their first first-quarter points of the season on a
45-yard field goal by Nate Smith 1:42 into the game.
Florida State trailed for the first time this season, but not for long. A
33-yard pass from receiver Anquan Boldin to Gardner set up Xavier Beitia's
40-yard field goal with 10:21 left in the quarter.
A personal foul on cornerback Laroni Gallishaw kept alive Florida State's TD
drive early in the second quarter. Rix found Gardner on a 23-yard slant with
11:08 left.
Leading Louisville receiver Dontay Spillman did not play. He was suspended
for disciplinary reasons by Smith.
Copyright 2002
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:47:51 AM
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