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News Nuggets, 11.28.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Deja vu? Cards punish Bearcats after pregame taunts

LOUISVILLE — As Louisville poured on the points, linebacker Brandon Johnson was hoping the Cardinals' high-powered offense and opportunistic special teams would slow down.

Louisville struck quickly and often, beating Cincinnati 70-7 on Saturday to clinch its third Conference USA championship since 2000.

Montrell Jones caught two touchdown passes and returned a punt for a score, Eric Shelton rushed for 158 yards and Kolby Smith had three short TD runs for Louisville, which reached 70 points for the first time since 1955 despite having the ball for only 18:21.

The quick strikes never gave Johnson and the defense much of a breather.

``I told the guys after the game, 'You guys don't know anything about ball control,'' he said. ``I mean, three plays, touchdown; one play, touchdown; two plays, touchdown. But that's how our offense plays. What are you going to do?''

Johnson was part of the problem. He returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and Tiger Jones recovered another blocked punt in the end zone for Louisville (9-1, 7-0), which accepted the league champion's automatic bid to the Liberty Bowl after the game.

Louisville was No. 10 in the latest Bowl Championship Series standings but resigned to settling for the Dec. 31 game in Memphis.

``I'm excited to go to the Liberty Bowl,'' Montrell Jones said. ``The closer you can play to New Year's Day, the better.''

The Cardinals were unfazed by gusty winds and steady rain on Saturday, piling up 357 rushing yards and 491 total yards.

Stefan LeFors, the nation's most efficient passer, had a quiet day in his final home game, going 8-of-11 for 79 yards with a TD pass. LeFors didn't mind, even with his deaf parents watching him from the stands.

``I wasn't worried. The defense was making plays and the special teams were coming up big,'' LeFors said. ``It was a fun game to be in.''

Cincinnati (6-5, 5-3), which had a four-game winning streak snapped, mustered only 186 yards without senior quarterback Gino Guidugli, who sat out with a broken bone in his throwing hand.

The Bearcats taunted the Cardinals by dancing on their midfield logo before the game.

Louisville noticed, then commenced the blowout.

On the first play from scrimmage, Shelton broke a tackle and outran three defenders for an 80-yard touchdown, Louisville's longest scoring play of the season.

``There was no way they were going to come into our house and disrespect us,'' LeFors said. ``We took it to heart and dominated.''

The harsh retribution for the perceived sleight was reminiscent of a game earlier this season, when the Cardinals bombed East Carolina 59-7 after a pregame incident in which the Pirates were accused of stomping on the Louisville logo in the center of PaPa John's Cardinal Stadium.

Cincinnati backup quarterback Collin Carey, who had thrown only one pass this season, failed to move the Bearcats beyond their own 34 on their first three possessions.

Louisville cornerback Antoine Harris intercepted Carey's pass near midfield and LeFors threw a 43-yard TD pass to Montrell Jones a minute later. It was LeFors' 17th TD pass of the season and Jones' first TD reception since he transferred from Tennessee two years ago.

In the final seconds of the first quarter, Johnson blocked Chet Ervin's punt, scooped up the loose ball and scored from 7 yards out.

Louisville coach Bobby Petrino emphasized a fast start all week at practice.

``You see a little blood, you've got to seize it and take advantage of it,'' Petrino said. ``We took advantage of it.''

Petrino replaced LeFors with freshman Brian Brohm early in the second quarter, a move he's made in all but two games.

Brohm finished two crisp drives with TD passes to J.R. Russell and Jones. The seldom-used Smith tacked on a 3-yard touchdown run with 2:48 left in the half.

The Bearcats had four turnovers and 50 total yards at halftime.

``We didn't do much of anything,'' Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio said. ``I wish I could point to one play and say, 'This is where it happened.' ''

Shelton had a 54-yard run in the third quarter to set up another short TD by Smith.

Following another sputtering Cincinnati possession, Jones fielded a punt, found a seam and sprinted down the sideline for a 72-yard touchdown.

Less than two minutes later, Louisville linebacker Chad Rimpsey blocked another punt and Tiger Jones fell on the loose ball in the end zone.

Butler Benton spoiled Louisville's shutout bid with a 1-yard run for Cincinnati with 9:02 left in the game.

Louisville defeated their regional rival for the sixth time in seven meetings.

College football weekend: stars & storylines

SATURDAY'S STARS

 —  DeAngelo Williams, Memphis, rushed for more than 200 yards for the fourth time in seven games, gaining a career-high 263 and scoring two touchdowns to lead Memphis to a 31-15 victory over South Florida.

 —  Defensive back turned running back Diamond Ferri, Syracuse, ran for 141 yards two touchdowns and scored again on an interception as the Orange rolled to a 43-17 victory over No. 17 Boston College to deprive the Eagles of a Bowl Championship Series berth and a farewell Big East title.

 —  Freshman Richard Irvin, making his first start for Tulane, threw his fifth touchdown pass of the game with 43 seconds left to give the Green Wave a 35-31 win over TCU. Irvin, filling in for the injured Lester Ricard, finished 22-of-37 for 282 yards with TD passes of 3, 3, 11, 25 and 12 yards.

I-AA PLAYOFF WATCH

 —  Erik Meyer connected with Eric Kimble on a 45-yard touchdown pass with 1:49 left as Eastern Washington rallied and stunned top-ranked Southern Illinois 35-31. Meyer, who threw 28 TD passes during the season, brought Eastern Washington back from a 17-7 halftime deficit and a 24-14 hole midway through the third quarter. ... Former Texas A&M quarterback Dustin Long threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns, leading Sam Houston State to a 54-24 win over Western Kentucky. ... Former Florida starter Ingle Martin threw four touchdowns to lead Furman to its first NCAA Division I-AA playoff victory in three years, 49-7, over Jacksonville State. Furman, the 1988 national champs, hadn't won a playoff game since reaching the Division I-AA championship game in 2001 ... Domininique Thompson caught two touchdown passes and returned a kickoff 92 yards in the fourth quarter to put William & Mary ahead for good as the Dukes beat Hampton 42-35. ... Raymond Hines rushed for 193 yards and a 1-yard touchdown as James Madison defeated Lehigh 14-13. ... Lex Hilliard rushed for 171 yards and four touchdowns and Craig Ochs passed for 234 yards and three more scores as Montana dominated Northwestern State 56-7. ... Sonny Riccio ran for two touchdowns and passed for 148 yards to lead Delaware to a 28-14 win against Lafayette.

SCORING

Pittsburg State broke a 118-year-old NCAA all-division scoring record in its 50-36 Division II playoff victory over Northwest Missouri State, finishing the game with 774 point for the season. Harvard set the previous record of 765 in 1886 in a 14-game season.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Montrell Jones caught two touchdown passes and returned a punt for a score, and No. 7 Louisville clinched its third Conference USA championship since 2000 with a 70-7 rout of Cincinnati. Brandon Johnson returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and Tiger Jones recovered another blocked punt in the end zone for Louisville, which reached 70 points for the first time since a 72-0 win over Wayne State in 1955.

COMEBACK

Vincent Brown ran for one touchdown and caught a pass for another to help Valdosta State overcome a 24-point halftime deficit to defeat Albany State, 38-24, in the quarterfinals of the Division II playoffs.

RECORDS

Ashlan Davis extended his own NCAA record with his fifth kickoff return (74 yards) for a touchdown this season and Tulsa beat No. 24 UTEP 37-35 for its first win against a ranked opponent in more than eight years. ... Paul Pinegar threw for three touchdowns and Fresno State set an NCAA record for quickest touchdowns, scoring twice within an eight-second span, en route to beating San Jose State 62-28. After Wendell Mathias scored on two-yard run with 13:21 left in the half to make it 21-7, Jaron Fairman recovered an onside kick, the Bulldogs first attempt of the season, on the Spartans' 33-yard line. Stephen Spach caught Pinegar's pass on the next play to make it 28-7 at 13:13.

MILESTONES

Maryland's Nick Novak kicked two field goals to finish his career with 393 points, most in ACC history and tied for fifth on the NCAA Division I list. ... Chris Barclay ran for 103 yards and finished with 1,010 yards rushing to become the first Wake Forest player to top the 1,000-yard mark in successive seasons, and his 30th career TD tied a school record. ... Bryan Randall of Virginia Tech threw two second-half touchdown passes and the 11th-ranked Hokies moved one victory from an Atlantic Coast Conference title with a 24-10 victory over No. 16 Virginia. Randall finished 16-for-22 for 200 yards, and passed Don Strock to become the career yardage leader at Virginia Tech.

STREAKS

Gerald Riggs ran 12 yards for a touchdown with 38 seconds remaining and No. 15 Tennessee rallied to beat Kentucky for the 20th consecutive time, 37-31. ... Albany State blew a 24-0 halftime lead in a 38-24 loss to Valdosta State and snapped a 19-game winning streak.

OVERTIME

Missouri's Adam Crossett kicked Iowa State out of the Big 12 championship game. Crossett's 25-yard field goal in overtime, the first of his college career, gave the Tigers the lead and A.J. Kincade's interception preserved a 17-14 victory.

SPEAKING

``If they want to leave the conference, we wanted to send them out with a loss.''  —  Diamond Ferri, who scored two touchdowns on offense and one on defense to help Syracuse beat ACC-bound Boston College 43-17.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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