The 12th ranked Louisville Cardinals dominated 17th ranked Miami 31-7 on Saturday gaining the signature win it’s been searching for under coach Bobby Petrino. The victory came at a price as Louisville lost its second Heisman Trophy candidate in as many weeks as junior quarterback Brian Brohm is lost for four to six weeks due to a dislocated thumb on his right (throwing) hand in the third quarter. In week two the Cardinals lost running back and Heisman hopeful Michael Bush for the season from a torn ACL. Brohm threw for 181 yards and a touchdown before giving way to backup quarterback Hunter Cantwell, who finished off the Hurricanes with 113 yards and a touchdown pass.
“I think it just shows how deep we are and how much talent we have,” said Brohm, who expects to be back by the time Louisville host No.5 West Virginia on November 5. “Just to go out there on home field and put it to Miami like that, it felt good.”
“Well, it was pretty obvious today we were embarrassed,” Miami coach Larry Coker said. “Our players are embarrassed, our coaches are embarrassed. We thoroughly got whipped.”
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Kolby Smith, one of the backs used to replace Bush, ran for two touchdowns as Louisville beat a ranked opponent from a Bowl Championship Conference for the first time since 2002.
“They’re always saying that we can’t win the big one,” Smith said. “They’re saying that we’ve beat up on other teams and we haven’t beat a ranked team but when you go out and win a game in that fashion, its says a lot about our team.”
Miami quarterback Kyle Wright threw for 278 yards but spent most of the second half running from a fierce Louisville pass rush that sacked him four times.
The Cardinals rallied from an early deficit to take a 10-7 lead at the half on a 56-yard touchdown pass from Brohm to Mario Urrutia. They were marching again on their first drive of the third quarter when Brohm fell on his hand while scrambling away from pressure. Cantwell who started two games for the Cardinals last season including a Gator Bowl loss to Virginia Tech after Brohm injured his right knee in a win over Syracuse last November replaced Brohm.
If Cantwell was nervous, he didn’t show it. Smith scored on a four-yard run one play after Cantwell entered the game. On the next possession, Cantwell stepped up and threw a 45-yard strike to Harry Douglass. Two plays after the pass to Douglass, Smith bulled over from the one and the Cardinals had a 24-7 lead the same advantage they had over Miami two years ago and over West Virginia last year. Both times the Cardinals let the game slip away.
Not Saturday, as Louisville’s defense dominated a punch less Miami offense that took just one snap on Louisville’s side of the field in the second half until the game’s final minute.
