ST. PETERSBURG--The Louisville Cardinals overcame a two touchdown deficit to defeat Southern Mississippi 31-28 in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl Tuesday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. For three and half quarters, the Cardinals found themselves either trailing or tied with the Golden Eagles until Chris Philpott’s 36 yard field goal gave them the lead for good with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter.
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| Louisville Quarterback Justin Burke |
Southern Miss jumped out to quick 7-0 lead when Austin Davis connected with Quentin Pierce on a 32 yard touchdown pass less than three minutes into the game. Two minutes later, Desmond Johnson’s 62 yard jaunt down the right sideline put the Golden Eagles up 14-0.
Louisville got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when quarterback Justin Burke found Cameron Graham in the end zone from eleven yards out to pull the Cardinals within a touchdown.
Southern Miss came right back on a reverse half-back option pass from Quentin Pierce to quarterback Austin Davis from 17 yards out for a touchdown giving the Golden Eagles a 21-7 lead.
Louisville scored the next two touchdowns to tie the game at 21-21 going into halftime.
Early in the fourth quarter, Austin Davis hit Zeke Walters with an eight yard touchdown lifting Southern Miss to a 28-21 lead. It was Davis’ 53rd career touchdown pass breaking the school record owned by Brett Favre.
On the ensuing kickoff, Jeremy Wright burst through the Golden Eagles for a 95 yard touchdown run once again tying the contest at 28-28.
Louisville finally got the lead when Chris Philpott booted a 36 yard field goal with 6:30 left in the game. The Cardinals defense held on to earn a bowl win for first year head coach Charlie Strong.
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| Louisville Cardinals Head Coach Charlie Strong |
”One of our goals was to get our seniors to a bowl game“, Strong said. ”We didn’t quit. It was a total team effort. That’s what this team has been about all season.“
Southern Miss head coach Larry Fedora said, ”it was a tough loss for our football team. We just gave away a big play on special teams and you can’t do that in a close game.“
Louisville finishes 2010 with a 7-6 record. Southern Miss ends the season at 8-5.
Extra Points
Southern Miss' Head Coach Larry Fedora and Louisville's Charley Strong were both former coordinators for the University of Florida at different times, Fedora on offense, Strong on defense.
Former Palmetto High School standout Damian Copeland played wide receiver for Louisville.
Austin Davis’ 4th quarter touchdown pass to Zeke Walters which at the time gave Southern Miss a 28-21 lead was his 53rd at Southern Miss surpassing Brett Favre’s record.
Jeremy Wright was named the Louisville bowl MVP for his 95 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Quarterback Austin Davis was named Southern Miss’ bowl MVP.
Tonight’s attendance at Tropicana Field for the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl was 20,017.
A video post-game recap is posted below.
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