SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 8, 2012
Louisville 35, Missouri State 7: Teddy Bridgewater threw for a career-high 344 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 24 Louisville past visiting Missouri State.
Senorise Perry ran for 72 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and Nate Nord had four receptions for 59 yards and a score for the Cardinals (2-0), who rolled up 475 yards of total offense.
Bridgewater, last season's Big East Conference rookie of the year, went over 300 yards for the first time in his career, completing 30 of 39 passes and connecting with 10 different receivers.
Missouri State (0-2) was limited to only 249 yards of offense one week after throwing a scare into Kansas State, which ripped off 35 fourth-quarter points to turn it into a rout.
Matthew Nakatani booted field goals of 19 and 45 yards and Louisville's first five scoring drives all covered at least 67 yards behind the methodical Bridgewater, whose first TD pass to Nord put the Cardinals ahead 18-0 with 8:39 left in the first half.
The Bears got on the scoreboard in the final minute of the opening half when Ashton Glaser capped a 73-yard match with a 6-yard scoring pass to Cadarrius Dotson.
Bridgewater extended the lead back to 18 points with a 2-yard scoring pass to tight end Ryan Hubbell with just under six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Glaser, a transfer from Missouri, finished 14 of 23 for 125 yards with one touchdown and one interception before he was replaced in the fourth quarter.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Missouri State lost its 26th consecutive game to an FBS opponent. ... Cardinals RB Jeremy Wright, who ran for three scores in the season opener, was assisted off the field and went to the locker room in the second quarter. He returned briefly in the third quarter and finished with 43 yards on 10 carries. ... Missouri State did not pick up its first first down until the midway point of the second quarter. Louisville had piled up 14 first downs and 259 yards by that point. ... Bears LB Andrew Beisel appeared to injure his lower in the first quarter but returned for the second half.