SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 21, 2013
No. 6 Louisville 72, Florida International 0: Teddy Bridgewater threw for four touchdowns - two to DeVante Parker - as the host Cardinals ended non-conference play with a record-setting rout.
Dominique Brown and Senorise Perry combined for 129 rushing yards and scored a touchdown apiece for Louisville (4-0), which outgained the Golden Panthers by a whopping 464-30 margin, establishing a new team record for the fewest total yards allowed in a game. Parker finished with six catches for 74 yards as the Cardinals fell one point shy of tying the single-game school record for points set in 2007.
E.J. Hilliard completed 4-of-9 passes for 27 yards and Alfonso Randolph
gained 13 yards on the ground for Florida International (0-4), which has been
outscored 187-23 on the year.
Bridgewater, who was 17-for-22 for 212 yards, hit Parker for a 3-yard score just minutes into the contest and had two more first-half touchdown passes after Brown and Perry scored on the run to help Louisville carry a 38-0 lead into halftime. Charles Gaines returned the opening kickoff of the second half 93 yards for another Cardinals score, and Bridgewater picked up his final touchdown pass with a 34-yard connection with Eli Rogers midway through the third.
When Michael Dyer ran it in from 3 yards out to make it 58-0 with 1:35 left in the third, Florida International had just two first downs. The Golden Panthers would not get another first down and finish with 3 yards rushing, one lost fumble and 11 punts.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Florida International upset Louisville in its last visit to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in 2011. ... This marked the Cardinals' first shutout win since a 26-0 victory over Connecticut on Oct. 23, 2010. ... Both teams have next weekend off before Florida International visits Southern Mississippi and Louisville heads to Temple.