AMERICAN ATHLETIC/ATLANTIC COAST

Louisville near perfect in its shutout

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - This was one dominant performance, and Teddy Bridgewater and No. 7 Louisville think they can perform even better.

It’s definitely a nice problem to have heading into conference play.

Bridgewater threw four touchdown passes and Louisville’s defense allowed a school-record 30 yards during a 72-0 wipe out of Florida International on Saturday.

It was the highest-scoring game for the Cardinals (4-0) since a 73-10 victory over Murray State in 2007. They matched the school’s fifth-largest margin of victory while recording their first shutout since a 26-0 victory over Connecticut in 2010.

So was this the most complete effort Bridgewater has seen?

“As a team, yes, but we feel we have a little way to go and continue to get better each and every day,” he said. “We’ll take this win and build off that.”

The margin might have been even worse if not for a clock issue in the second half. Gerald Austin, coordinator of officials for Conference USA, acknowledged in a statement that the clock was allowed to run at times when it should have been stopped.

Bridgewater hit DeVante Parker for two touchdown passes and Gerald Christian and Eli Rogers for one apiece before Will Gardner came on and passed to Michaelee Harris for another score in the fourth quarter. Dominique Brown, Senorise Perry, Michael Dyer (Little Rock Christian) and Brandon Radcliff rushed for touchdowns.

In another game involving an American Athletic Conference team, Fitzgerald Toussaint ran for 120 yards and two touchdowns, Desmond Morgan made a one-handed interception in the fourth quarter that swung the game Michigan’s way and the 15th-ranked Wolverines (4-0) dodged another upset with a 24-21 victory against Connecticut (0-3) in East Hartford, Conn.

ATLANTIC COAST

Sims carries Ga. Tech

ATLANTA - David Sims ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns and Georgia Tech recovered to beat North Carolina 28-20 on Saturday.

North Carolina scored the first two touchdowns and held leads of 13-0 and 20-7 in the first half.

Georgia Tech (3-0, 2-0) earned its eighth consecutive home victory in the series. North Carolina (1-2, 0-1) has not won at Bobby Dodd Stadium since 1997.

In other games involving teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Kevin Parks and freshman backup Daniel Hamm each ran for more than 100 yards and two touchdowns as Virginia (2-1) defeated VMI (1-3) 49-0 in Charlottesville, Va. … A.J. Hendy scored on a 28-yard interception return and recovered two fumbles as Maryland (4-0) forced six turnovers in a surprisingly easy 37-0 victory over West Virginia (2-2) in Baltimore. … Tom Savage tied a conference record with six touchdown passes and Pittsburgh (2-1, 1-1) held on for a wild 58-55 victory over Duke (2-2, 0-2) in Durham, N.C. … Logan Thomas ran 2 yards for a touchdown and then ran for the two-point conversion in the third overtime, as Virginia Tech (3-1) beat Marshall (2-2) 29-21 in Blacksburg, Va. … Josh Harris rushed for 96 yards and two second-half touchdowns, Michael Campanaro had a 66-yard scoring catch, and Wake Forest (2-2) rallied past Army (1-3) 25-11 in West Point, N.Y. … Terrel Hunt threw for four touchdowns and ran for another to help Syracuse (2-2) rout Tulane (2-2) 52-17 in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

Sports, Pages 35 on 09/22/2013

Upcoming Events