Cardinals start strong, fall to No. 2 FSU
Louisville took the champ's punches and staggered and slowed.
Back and forth they danced, Florida State and Louisville, bouncing around this Thursday night football stage like two fighters with nothing to lose.
But it was reigning national champion FSU that landed the ultimate haymaker in a 42-31 win over Louisville, sending the upset-minded Cardinals sprawling to the mat with heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali looking on.
Like three other teams before them this season, Louisville nearly delivered the knockout blow to FSU's astounding winning streak, but the Seminoles mustered up just enough counters to outlast the home-standing challengers and stretch their run to 24 straight victories.
"We really had it in our minds that we could beat these guys," Louisville linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin said. "We just gave it away."
This time FSU (8-0) did it in front of a hungry Papa John's Cardinal Stadium crowd, some 55,000 red-clad fans desperate for a repeat of Louisville's stunning upset of FSU here 12 years ago.
This time FSU did it with a bevy of uppercuts, big play after big play that knocked the wind out of the Cardinals.
Louisville's defense had only allowed nine plays for 30 or more yards before Thursday night. FSU registered five touchdowns for 30 or more yards, each of them more of a staggering hook than the last.
Each time Louisville (6-3) bounced back up, energized by a start that saw the Cards take a 21-0 lead in the first half. That gave them the confidence they needed to be there in the fourth quarter, the very hope of Louisville coach Bobby Petrino in the buildup to the game.
Yet this would be nothing like Louisville's devastating loss at Clemson nearly three weeks ago. The Cardinals wouldn't knock on the winning door in the game's final minute.
Instead they just came close, tallying up points with their own big plays before FSU scored two late touchdowns and held on.
"There's a reason why they were the national champion last year," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said.
Star receiver DeVante Parker, in just his second game this season, rang up 214 yards receiving from eight catches. The very first play from scrimmage rolled 71 yards with Parker at the helm, screaming down the center of the field and delighting the crowd.
His quarterback, Will Gardner, completed 20 of 38 passes for 330 yards and a touchdown. Gardner threw an interception with the game essentially decided.
Michael Dyer threw his weight around, too, rumbling through 134 rushing yards. He muscled in three touchdowns and looked every bit like the BCS championship game MVP that he once was for Auburn just a few years ago.
"We got too relaxed as a defense," Mauldin said. "The offense went out and made plays and scored for us."
FSU offered up its own stars in return.
Jameis Winston, the much-maligned quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner, struggled at times but threw hellacious swings of his own.
He tossed three interceptions and played most of the second half with a limp, but his 401 passing yards and three touchdown tosses more than made up for it.
"I felt like (Gardner) played a little better than Jameis tonight," Louisville cornerback Charles Gaines said, "but, at the end of the day, they always find a way to win."
And this time, unlike many of FSU's other wins this year, Winston got some help from the Seminoles' rushing attack.
Freshman Dalvin Cook only needed nine carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 3:46 to go.
That was the difference on Thursday night. The Champ was in the building and the champs showed why they're in the club.
This was the game Louisville looked forward to the most when the 2014 football schedule came out. The Cards circled it on the calendar and the fans waited and waited for it, suffering through two painful losses at Clemson and Virginia, hoping a surprise win over FSU would erase those feelings and highlight the season.
Instead, Louisville landed punches and bruised the heavyweight, but the Seminoles staggered on. No coach believes in moral victories, but an ACC newbie going toe-to-toe with the best might just come close.
"That hurts a lot," Petrino said. "I'm proud of our team. I'm proud of the way they prepared and how hard they came out and competed. … We had our opportunities."
Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).