CARDINALS

Louisville stifles Wake Forest for 20-10 win

Jeff Greer
@jeffgreer_cj

For the second Saturday in a row, University of Louisville football coach Bobby Petrino appeared in front of the media, grinned and let out a deep breath.

"Hey, that's a win," he said. "We'll take it."

U of L's 20-10 slugfest of a victory over Wake Forest at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium warranted that reaction. An announced attendance of 51,463 watched the Cardinals (4-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) march to 421 yards of offense and 21 first downs but come up short of the polished performance they so desperately want.

They allowed eight tackles for loss, including four sacks, and lost three fumbles while outlasting one of the ACC's worst teams. They also committed 11 penalties — eight in the first half — for 89 yards.

"We kept killing ourselves," Petrino said. "We're still a work in progress. Thank God we have a great defense, because it's allowing us to work at getting better offensively."

There were times Saturday when U of L's defense looked unbeatable, a suffocating combination of speed and power that didn't allow Wake Forest (2-3) much room to operate.

The Demon Deacons' offensive statistics reveal the trail of damage: just seven first downs, minus-22 rushing yards, 100 total yards, 2 of 16 converted third downs.

Louisville's defensive statistics continue the story: eight sacks, 10 tackles for loss, three interceptions, four quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.

Star linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin needed a special wrap on his shoulder after a second-quarter stinger knocked him out of the game for a while, but he still rustled up three sacks.

"This is as good a defense as it was last year," said Mauldin, alluding to the 2013 unit that ranked among the top two or three in college football. "We're playing marvelous."

Marvelous sounds about right when sizing up running back Brandon Radcliff's afternoon, too. The redshirt sophomore from Miami got his first career start and his first 100-yard rushing game, bullying his way to 129 yards and two touchdowns.

He was the savior the offense sorely needed after starting the game with three punts, two lost fumbles and a missed field-goal attempt.

The 5-foot-9, 214-pound Radcliff played the lead role in U of L's second-quarter scoring drive that ended the early drought.

He caught a 33-yard pass from freshman quarterback Reggie Bonnafon, who made his first start, to begin the series. Two plays later, Radcliff hustled 12 yards up the middle to the Wake Forest 29-yard line, then he sprinted to the end zone from there.

Radcliff took over again in the fourth quarter, carrying the ball on five consecutive plays and finally scoring on a 16-yard run.

He's the third U of L running back this year to surpass 100 yards.

"When your number is called, you just have to come out and capitalize," Radcliff said.

He had help from Bonnafon, whose quickness and agility helped him escape a seemingly endless number of collapsed pockets.

With starting quarterback Will Gardner sidelined by an unspecified knee injury, Bonnafon completed 16 of 32 passes for 206 yards. He was sacked four times, but his 10 designed runs went for 71 yards.

The circumstances surrounding Bonnafon require explanation: His dad, Wallace, unexpectedly died two Mondays ago. Bonnafon, a Trinity High School graduate, missed all of the practices that week, plus the game at Florida International, to be with his family.

When he returned to U of L on Sunday, he was penciled in as the starter after Gardner's injury in the FIU game.

So even though Bonnafon lost two fumbles and played a primary role in a third, Petrino was happy with the young quarterback's game.

"I like the way he handled himself," Petrino said. "What he was able to do all week: Come in, focus, prepare and concentrate … I'm really impressed. You can't say enough about how much maturity he's shown in the past few weeks."

That's all his team needed on Saturday. An ugly win but still a win, the Cards said.

And as Petrino noted after each of the past two games, they'll take it.

"It wasn't as pretty as I thought it would be, but we still got the win," Bonnafon said. "That's all that matters."

Reach Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter @jeffgreer_cj.