Radcliff's coming-out party has him dancing

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – John Wallace came out for some short interviews after the University of Louisville's 28-6 win at Syracuse.

The U of L kicker detailed his career-long 51-yard field goal for reporters as a familiar face smiled and giggled and bounced around behind him.

No one could blame U of L running back Brandon Radcliff for dancing in the background, or for smiling or giggling, for that matter.

For the second week in a row, the 5-foot-9, 207-pound tailback ran for more than 100 yards, the first Louisville rusher to accomplish such a statistical feat since Senorise Perry did it two years ago.

Radcliff finished with 110 yards and two touchdowns from 23 carries, a week after running for 129 yards and two touchdowns against Wake Forest.

"It's been pretty amazing, man, seeing the work come together and coming out here and producing," Radcliff said.

By the time he'd reached his interview session, Radcliff wasn't sticking out his tongue or rolling through dance moves anymore.

He'd switched back to the reserved, deferential redshirt sophomore with whom reporters have become familiar in the past couple weeks.

He admitted it was tough waiting for his turn in Louisville's crowded backfield. And when asked why he was doing so well the past two weeks, he offered a simple answer.

"Just following my assignments and running hard," he said. "That's all I can think of."

Last week against Wake Forest, he caught everyone's eyes with a few determined carries. One of them, a 15-yard gain, ended with the diminutive-but-powerful Radcliff in the middle of cloud of tacklers and teammates, plowing yard-by-yard like a slow-moving freight train.

On Friday night, Radcliff again moved people. If they kept track of broken tackles, he'd have at least a dozen.

He was fast and decisive and strong. In another flashback to last weekend, he caught a screen pass from quarterback Reggie Bonnafon in the fourth quarter and ducked and dodged his way through 29 yards.

Both of his touchdown runs, one from four yards and one from 14, were physical, hard rushes.

"He hit the holes really hard and he hugged the walls," said U of L coach Bobby Petrino, who seems happier by the day to have found the dynamic playmaker that his offense so sorely needed.

"(Radcliff) does a really good job pressing, and then comes out of it with good speed. He broke a lot of tackles. When you break tackles, it allows you to get in the end zone."

Sometime around 9:30 p.m. Friday, with Louisville's lead looking more and more comfortable, a former U of L linebacker, George Durant, posted a photo on Twitter at the perfect time.

There was Radcliff, a stabilizing belt around his waist and Petrino watching in the foreground, preparing to squat 675 pounds in the U of L weight room.

This, the caption read, is why Radcliff is so hard to bring down.

"As a running back, you pride yourself on not letting the first man tackle you," Radcliff said.

He spent extra time on film this week, knowing his role would be larger than normal. He looked for creases and angles to make bigger plays.

He did exactly that – again – on Friday. And Radcliff's back-to-back strong games have done something few thought would happen this year.

There's separation in the Louisville backfield. As the Cardinals prepare for a 3:30 p.m. game at Clemson next Saturday, easily one of the most anticipated games on Louisville's schedule, Radcliff has become the clear favorite at running back.

He's The Guy. And if he keeps running like he did the past two weeks, he can dance all he wants.

"The patience part was pretty tough," Radcliff said. "But when it came to deliver, I just knew when your number is called, you have to capitalize."

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).