Louisville Cardinals @ West Virginia Mountaineers Football Recap

Louisville 38, West Virginia 35

It's true that the West Virginia Mountaineers have been suffering through a disappointing season, but this was certainly not the year in which anyone expected the preseason Big East Conference favorite to lose at home to the Louisville Cardinals. A shocking result from this past weekend in the Big East would have made sense in 2005 or 2007, but it left pigskin pundits scratching their heads in 2011.

Yes, for the first time since 1990, Louisville won in Morgantown, West Virginia. It did so without Brian Brohm, the quarterback who led then-coach Bobby Petrino's offense to a 17-point fourth-quarter lead against West Virginia in the 2005 edition of this rivalry. Louisville won without Michael Bush, the burly yet light-footed running back who was such a weapon for the Cards in their ascendancy in the middle of the past decade. Louisville, in short, won this game without any of the top-shelf talent it brought to the dance against West Virginia in the Petrino era. Precisely when UL's talent haul seemed to be less substantial than ever before, coach Charlie Strong's team found a way to beat a faster and far more athletic opponent in a hostile environment. A befuddled and bewildered West Virginia team had struggled through the first two months of this season, but this home-field loss to Louisville at the start of the season's third month will leave an even darker mark on the 'Eers in an autumn that's gone so horribly wrong.

Despite being outgained and rarely displaying the ability to stop the potent Mountaineer offense, Louisville won with an efficient offense of its own and some help from its special teams in thrilling fashion, shocking favored West Virginia in - believe it or not - a shootout. While West Virginia was rarely stopped on offense, Louisville’s typically stammering offense was equally potent. Three times in the first half, Louisville answered go-ahead touchdowns by the Mountaineers with touchdown drives of its own. The teams went into the locker room tied, 21-21, raising hopes that the kids from the Commonwealth of Kentucky could produce something special. Sure enough, they did.

The action settled down in the third quarter, with the two teams managing just a field goal. In the fourth, however, Louisville was able to extend the lead to 10 points, when Adrian Bushell blocked a West Virginia field goal and Andrew Johnson returned it 85 yards for a touchdown. When West Virginia quickly drove 94 yards to make the scored 31-28, Louisville took the next possession the length of the field, converted a crucial 4th and 1 at the 45 yard line, bled eight minutes off the clock, and pushed the lead back to 10. The Mountaineers were able to quickly score again, but failed to convert the onside kick and Louisville escaped with the biggest win of the Charlie Strong era. Louisville's play-to-win approach, manifested in that 4th and 1 conversion on the Cards' winning drive, made the difference in this game. After all, when you've gone 21 years without winning in a rival's ballyard, you need to do something special to change the equation. Louisville and Strong did exactly that, and that's why they're savoring a triumph that should possess a certain amount of shelf life.

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By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer