Cards use SIX running backs in blowout.

[bullwark]

Backup plan is off and running

Six RBs total 311 yards, 6 TDs in first game without Bush

By Brian Bennett

bbennett@courier-journal.com

The Courier-Journal

PHILADELPHIA -- A restorative visit to Temple cured any sadness that might have stayed with the University of Louisville football team.

Not really missing injured star Michael Bush, the No. 13 Cardinals stormed hapless Temple 62-0 at Lincoln Financial Field yesterday afternoon. As Bush watched on television at home while recovering from his season-ending broken leg, his disciples proved more than able to carry on his legacy.

 

Six running backs -- and one offensive lineman -- combined to rush for 312 yards and seven touchdowns. And while that performance came against one of the worst teams in NCAA Division I-A, it also gave the Cardinals (2-0) plenty of confidence heading into this week's showdown against Miami at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

"We have a lot of good running backs that can get in there and play, and they showed that today," quarterback Brian Brohm said. "We have a lot of guys who know the system and run the football really hard. Those guys will help us keep a strong running game."

Those guys included Kolby Smith, who ran for 86 yards and a touchdown before leaving with a minor wrist injury; George Stripling, who scored two touchdowns and produced 154 yards rushing and receiving; and Sergio Spencer, who ran for a career-best 72 yards and his first two collegiate touchdowns. Brock Bolen and Anthony Allen combined for another 81 yards.

"There are five of us, and we all have different styles of running," Spencer said.

Six, if you count Kurt Quarterman. Without the 250-pound Bush available, the 328-pound right guard got the call on a second-quarter goal-line situation. Quarterman plowed ahead for the 1-yard score, his fourth career touchdown.

"We're going to rotate them in there and keep them fresh," coach Bobby Petrino said. "They all do some good things, and they will all get carries depending on how they perform."

U of L amassed 671 total yards, the second-highest mark of the Petrino era and fifth-highest in school history. But for the Owls (0-2), who lost their 14th straight game, this was a temple of doom on both sides of the ball.

Louisville registered its largest road victory since winning 79-0 at Ogden in 1926. The team pitched its first shutout since beating North Carolina 34-0 two years ago.

"We were just outmatched and outmanned," Temple coach Al Golden said. "That's a big-league ball club right there."

The defense badly wanted to preserve the goose egg. A long play-action pass moved Temple to the Cards' 2-yard line late in the third quarter, but Richard Raglin recovered a fumble on the next play. U of L also stopped the Owls on fourth down 20 yards from the end zone on the game's final snap.

"I told my teammates to go out and dominate," said linebacker Nate Harris, who had two of the team's five sacks. "If they're not supposed to be on the field with you, they don't need to be on the field with you."

The game did feature some bad news for the Louisville defense, however. Starting cornerback Rod Council broke his left ankle and is expected to miss at least four weeks.

The offense stalled on its opening possession, and Brohm threw his first interception of the season the second time U of L got the ball. It was merely a hiccup, as the Cards scored on their final 10 drives.

Smith got things started with a 3-yard touchdown run. On the second play of the next drive, Brohm hit Mario Urrutia on a short crossing pattern. Urrutia broke one tackle and later picked up a block from receiver Harry Douglas, taking it 57 yards for the game's lone passing touchdown.

"It was just a little 5-yard drag, and then the whole field opened for me," said Urrutia, who had five catches for 110 yards. "The little guy (Douglas) stepped up big for me. I owe him one for that."

Five of Louisville's first six scoring marches lasted 1:47 or less. But Petrino was not satisfied with his team leading 35-0 with less than a minute to go in the first half. He went for it on fourth down from his own 39, which led to a 43-yard swing pass to Stripling. He also called a timeout with nine seconds left to set up Spencer's 1-yard touchdown plunge.

Petrino left the starters in for one series in the second half. Sixty-seven players saw action.

"I think we came out and got better as a team just in all phases," said Brohm, who finished 16 for 29 for 307 yards. "A lot of guys got in the game, and that really just helps the whole team."

This visit to Temple was just what an aching team needed. Urrutia wrote Bush's No. 19 and the phrase "Hold that rope" on tape covering his left wrist.

"I think everybody here really went out and played for him today," he said.

Brian Bennett can be reached at (502) 582-7177.

High-octane offense

U of L's 671 yards yesterday was the fifth best offensive output in school history. A look at the top games:

 

Year Opponent Yards gained

2003 Houston 779

1998 East Carolina 769

1998 Cincinnati 742

1998 Western Ky. 687

2006 Temple 671

2004 Houston 666

Road treads

Yesterday's 62-0 victory also was the third-biggest winning margin for a road game in school history. A look at the top five:

 

Year Opponent Winning margin

1926 Ogden 79-0

1913 Moore's Hill 77-0

2006 Temple 62-0

1977 Marshall 56-0

1926 Rose Poly 49-0

[smazza]

THEY DONT SEEM TO HAVE A PROBLEM LIKE USF

[bulls96go]

coaching adjustments

disciplined players

no excuses

[smazza]

usf evidently has walk ons at rb position

crazy