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Louisville continues BCS push by downing UConn

Nov 9, 2013 - 7:24 AM East Hartford, CT (SportsNetwork.com) - Louisville kept its BCS hopes alive on Friday with a 31-10 win over Connecticut at Rentschler Field.

Teddy Bridgewater completed 21-of-37 passes for 288 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

Terell Floyd had a pair of interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown and DeVante Parker hauled in five passes for 71 yards and a score for the 20th-ranked Cardinals (8-1, 4-1 AAC), who have won two straight since falling to Central Florida on Oct. 18.

Louisville trails Houston (7-1, 4-0) and the Knights (6-1, 3-0) for the top spot in the conference, which includes an automatic bid to a BCS Bowl Game. The AAC will lose its automatic bid next season.

Tim Boyle was 14-for-29 passing for 113 yards and three interceptions for the Huskies (0-8, 0-4), who haven't won at home since Nov. 9, 2012 against Pitt.

"You can't have it, especially against this team. The only chance we have is to not beat ourselves. We turned the ball over, gave them early points on the punt and gave them momentum on offense and defense, we didn't have a chance," said UConn interim head coach T.J. Weist. "It's a simple as that. Our offense has not been productive, it has not been efficient and you give them any kind of momentum, you just can't recover."

Casey Cochran replaced Boyle late in the fourth quarter and completed 6-of-9 passes for 66 yards and UConn's lone TD.

The Cardinals got on the board with 6:23 left in the first quarter. After holding the Huskies on 3rd-and-4, Brandon Radcliff blocked Cole Wagner's punt Charles Gaines scooped it up and ran it in for the score.

"He's scored on the defensive side of the ball and on special teams again," Bridgewater said of Gaines. "He's just remarkable the level that he's playing at."

Chad Christen drilled a 35-yard field goal just six seconds into the second quarter, but Louisville added a pair of scores to take a 21-3 lead into the break.

On 2nd-and-4 from the UConn 28, Bridgewater faked a hand off and retreated in the pocket before delivering a touchdown strike to Parker as he was hit.

With just over two minutes left in the half, Senorise Perry ran it in from five yards out to cap a six-play, 56-yard march.

After Andrew Adams picked off Bridgewater at the Huskies' 8-yard line, Louisville answered back as Floyd intercepted Boyle's pass and returned it 17 yards for a 28-3 advantage heading into the final frame.

John Wallace's 35-yarder with 8:45 left made it 31-3.

Cochran orchestrated an 11-play, 63-yard touchdown drive in the closing moments to account for the final margin. On 3rd-and-1 from the Louisville 14, Cochran found Kamal Abrams on a crossing route for the score.

The touchdown was the first the Cardinals have allowed since Jeff Godfrey scored with 23 seconds left in the loss to UCF.

Game Notes

Louisville has won six straight road games ... Gaines also had an interception ... Damian Copeland caught six passes for 83 yards in the win ... The Cardinals lead the all-time series 6-4. UConn will join the ACC next season ... The Huskies have dropped six in a row at home.