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Woodson, Kentucky rally to upset Louisville

Sep 16, 2007 - 5:31 AM LEXINGTON, Kentucky (Ticker) -- Andre Woodson lifted Kentucky to a rare win over Louisville and cemented his name as perhaps the greatest quarterback in school history.

Woodson threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Steve Johnson in the closing seconds and No. 9 Louisville's final comeback bid fell 12-yards short as the Wildcats posted a 40-34 victory over their in-state rival on Saturday night.

Kentucky (3-0) posted its first win over Louisville since 2002 and its first over a top-10 opponent since a victory over No. 4 Penn State in 1977.

"It was a great football game, it had more twists and turns than a Dickens novel," Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said. "I'm so proud of this team. There's no quit in this team, they'll keep battling and we have playmakers who will make plays."

It looked as if the Cardinals would avoid the upset before an inexplicable defensive gaffe gave the Wildcats the lead.

Anthony Allen scored from two yards out with 1:45 to play for Louisville (2-1). Brian Brohm overthrew Mario Urrutia on the two-point conversion attempt, but the Cardinals still held a 34-33 lead.

That put the game in the hands of Woodson, and the senior prevailed.

Kentucky drove into Louisville territory with a minute to play but was set back by a personal foul penalty after Woodson completed a short pass to Rafael Little.

Facing a 2nd-and-24 from the Kentucky 43, Woodson found Johnson, who had streaked past a pair of Louisville defensive backs and raced untouched into the end zone.

"It was the exact same play we called at the end of the half on the ball I dropped," Johnson said. "In my mind, all I was thinking was to stay focus and catch it, because I kind of lost it in the lights a little bit. I told Andre' at half that I owed him a touchdown, luckily I had another chance this game to get him back."

Brohm and the Cardinals took over at their own 20 with 21 seconds to play and no time outs. They got out to the 43 before Brohm's Hail Mary as time expired was tipped and caught by Harry Douglas at the Kentucky 12, but he was tackled on the spot and the game was over.

"We're obviously very disappointed with the outcome of the football game. I'm proud of how our guys continued to fight throughout the game," Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe said. "We got off to a little bit of a rocky start. We got slapped in the face with some adversity. Our guys continued to fight and continued to battle throughout the course of the game. We just didn't make enough plays tonight to come up with a victory."

Woodson completed 30-of-46 passes for 270 yards and four TDs. He has thrown a Southeastern Conference-record 257 consecutive passes without an interception, 14 shy of Trent Dilfer's all-time NCAA mark.

Little added 151 yards and a TD on 26 carries for the Wildcats.

Brohm was 28-of-43 for 369 yards and a pair of TDs with an interception. He hooked up with Douglas 13 times for 225 yards.

"Harry and I have always had good chemistry. That comes from getting a lot of reps together. I know Harry will always make the play, Brohm said.