• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Louisville downs Memphis, hits double-digit wins

Nov 24, 2013 - 1:17 AM Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Teddy Bridgewater completed 26-of-36 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown in the 21st-ranked Louisville Cardinals' 24-17 victory over the Memphis Tigers.

Bridgewater, who played through a lower back injury in the second half, carried the ball 10 times for 17 yards.

Dominique Brown rushed 17 times for 54 yards and a score for the Cardinals (10-1, 6-1 AAC), who finish the regular season at Cincinnati on Dec. 5.

"I am so happy for our team - the first time in school history that we've had back-to-back double digit wins. I know it wasn't pretty, but to just see our seniors go out on such an emotional day and just to them go out the right way - I just wanted to make that happen for them," said Louisville coach Charlie Strong said.

Paxton Lynch connected on 11-of-23 passes for 144 yards, one touchdown and an interception for the Tigers (3-7, 1-5), who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Lynch also carried the ball eight times for 26 yards and a score.

"That was a tough game obviously. Congratulations to Louisville and the coaching staff. They have a fine football team," said Memphis coach Justin Fuente.

The first points of the game came off a turnover. With about seven minutes left in the first quarter, Lynch fumbled while being sacked by Sheldon Rankins. Preston Brown scooped up the loose ball and raced 48 yards the other way for a touchdown.

Louisville kicker John Wallace had a 50-yard field goal blocked early in the second frame.

Jake Elliott made an 18-yard field goal on the ensuing Memphis possession. Keiwone Malone's 47-yard catch combined with a personal foul penalty moved the ball to the 1-yard line. The Tigers' offense stalled from there and Elliott's field goal cut the gap to 7-3.

The ensuing Louisville possession resulted in a touchdown. On 2nd-and-2 from the Memphis 39-yard line, DeVante Parker caught a pass, broke a tackle and raced down the left sideline for a score.

Wallace made a 39-yard field goal with 1:11 left in the half.

The Cardinals put together a 16-play, 75-yard drive on the opening possession of the second half. The longest play of the series was 10 yards. Brown's 4- yard rushing touchdown made it 24-3.

The Tigers scored 14 points in the fourth stanza to make it interesting. Malone and Joe Craig caught passes of 23 and 20 yards, respectively, to move the ball inside the red zone. Lynch's 4-yard rushing touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter cut the gap to 24-10.

Memphis put together a 12-play, 86-yard drive on its next possession. Jesse Milleson capped the march with a 6-yard TD catch. Lynch rolled to his right and found Milleson in the back of the end zone with 6:07 to play.

The Cardinals took the next 5 1/2 minutes off the clock. Memphis took over at its own 6-yard line with 37 seconds left after Bridgewater was stopped short on fourth down.

The Tigers could only move the ball to their own 23-yard line before time ran out.

Game Notes

Louisville leads the all-time series by a 24-19 margin ... The Cardinals racked up 342 yards of total offense ... Brandon Hayes carried the ball 22 times for 86 yards for Memphis.