The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
01-01-2005
Louisville hangs on -- Liberty Bowl victory ends Boise State's win streak
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Date: 01-01-2005, Saturday
Section: SPORTS
Edtion: Early Edition
In the highest scoring Liberty Bowl ever, a defensive play by Louisville ended Boise State's 22-game winning streak.
Louisville safety Kerry Rhodes intercepted a pass in the end zone as time expired to preserve No. 7 Louisville's 44-40 victory over 10th-ranked Boise State on Friday in Memphis, Tenn.
"It's a great way to end it," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. "A national audience, two teams that were supposed to score over 84 points. I think we hit it right on the top."
Now Louisville will enter the Big East Conference in grand style after handing Boise State its first loss since September 2003 in a game that was the most important in school history for both programs.
"This was big for us," Boise State receiver Chris Carr said. "We don't see ourselves as a non-BCS school or a little school. We see ourselves on the same level as any school we play.
"We wanted to come out here and prove to everybody that we're not a team in the WAC that's not very good, and we just beat up on little teams."
Eric Shelton scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run with 6:48 left. Stefan LeFors threw two touchdowns and ran for a third as the Cardinals (11-1), who have never finished ranked higher than 13th, matched a school record for victories in a season.
The Cardinals won their third Liberty Bowl in their final appearance as a Conference USA team.
The Broncos (11-1) had one last chance to win after Art Carmody's 19-yard field goal with 1:10 left put Louisville up by four.
Quarterback Jared Zabransky drove the Broncos to the Louisville 30 before his final pass into the end zone as time expired was intercepted by Rhodes. He more than atoned for his missed interception opportunity in a 41-38 loss on Oct. 14 to then-No. 3 Miami.
"God blessed me to put me in position to make the play, and I made the play," Rhodes said.
The win was a welcome end to a week in which the Cardinals were forced to deal with the news that Petrino had interviewed with LSU about its open coaching job. They didn't seem distracted against the Broncos.
Petrino kept referring to the Cardinals as "we," and asked if that would remain the same, he had a short answer.
"We certainly hope so," Petrino said.
Louisville won only for the second time in seven bowls despite four turnovers. The Cardinals rolled up 564 yards, topping 500 yards for the ninth time this season.
LeFors was 18-of-26 for 193 yards and ran 12 times for 76 yards. The Cardinals rushed for 329 yards against a defense that had been the nation's fourth-best against the run.
"He, particularly running the football, killed us," Boise State coach Dan Hawkins said of LeFors. "That doesn't mean he didn't make some throws because he obviously did. But I think where he made some big plays, huge plays, was running the football. On key downs and in key situations, he really sparked them."
Everyone expected a high-scoring game in a bowl pairing the nation's top two offenses, and the teams didn't disappoint as they swapped the lead five times. The 84 combined points topped the 80 points by Colorado and Alabama in 1969 and was one of a handful of records set.
ARIZONA STATE 27, PURDUE 23 (at El Paso, Texas) - Sam Keller showed remarkable poise in his first collegiate start, throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Rudy Burgess with 44 seconds left to lead the Sun Devils over the Boilermakers in the Sun Bowl.
Starting for injured star Andrew Walter, the untested sophomore completed all four of his passes on the winning drive for 80 yards in a frantic finish that stunned Purdue and the Sun Bowl-record crowd of 51,288.
Burgess caught Keller's final throw on a screen play, slipped two tackles along the sideline and cut back inside en route to the end zone to give the 21st-ranked Sun Devils (9-3) the lead after Purdue had gone ahead 30 seconds before.
The Boilermakers (7-5) had one more chance to go ahead, but quarterback Kyle Orton's desperation heave into the end zone fell incomplete as time expired.
Keller put on quite a show in place of Walter, going 25-of-45 for 370 yards and three touchdowns.
Orton finished 23-of-47 for 281 yards with three touchdowns and Stubblefield had seven catches for 81 yards.
MINNESOTA 20, ALABAMA 16 (at Nashville, Tenn.) - Marion Barber III ran for 187 yards and a touchdown and teammate Laurence Maroney added 105 yards on the ground to lead Minnesota to a Music City Bowl win.
Barber and Maroney, the only teammates in NCAA history to each rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons, were the only runners to go over 100 yards in a game this season against the Crimson Tide (6-6), which entered with the nation's second-ranked defense.
The Golden Gophers (7-5) ran for 276 yards to overcome three turnovers - including two by Barber - on their first three drives. Still, they nearly gave the game away in the fourth quarter.
Illustrations/Photos: ***
Keywords: COLLEGE, FOOTBALL
Copyright 2005 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.
Louisville hangs onTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
01-01-2005
Louisville hangs on -- Liberty Bowl victory ends Boise State's win streak
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Date: 01-01-2005, Saturday
Section: SPORTS
Edtion: Early Edition
In the highest scoring Liberty Bowl ever, a defensive play by Louisville ended Boise State's 22-game winning streak.
Louisville safety Kerry Rhodes intercepted a pass in the end zone as time expired to preserve No. 7 Louisville's 44-40 victory over 10th-ranked Boise State on Friday in Memphis, Tenn.
"It's a great way to end it," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. "A national audience, two teams that were supposed to score over 84 points. I think we hit it right on the top."
Now Louisville will enter the Big East Conference in grand style after handing Boise State its first loss since September 2003 in a game that was the most important in school history for both programs.
"This was big for us," Boise State receiver Chris Carr said. "We don't see ourselves as a non-BCS school or a little school. We see ourselves on the same level as any school we play.
"We wanted to come out here and prove to everybody that we're not a team in the WAC that's not very good, and we just beat up on little teams."
Eric Shelton scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run with 6:48 left. Stefan LeFors threw two touchdowns and ran for a third as the Cardinals (11-1), who have never finished ranked higher than 13th, matched a school record for victories in a season.
The Cardinals won their third Liberty Bowl in their final appearance as a Conference USA team.
The Broncos (11-1) had one last chance to win after Art Carmody's 19-yard field goal with 1:10 left put Louisville up by four.
Quarterback Jared Zabransky drove the Broncos to the Louisville 30 before his final pass into the end zone as time expired was intercepted by Rhodes. He more than atoned for his missed interception opportunity in a 41-38 loss on Oct. 14 to then-No. 3 Miami.
"God blessed me to put me in position to make the play, and I made the play," Rhodes said.
The win was a welcome end to a week in which the Cardinals were forced to deal with the news that Petrino had interviewed with LSU about its open coaching job. They didn't seem distracted against the Broncos.
Petrino kept referring to the Cardinals as "we," and asked if that would remain the same, he had a short answer.
"We certainly hope so," Petrino said.
Louisville won only for the second time in seven bowls despite four turnovers. The Cardinals rolled up 564 yards, topping 500 yards for the ninth time this season.
LeFors was 18-of-26 for 193 yards and ran 12 times for 76 yards. The Cardinals rushed for 329 yards against a defense that had been the nation's fourth-best against the run.
"He, particularly running the football, killed us," Boise State coach Dan Hawkins said of LeFors. "That doesn't mean he didn't make some throws because he obviously did. But I think where he made some big plays, huge plays, was running the football. On key downs and in key situations, he really sparked them."
Everyone expected a high-scoring game in a bowl pairing the nation's top two offenses, and the teams didn't disappoint as they swapped the lead five times. The 84 combined points topped the 80 points by Colorado and Alabama in 1969 and was one of a handful of records set.
ARIZONA STATE 27, PURDUE 23 (at El Paso, Texas) - Sam Keller showed remarkable poise in his first collegiate start, throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Rudy Burgess with 44 seconds left to lead the Sun Devils over the Boilermakers in the Sun Bowl.
Starting for injured star Andrew Walter, the untested sophomore completed all four of his passes on the winning drive for 80 yards in a frantic finish that stunned Purdue and the Sun Bowl-record crowd of 51,288.
Burgess caught Keller's final throw on a screen play, slipped two tackles along the sideline and cut back inside en route to the end zone to give the 21st-ranked Sun Devils (9-3) the lead after Purdue had gone ahead 30 seconds before.
The Boilermakers (7-5) had one more chance to go ahead, but quarterback Kyle Orton's desperation heave into the end zone fell incomplete as time expired.
Keller put on quite a show in place of Walter, going 25-of-45 for 370 yards and three touchdowns.
Orton finished 23-of-47 for 281 yards with three touchdowns and Stubblefield had seven catches for 81 yards.
MINNESOTA 20, ALABAMA 16 (at Nashville, Tenn.) - Marion Barber III ran for 187 yards and a touchdown and teammate Laurence Maroney added 105 yards on the ground to lead Minnesota to a Music City Bowl win.
Barber and Maroney, the only teammates in NCAA history to each rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons, were the only runners to go over 100 yards in a game this season against the Crimson Tide (6-6), which entered with the nation's second-ranked defense.
The Golden Gophers (7-5) ran for 276 yards to overcome three turnovers - including two by Barber - on their first three drives. Still, they nearly gave the game away in the fourth quarter.
Illustrations/Photos: ***
Keywords: COLLEGE, FOOTBALL
Copyright 2005 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.
Louisville hangs onTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
01-01-2005
Louisville hangs on -- Liberty Bowl victory ends Boise State's win streak
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Date: 01-01-2005, Saturday
Section: SPORTS
Edtion: Early Edition
In the highest scoring Liberty Bowl ever, a defensive play by Louisville ended Boise State's 22-game winning streak.
Louisville safety Kerry Rhodes intercepted a pass in the end zone as time expired to preserve No. 7 Louisville's 44-40 victory over 10th-ranked Boise State on Friday in Memphis, Tenn.
"It's a great way to end it," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. "A national audience, two teams that were supposed to score over 84 points. I think we hit it right on the top."
Now Louisville will enter the Big East Conference in grand style after handing Boise State its first loss since September 2003 in a game that was the most important in school history for both programs.
"This was big for us," Boise State receiver Chris Carr said. "We don't see ourselves as a non-BCS school or a little school. We see ourselves on the same level as any school we play.
"We wanted to come out here and prove to everybody that we're not a team in the WAC that's not very good, and we just beat up on little teams."
Eric Shelton scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run with 6:48 left. Stefan LeFors threw two touchdowns and ran for a third as the Cardinals (11-1), who have never finished ranked higher than 13th, matched a school record for victories in a season.
The Cardinals won their third Liberty Bowl in their final appearance as a Conference USA team.
The Broncos (11-1) had one last chance to win after Art Carmody's 19-yard field goal with 1:10 left put Louisville up by four.
Quarterback Jared Zabransky drove the Broncos to the Louisville 30 before his final pass into the end zone as time expired was intercepted by Rhodes. He more than atoned for his missed interception opportunity in a 41-38 loss on Oct. 14 to then-No. 3 Miami.
"God blessed me to put me in position to make the play, and I made the play," Rhodes said.
The win was a welcome end to a week in which the Cardinals were forced to deal with the news that Petrino had interviewed with LSU about its open coaching job. They didn't seem distracted against the Broncos.
Petrino kept referring to the Cardinals as "we," and asked if that would remain the same, he had a short answer.
"We certainly hope so," Petrino said.
Louisville won only for the second time in seven bowls despite four turnovers. The Cardinals rolled up 564 yards, topping 500 yards for the ninth time this season.
LeFors was 18-of-26 for 193 yards and ran 12 times for 76 yards. The Cardinals rushed for 329 yards against a defense that had been the nation's fourth-best against the run.
"He, particularly running the football, killed us," Boise State coach Dan Hawkins said of LeFors. "That doesn't mean he didn't make some throws because he obviously did. But I think where he made some big plays, huge plays, was running the football. On key downs and in key situations, he really sparked them."
Everyone expected a high-scoring game in a bowl pairing the nation's top two offenses, and the teams didn't disappoint as they swapped the lead five times. The 84 combined points topped the 80 points by Colorado and Alabama in 1969 and was one of a handful of records set.
ARIZONA STATE 27, PURDUE 23 (at El Paso, Texas) - Sam Keller showed remarkable poise in his first collegiate start, throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Rudy Burgess with 44 seconds left to lead the Sun Devils over the Boilermakers in the Sun Bowl.
Starting for injured star Andrew Walter, the untested sophomore completed all four of his passes on the winning drive for 80 yards in a frantic finish that stunned Purdue and the Sun Bowl-record crowd of 51,288.
Burgess caught Keller's final throw on a screen play, slipped two tackles along the sideline and cut back inside en route to the end zone to give the 21st-ranked Sun Devils (9-3) the lead after Purdue had gone ahead 30 seconds before.
The Boilermakers (7-5) had one more chance to go ahead, but quarterback Kyle Orton's desperation heave into the end zone fell incomplete as time expired.
Keller put on quite a show in place of Walter, going 25-of-45 for 370 yards and three touchdowns.
Orton finished 23-of-47 for 281 yards with three touchdowns and Stubblefield had seven catches for 81 yards.
MINNESOTA 20, ALABAMA 16 (at Nashville, Tenn.) - Marion Barber III ran for 187 yards and a touchdown and teammate Laurence Maroney added 105 yards on the ground to lead Minnesota to a Music City Bowl win.
Barber and Maroney, the only teammates in NCAA history to each rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons, were the only runners to go over 100 yards in a game this season against the Crimson Tide (6-6), which entered with the nation's second-ranked defense.
The Golden Gophers (7-5) ran for 276 yards to overcome three turnovers - including two by Barber - on their first three drives. Still, they nearly gave the game away in the fourth quarter.
Illustrations/Photos: ***
Keywords: COLLEGE, FOOTBALL
Copyright 2005 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.
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