(Friday, December 31st)
Final Score: (7) Louisville 44, (10) Boise State 40
Memphis, TN (Sports Network) - Stefan LeFors threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another as seventh-ranked Louisville put an end to the nation's longest win streak with a thrilling 44-40 victory over No. 10 Boise State in the Liberty Bowl.
LeFors completed 18-of-26 passes for 193 yards with one interception and added 75 yards on the ground to lead the Cardinals back from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter.
Michael Bush ran for 96 yards on 12 carries, while Eric Shelton rushed for 76 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a one-yard plunge with 6:48 remaining as Louisville (11-1) ended a spectacular 2004 campaign with its seventh straight triumph. The Cards' lone loss was a 41-38 setback at Miami- Florida back on October 14.
Jared Zabransky threw for 199 yards on 14-of-29 passing for Boise State (11-1), whose 22-game win streak and hopes for an unbeaten season came to an end. However, the heavy underdog Broncos proved their credibility in what turned out to be the highest-scoring Liberty Bowl ever.
Zabransky tossed one touchdown, a 19-yard strike to T.J. Acree in the second quarter, and was intercepted once. Acree ended with four receptions totaling 57 yards.
Boise State was outgained 564-284 but scored 17 points off four Louisville turnovers to nearly pull off the upset. The Broncos held a 34-21 lead midway through the third quarter before LeFors guided the Cardinals to points on their final four possessions.
"This was big for us," said Broncos defensive back Chris Carr. "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."
The comeback began with an eight-play, 81-yard march in which LeFors hit on 5- of-6 throws for 63 yards, including a 27-yard completion to Adam McCauley which put the ball on the Boise 14. LeFors then found J.R. Russell on a short route on the next play, and the wideout broke a tackle and scampered into the end zone to pull the Cardinals within 34-28 with 6:06 remaining in the third quarter.
The Louisville defense then forced a three-and-out and got the ball back near midfield. A seven-play, 45-yard drive ended when LeFors crossed the goal line on a one-yard bootleg which put Louisville in front by a point at the 2:17 mark of the third.
Zabransky and the Broncos would counter with an impressive 16-play series which consumed over six minutes of time. The sophomore signal-caller completed 5-of-6 throws and extended the drive with a five-yard delivery to Lawrence Bady on 4th-and-5 from the Louisville 37. Jon Helmandollar's two-yard touchdown blast culminated the long possession and staked Boise to a 40-35 lead with under 11 minutes to play. The Broncos failed on the two-point conversion attempt.
LeFors then went back to work, starting the ensuing series with a short pass to Kolby Smith which resulted in a 28-yard gain near midfield. A 25-yard run by Bush moved Louisville inside the Boise State 20 and LeFors had a key five- yard scramble on third down before being brought down on the six-yard line. Two plays later, Shelton powered in for the go-ahead score, but the lead stayed at one after LeFors' conversion toss was knocked down by Korey Hall.
"(LeFors), particularly running the football, killed us," said Boise State head coach Dan Hawkins. "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."
Boise failed to get a first down on its next series, and Louisville held the ball nearly four minutes and got down to the Broncos' two-yard line before settling for Art Carmody's 19-yard field goal which made the score 44-40 with 1:10 left.
Zabransky got Boise State to the Louisville 30 in the closing seconds, but his hurried toss into the end zone on the final play was snared by Cardinals' safety Kerry Rhodes.
"It's a great way to end it," said Cardinals head coach Bobby Petrino. "A national audience, two teams that were supposed to score over 84 points. I think we hit it right on the top."
The Broncos trailed 21-10 midway through the second quarter before putting up two touchdowns in a 16-second span to move in front.
On a 4th-and 3 from the Louisville 35-yard line, Zabransky found Derek Schouman in the right flat for a 22-yard gain to keep the crucial drive alive. After Acree hauled in an 11-yard catch to set up first-and-goal on the two, Helmandollar fumbled right before crossing the goal line.
However, Broncos fullback Brad Lau recovered in the end zone to cut the lead to four points with 8:52 left before halftime.
Harry Douglas then coughed up the ensuing kickoff after a hard hit by Josh Bean and Boise State fell on the loose ball at the Cardinals' 18-yard line. Zabransky then hit Acree on an out pattern for a touchdown which put the Broncos up 24-21.
It remained a three-point game until the closing moments of the first half, when a gamble by Petrino backfired. Faced with a 4th-and-1 on their own 18, the Cardinals went into punt formation but upback Michael Bush took the snap from center and was smothered at the line of scrimmage.
A 16-yard catch by Acree got Boise State to the Louisville two. Two plays later, Zabransky broke the plane on a one-yard quarterback sneak with 16 seconds on the clock as the Broncos took a 31-21 advantage into the break.
Another Cardinals' miscue, this one a LeFors fumble on an option pitch to Shelton, would provide Boise State with more points. Two long runs by Lee Marks and a 14-yard catch by Bady set up Tyler Jones' 42-yard field goal which lengthened the margin to 13 points six minutes into the third quarter.
Boise State grabbed an early 3-0 edge on Jones' 48-yard field goal just over four minutes in. A 27-yard connection from Zabransky to Lawrence Bady got the Broncos in scoring range.
The Cardinals responded a minute-and-a-half later, with LeFors hitting tight end Gary Barnidge in the end zone from seven yards out for a 7-3 lead. A 49- yard kickoff return by Douglas put Louisville in Boise territory and it took LeFors just five plays to direct the offense to paydirt.
LeFors then engineered an 12-play drive which took nearly seven minutes and marched the Cardinals inside the Broncos' 15-yard line. However, the senior standout was picked off by Andy Avalos on an inside route and the linebacker raced a Liberty Bowl-record 92 yards for a tide-turning touchdown which sent Boise State ahead 10-7 late in the first quarter. The interception was only LeFors' third of the season.
It took Louisville all of 13 seconds to forge back ahead, as Douglas found a seam on a reverse and blew past the Bronco secondary for a 65-yard touchdown with 46 seconds to go in the opening period.
The Cardinals extended their cushion to 21-10 just over a minute into the second quarter when backup quarterback Brian Brohm hooked up with Broderick Clark for a 30-yard touchdown.
Game Notes
LeFors finished the year with a completion percentage of 73.5, just shy of the NCAA record of 73.6 percent set by Minnesota Vikings' star Daunte Culpepper in 1998...The previous Liberty Bowl record for most points came in a 47-33 Colorado win over Alabama in 1969...Boise State entered the game with a perfect 4-0 mark in bowl games, although three of them had been played on their home turf...Louisville also participated in the 1993, 2000 and 2001 Liberty Bowls and is 3-1 in those contests...Boise State defeated the Cardinals 34-31 in the 1999 Humanitarian Bowl...Russell caught six passes for 69 yards.
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