Penalties hurt No. 16 USF as Louisville pulls off upset at home

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Top 25 Overview

It was over when... Johnny Patrick intercepted Matt Grothe's pass with 3:43 remaining. Gameball goes to... Hunter Cantwell, who threw for 212 yards and two TDs, including the winning score to Scott Long. Stat of the game... 8. The Cardinals held USF to just eight yards rushing on 24 attempts. Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	21	20
Total Yards	352	323
Passing	344	212
Rushing	8	111
Penalties	14-109	7-55
3rd Down Conversions	4-11	5-13
4th Down Conversions	0-0	0-0
Turnovers	2	1
Possession	28:31	31:29

Air/Ground Leaders
South Florida Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Grothe 30/40 344 2 2	Louisville Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Cantwell 12/21 212 2 1
South Florida Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Williams 7 14 0 9 Ford 5 13 0 8	Louisville Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Anderson 18 64 0 17 Bolen 9 47 0 12
South Florida Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Johnson 6 94 0 31 Hester 8 74 0 17	Louisville Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Long 5 134 2 69 Powell 3 30 0 15

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER				USF	LOU
	FG	14:14	Maikon Bonani 32 Yd	3	0
	TD	13:56	Scott Long 69 Yd Pass From Hunter Cantwell (Ryan Payne Kick)	3	7
	TD	00:50	Hunter Cantwell 1 Yd Run (Ryan Payne Kick)	3	14
	FG	00:02	Maikon Bonani 24 Yd	6	14
THIRD QUARTER				USF	LOU
	TD	03:05	Richard Kelly 3 Yd Pass From Matt Grothe (Maikon Bonani Kick)	13	14
FOURTH QUARTER				USF	LOU
	FG	14:01	Ryan Payne 34 Yd	13	17
	TD	09:22	Ben Busbee 15 Yd Pass From Matt Grothe (Maikon Bonani Kick)	20	17
	TD	07:07	Scott Long 24 Yd Pass From Hunter Cantwell (Ryan Payne Kick)	20	24

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville made a case that it's as likely as any team to win the Big East.

The Cardinals knocked off No. 16 South Florida with a strong run defense, and a career day from a receiver who had been injured for most of the season. They also got some help from the Bulls, who committed 14 penalties for 109 yards.

Fast Facts

• The home team has now won all six meetings in this series.

• The Louisville defense held USF to just eight rushing yards.

• Scott Long's two touchdown catches and 134 yards receiving were career highs.

-- ESPN research

Hunter Cantwell threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Scott Long, their second scoring connection of the game, with 7:07 left in the fourth quarter to give Louisville a 24-20 victory Saturday.

The Bulls (6-2, 1-2) had a chance to get the ball back for one last drive with 1:19 left in the fourth quarter, but a defensive holding on a missed field goal by Louisville allowed the Cardinals to play keepaway.

South Florida's Matt Grothe threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns, but he also was picked off twice. His fourth-quarter interception gave the Cardinals (5-2, 1-1) the ball at USF 27 and allowed Louisville to run out the clock.

Grothe spread the ball around to 11 receivers, connecting with Ben Busbee and Richard Kelly for second-half touchdowns that gave USF a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter.

Cantwell threw for 212 yards and ran in Louisville's other touchdown from the 1. Long's two touchdown catches and 134 yards receiving were career highs. He missed the Cardinals' first four games with a broken foot.

How good was it for Cantwell to have him back?

"Very nice," the quarterback said. "Everyone has been telling how good he was, that he was a game breaker, and he showed it today."

Long's game was also memorable for a slip up that could have cost the Cardinals. An accurate pass from Cantwell bounced off Long's shoulder pads and was picked off by linebacker Kion Wilson, leading to Kelly's touchdown.

"Hunter came over to me and said, 'you're still the guy,' and that meant a lot to me," Long said.

Cantwell kept his word, throwing him the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.

With Pittsburgh losing to Rutgers on Saturday and UConn knocking off Cincinnati, the Big East race is muddled behind first-place West Virginia. The Cardinals are in the thick of the chase, having bounced back well following a disappointing first season under coach Steve Kragthorpe.

"No doubt, it's a big win to get us back on track," defensive lineman Earl Heyman said.

The Bulls had been averaging 195 rushing yards per game, but the Cardinals held them to 8. Linebacker Jon Dempsey, the Cardinals' leading tackler for the season, had nine tackles and a sack. Heyman and Adrian Grady sacked Grothe twice each.

"We just didn't protect enough," USF coach Jim Leavitt said.

With Heyman dragging him down by his jersey, Grothe threw his second interception of the day, giving the Cardinals the final possession with 3:03 to play.

"He was just trying so hard to make something happen," Leavitt said. "I know you can't throw the interception, but that poor guy was just ... he didn't want to take a sack."

The Cardinals contained Grothe's running but when Louisville's pass rushers didn't pressure him, he had an easy time making completions. He was 30-for-40.

The Bulls struck first with a 32-yard field goal by Maikon Bonani in the second quarter but the Cardinals hit back with Cantwell's first touchdown to Long, a 69-yarder that was a career long for both players, and Long's first career touchdown catch.

Cantwell ran the ball in for Louisville's second touchdown of the quarter with less than a minute to go before halftime.

The Bulls drove 63 yards in 48 seconds but had to settle for another Bonani field goal from 24 yards with 2 seconds left in the half that made it 14-6.

Grothe threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Kelly late in the third quarter to make it 14-13 and his 15-yarder to Busbee with 9:22 left in the fourth quarter gave USF a 20-17 lead.

The home team has won five straight games in the series.