|
Louisville Hands Gators 33-23 Defeat in Sugar Bowl
NEW ORLEANS – Louisville
ended Florida's magical season on a sour note, pouncing on the Gators
early and delivering a 33-23 loss in the Sugar Bowl at the
Mercedes-Benz Superdome Wednesday night.
Florida (11-2,
7-1 SEC) was unable to slow down Cardinal signal-caller Teddy
Bridgewater, who went 20-of-32 passing for 266 yards and two
touchdowns, while guiding an offense the converted one critical
third-down conversion after another, going 9-for-14 on the night.
Louisville
(11-2) grabbed a quick 7-0 lead on a 38-yard interception return by
Terell Floyd on the game's first offensive play and just :15 in.
Gators' quarterback Jeff Driskel threw behind Andre Debose who tipped
the ball up and Floyd grabbed it and went the distance for the early
lead.
After a three-and-out by the Gators' offense on its
second possession, Jeremy Wright gave the Cardinals a 14-0 lead on a
1-yard touchdown run, capping a 13-play, 83-yard drive that included
three crucial conversions on third-and-long.
Bridgewater completed 4-of-5 passes for 66 yards on the Cardinals' opening possession in a sign of things to come.
On
Florida's third drive, the offense finally began to click. Driskel
connected with Omarius Hines for 14 yards and Mike Gillislee for 13,
while Trey Burton scurried 19 yards on two carries out of the Wildcat
as the Gators marched 66 yards to the Louisville 15-yard line.
Driskel's
third down pass to Frankie Hammond in the end zone fell incomplete and
the Gators settled for a 33-yard field goal from Caleb Sturgis with
14:50 left in the first half and the Gators cut the Louisville lead to
14-3.
The field goal was Sturgis's 24th of the season
breaking the single-season school record he shared with Bobby Raymond,
who connected on 23 field goals in 1984.
Louisville
responded with another long drive, marching 66 yards on 11 plays and
getting a 27-yard field goal by John Wallace with 8:39 left in the half
to take a 17-3 lead.
The Cardinals weren't done building a
sizable first half lead, as Bridgewater continued to carve up the
Gators' defense, connecting with DaVante Parker for a 15-yard touchdown
pass with 2:57 left in opening half to extend the lead to 24-3.
The
Gators got a much-needed late score, marching 75 yards on 11 plays and
capping it with a 1-yard touchdown run from Matt Jones with :10 left in
the half.
Facing a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line,
the Gators passed on a field goal, but Louisville had no time outs left
and couldn't adjust to UF's formation, and Jones punched in straight up
the middle.
As the second half started, the Gators gambled it proved costly.
Florida
tried on onside kick to start the second half, and Louisville
recovered. Adding to it, Florida committed two personal fouls setting
up Louisville at the Gators' 19. On the first play from scrimmage in
the second half Bridgewater hit Damian Copeland for a 19-yard touchdown
pass to extend the Louisville lead to 30-10. The Gators blocked the
extra point.
Wallace added a 30-yard field goal with 7:54 to go in the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 33-10.
On
the ensuing kick, Andre Debose's set a Sugar Bowl record with a
100-yard touchdown return to cut it to 33-17. It was the school-record
fourth of his career.
The Gators got the ball back again
with 5:59 remaining and Driskel guided the Gators down the field,
hitting Kent Taylor for a 5-yard touchdown pass to make it 33-23 with
2:13 to go. Needing a two-point conversion, however, Driskel was sacked
keeping it a 10-point game.
Louisville recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock to secure its first Sugar Bowl win.
The Gators struggled to find an offensive rhythm all night, as they were limited to 285 total yards of offense.
Driskel
hit 16-of-29 passes for 175 yards and the late touchdown, but turned
the ball over three times on the night: two interceptions and a fumble.
Louisville
had a sizable advantage in time of possession as the Cardinals
controlled the ball for 35:07 to 24:53 for Florida. The Gators
committed nine penalties for 97 yards on the night.
|
