University of Louisville
HOUSTON
No. 25 Louisville Drops Houston, 34-10
November 10, 2001 | Football
Nov 10, 2001
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Houston's first mistake in Saturday's 34-10 loss to No. 25 Louisville was kicking to Zek Parker.
Parker, the nation's second-leading kick returner last season, took the opening kickoff 59 yards to set up the Cardinals' first touchdown and set the tone for a dominant Louisville victory.
Louisville's opponents this season have been avoiding Parker, a former high school sprinter. The Cougars didn't, and paid the price.
"Thank God somebody finally kicked to him," Louisville coach John L. Smith said. "I had a little pep talk with him before the game to try to keep him up.
"And lo and behold, look what he did."
Dave Ragone threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns as Louisville (9-1, 5-0 Conference USA) secured its second straight nine-win season and continued the best start in school history.
Ragone threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Deion Branch less than two minutes after Parker's kick return. Ragone went 3-for-4 on Louisville's next drive, and Nathan Smith extended the lead to 10-0 on a 32-yard field goal with 8:56 left in the opening quarter.
John L. Smith had preached about not looking past Houston (0-9, 0-6) toward next week's conference showdown with East Carolina.
"Sometimes the ones you're supposed to win are not the easiest ones to play," Smith said. "I'm proud of them. They took a very workmanlike approach this week."
A victory over the Pirates next Thursday night would give the Cardinals their first-ever 10-win regular season.
"Now, it comes down to what we've been working for all year. This is what we've been shooting for, to defend our conference championship," Smith said.
Houston (0-9, 0-6) lost its 10th consecutive league game and 13th straight overall.
The Cougars trailed only 10-7 after Joffrey Reynolds' 1-yard touchdown run with 2:47 left in the first quarter. But Louisville's defense stiffened after that, holding them to just 44 yards the rest of the half.
"Louisville has a great defense," Houston quarterback Kelly Robertson said. "You just can't get down on a team like this because it's hard to come back."
Sophomore defensive end Dewayne White sacked Robertson on the final play of the first quarter to set the single-season school record for tackles for losses. White's 24th career sack was his 20th tackle behind the line of scrimmage this year.
"It's a good feeling to have my name in the record books. I didn't know it until someone came over and told me," White said. "It's a great feeling, but I'm going to add to it."
Two plays later, Anthony Floyd returned Jimmy McClary's punt 52 yards for a touchdown, Louisville's second punt return for a score this season. Branch returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown in Louisville's 31-7 win over Western Carolina on Sept. 8.
The Cougars drove to Louisville's 35, but White tackled Reynolds for no gain after a screen pass on fourth-and-5.
The Cardinals then drove 65 yards against Conference USA's second-worst defense. T.J. Patterson's 4-yard touchdown run with 7:47 left in the second quarter was his team-leading sixth scoring rush of the season.
Louisville got the ball back near midfield with 19 seconds left before halftime, and a 22-yard pass from Ragone to Parker set up a 44-yard field goal by Smith.
Ragone threw his second 19-yard touchdown pass to Branch with 8:24 left in the third quarter. Branch finished with nine catches for 147 yards.
"I make some bad throws and he comes up with great catches. He makes me look good," said Ragone, who went over 5,000 yards in career passing and moved into fifth on Louisville's passing list.
Jeff Patterson kicked a 37-yard field goal with 6:18 left in the game.
Robertson went 16-for-30 for 157 yards in his first action since Houston's 28-14 loss to Army on Oct. 6.
Louisville has outscored its last three opponents 114-30 and has allowed just one second-half touchdown in its last five games.
