Louisville-Southern Miss Postgame Notes

Dec. 22, 2010

Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2

With the 31-28 victory, head coach Charlie Strong's record moves to 7-6 with the Cardinals after his first bowl game at U of L.

Jeremy Wright, who tallied 31 rushing yards and 134 yard on kickoff returns, was named the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl MVP. His 95-yard touchdown on a kickoff return tied the game at 28 apiece in the fourth quarter.

Head coach Charlie Strong tabbed Brandon Heath, Johnny Patrick, Justin Burke and Doug Beaumont as captains for Tuesday evening's game.

Louisville appeared in its 15th bowl game in program history and first since winning the Orange Bowl in 2007. All-time, the Cardinals hold a 7-7-1 record

This marks the Cardinals' third-straight bowl game in the state of Florida, winning two of its bowl games in the Sunshine State. Previously, Louisville defeated Wake Forest in the 2007 FedEx Orange Bowl, 24-13, in Miami, and lost to Virginia Tech in the 2006 Gator Bowl, 35-24, in Jacksonville.

TE Cameron Graham did not make the start today, breaking his streak of 22 games where he earned the starting nod.

After completing 4-of-11 passes in the first quarter, QB Justin Burke went 16-of-22 the rest of the game. He had a stretch of seven straight completions at one point. Justin Burke recorded his 12th and 13th career touchdowns today.

Running back Bilal has 15 runs of 20 or more yards this season. He had one rush today that resulted in at least 20 yards.

Johnny Patrick registered his first career forced fumble to start Louisville's drive at the Southern Miss 27-yard line. Antwone Canady made the second fumble recovery of the season. Patrick's forced fumble led to a six-yard rush by Bilal Powell to tie the game at 21 apiece. He now has rushed for touchdowns in eight of the 12 games this season. It was Powell's 11th career touchdown.

The Louisville defense has forced turnovers in 10 of 12 games this season, leading to 79 points off those turnovers.

Louisville continued to dominate its opposition in the second quarter. With 21 points in the period, the Cardinals outpaced the opposition 164-79 in the second quarter this season.

Johnny Patrick blocked a USM field goal to keep the game tied at 21 apiece. Josh Chichester previously blocked a field goal against WVU this year.

Cameron Graham will finish the year with the most catches by a tight end (40) since Gary Barnidge in 2007. Barnidge had 53 receptions for 655 yards and seven touchdowns.

Louisville's defense held Southern Miss scoreless in the third quarter, marking the third time the unit has accomplished the feat this season (also vs. Memphis and Connecticut).

Jeremy Wright tied the game at 28 with a 95-yard kickoff return early in the fourth quarter. It was only the second kickoff return for a touchdown in Louisville bowl history. The first time the feat took place was in the 1999 Humanitarian Bowl against Boise State, as Zek Parker went 91 yards for the score. The 95-yard touchdown return is tied for fifth longest all-time with Trent Guy, who returned a kickoff 95 yards in 2008 against Memphis. Guy was the most recent Cardinal to return a kickoff for a touchdown. It's also the longest kickoff return in Beef `O' Brady's Bowl three-year history.

It is the fourth kick returned for a touchdown in U of L bowl history, as Keith Miller returned a punt 60 yards for a score in 1977 Independence Bowl versus Louisiana Tech. In 1991, Ray Buchanan recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl.

Wright is the first Louisville freshman to return a kick for a score since JaJuan Spillman had a 100-yard TD return against Rutgers on Nov. 9, 2006. Spillman and Broderick Clark (100-yard TD return against Kentucky on Sept. 1, 2002) are the only Cardinal freshmen with longer kick returns.

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