High-flying Cards cause 8 turnovers
LOUISVILLE 48, NO. 10 WAKE FOREST 21
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Fueled by an opportunistic defense, Louisville used a 35-point third quarter to knock off No. 10 Wake Forest 48-21 on Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinals (5-3, 3-3 ACC) forced eight turnovers, all of which came in the second half. Louisville forced six turnovers in the third quarter as Coach Scott Satterfield took his first win against a top 10 team.
Louisville needed a rally after losing a 13-0 lead they held a minute into the second quarter. A defense that’s improved in recent weeks provided that spark and then some.
Kei’Trel Clark’s 46-yard interception return for a touchdown gave Louisville a 20-14 lead 47 seconds into the second half. The period ended with a 90-yard pick six by Quincy Riley to provide Louisville with a 34-point lead.
Louisville’s 35-point third quarter tied a record for the most points in a quarter against an AP Top 10-ranked team. It had occurred three times previously, most recently by then-No. 5 Oklahoma against then-No. 2 Texas Tech on Nov. 22, 2008.
“The third quarter was remarkable,” Satterfield said. “I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’ve been in this game a long time.”
Wake Forest entered Saturday having committed just five turnovers in its first seven games. According to ESPN, Wake Forest was the first team in at least 15 years to commit eight turnovers in a half.
Seven Louisville players accounted for the four interceptions and four fumble recoveries.
However, Louisville’s win was built on more than the turnovers. The Cardinals also registered eight sacks, each from a different player.
Quarterback Sam Hartman completed 20 of 35 passes for 271 yards and a touchdown while throwing three picks for the Demon Deacons (6-2, 2-2).
Louisville’s Tiyon Evans ran for 106 yards on 11 carries, including a 52-yard touchdown, in his first action since the Boston College game on Oct. 1.
In other Top 25 games Saturday afternoon, J.T. Tuimoloau had a strip sack to set up No. 2 Ohio State for a touchdown and then had a pick-6 for the Buckeyes, who scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to erase a deficit and beat No. 13 Penn State 44-31 in State College, Pa. C.J. Stroud found his groove for Ohio State in the fourth and finished with 354 yards passing as the Buckeyes (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) ran their winning streak in the rivalry to six in a row — none by more than 13 points. The Nittany Lions (6-2, 3-2) went up 21-16 with 9:26 remaining in the fourth quarter on a tough 1-yard touchdown run by Kaytron Allen on fourth down. … Will Howard threw for 296 yards and four touchdowns, Deuce Vaughn ran for 158 yards and another score, and No. 22 Kansas State defeated No. 9 Oklahoma State 48-0, handing the Cowboys their first shutout loss since 2009 against in-state rival Oklahoma. A late interception gave the Wildcats (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) their first shutout of the Cowboys since a 10-0 win on Nov. 21, 1992. Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders was just 13 of 26 for 147 yards with an interception. … Blake Corum ran for 177 yards and scored twice, and Jake Moody made five field goals to help No. 4 Michigan remain unbeaten with a 29-7 win over Michigan State. The Wolverines (8-0, 5-0) scored 26 consecutive points after falling behind briefly late in the first quarter. … Max Duggan threw three touchdown passes, Kendre Miller ran for 120 yards and a score and No. 7 TCU defeated West Virginia 41-31 in Morgantown, W.Va. The Horned Frogs (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) didn’t need a comeback from a double-digit deficit like they did in their two previous games. Duggan staked TCU to a 28-21 halftime lead and that held up. … Bo Nix threw three touchdown passes and ran for three more scores to lead No. 8 Oregon to its seventh consecutive win, a 42-24 victory over Cal. Nix threw for 412 of the Ducks’ 586 yards, the most against the Golden Bears in six seasons under Coach Justin Wilcox. The Ducks (7-1, 5-0) broke open the game with three TDs in a span of less than seven minutes of game time spanning halftime and rolled to another win. … Caleb Williams threw for 411 yards and five touchdowns, and No. 10 Southern California scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to outlast Arizona 45-37. The Trojans (7-1, 5-1) had an extra week to shake off their first loss of the season, an emotional 43-42 setback at No. 14 Utah. … Notre Dame’s Brandon Joseph returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game, tailback Audric Estime rushed for 123 yards and scored twice in the fourth quarter to thwart a No. 16 Syracuse rally for a 41-24 victory. Notre Dame (5-3) has won five of six since opening the season with two losses. … Chase Brown rushed for 149 yards and scored on consecutive series in the second quarter to help No. 17 Illinois take charge in a 26-9 victory over Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb. The Illini (7-1, 4-1) beat the Cornhuskers for the third year in a row. Nebraska (3-5, 2-3) lost quarterback Casey Thompson to an injury in the second quarter. The Cornhuskers committed four turnovers and lost their 20th in a row against a Top 25 opponent. … Central Florida’s RJ Harvey scored the winning 17-yard touchdown run with 48 seconds remaining in a 25-21 victory over No. 20 Cincinnati in Orlando, Fla. His TD capped a seven-play, 75-yard march directed by backup quarterback Mikey Keene, who went 4-for-4 for 57 yards on the drive. Harvey’s game winner came after Cincinnati (6-2, 3-1 AAC) took the lead on Ryan Montgomery’s 39-yard touchdown run with 3:04 remaining. The Bearcats added the two-point conversion on Ben Bryant’s pass to Tyler Scott to go up 21-18. Central Florida (6-2, 3-1) took a 10-6 lead into halftime on the strength of a 26-yard touchdown run by Harvey. … Drake Maye threw for five touchdowns and Antoine Green had a career night with 180 yards receiving as No. 21 North Carolina overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to defeat Pittsburgh 42-24. UNC (71) is 4-0 in league play for the first time since going 8-0 in 2015. Green, a fifth-year senior, hauled in a pair of touchdowns and set career highs in yards receiving and receptions (10). UNC went down 24-14 early in the third quarter on the third touchdown of the night by Pitt running back Israel Abanikanda before scoring 28 unanswered points.