Louisville holds off hard-charging Bearcats in Brohm's return

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Louisville coach Bobby Petrino has gotten

past the idea of style points.

Good thing. There wasn't much to go around following the

seventh-ranked Cardinals' 23-17 win over Cincinnati on Saturday.

The nation's top offense struggled at times despite the return

of quarterback Brian Brohm from a right thumb injury, and

Louisville's 15th straight home win wasn't secure until cornerback

Gavin Smart knocked down a pass in the end zone with 3 seconds

left.

Still, the Cardinals survived. And for the usually picky

Petrino, that's all that really mattered.

"It took until the last play to finish it, but we got it

done," Petrino said. "I've learned that they're all going to be

battles the rest of the way."

Brohm threw for 324 yards and a touchdown in his first game

since injuring his throwing hand in a win over Miami on Sept. 16,

but looked rusty at times. He threw a fourth quarter interception

and had several balls float on him while his receivers dropped a

handful of others.

"Maybe I wasn't quite as accurate, but I don't want to put that

on the thumb," said Brohm, who completed 20-of-37 passes. "I made

those throws all week in practice and should have been able to

(today). ... We need to get our edge back and I think we will."

Cincinnati held the Cardinals (6-0, 1-0 Big East) 21 points

below their scoring average and had a chance for an upset in the

final seconds.

The Bearcats' Dustin Grutza threw for 129 yards and two scores

and ran for 75 more, most of them coming on a frantic drive in the

final two minutes. He led the Cincinnati (3-4, 0-2) to the

Louisville 22 with 9 seconds left.

But Grutza's fourth-down pass to Earnest Jackson was broken up

by Smart in the end zone as the Cardinals remained perfect.

"We had four chances to throw the ball in the end zone, you

have to make the play," Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio said.

Smart, at 5-foot-9 Louisville's shortest defensive back, said he

didn't think about the implications as the ball floated toward him

in the end zone.

"It just comes down to concentration," Smart said. "When (the

quarterback) gets the ball out of his hand, you run to it and knock

it down."

The Cardinals managed 429 yards of total offense, but had

trouble gaining any sort of momentum as the Bearcats moved up and

down the field behind a deliberate running game that piled up 212

yards.

"We can't throw the ball all over the place 50 times, we have

to be two-dimensional," Dantonio said. "I thought Grutza played

hard, tough. His leadership made you believe."

Brohm's return might have energized the crowd -- which roared

when he entered the game -- but it failed to ignite the Louisville

offense. The Cardinals converted just 3 of 11 third-down attempts

and had trouble running the ball effectively. Louisville had just

105 yards on the ground and couldn't control the clock late.

"Anytime you don't put somebody away, you start worrying,"

Petrino said. "It's very worrisome looking at the scoreboard in

the fourth quarter and knowing that two touchdowns will beat you."

It almost happened. After Louisville went up 23-10 on Art

Carmody's third field goal of the day with 6:09 to play, the

Bearcats responded with Grutza's 18-yard TD pass to Derrick Stewart

with 4:10 left.

Louisville couldn't run out the clock, and Cincinnati then took

over at its own 8 with 2:38 to go. The Bearcats moved 76 yards

before the Cardinals held.

"It was nerve-wracking, but our defense did a great job,"

Brohm said. "Our defense put out a lot of fires today."

Doctors had originally told Brohm he would be out 4-6 weeks, but

after what coach Bobby Petrino called an "amazing" recovery, he

ran onto the stadium turf 27 days after surgery to repair a

sprained right thumb.

Brohm led the Cardinals to the Cincinnati 29 on his first drive,

the Bearcats stopped Louisville on fourth down.

The Cardinals then turned the ball over deep in their own

territory on consecutive possessions, but the defense managed to

hold the damage to a 23-yard field goal by Cincinnati's Kevin

Lovell.

Louisville tied it at 3 on a 32-yard field goal by Carmody, but

Cincinnati responded with a 17-play, 78-yard drive that took up

more than half the second quarter. The Bearcats converted five

third downs on the drive, which ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass

from Grutza to Brent Celek.

Carmody added a second field goal to pull the Cardinals within

four, and Louisville caught a break late in the half when Grutza

and fumbled at midfield. Brohm led the Cardinals down the field,

connecting with Gary Barnidge on a 1-yard touchdown pass to give

them a 13-10 lead at the break.