No. 17 Louisville Gets Sloppy 41-17 Win

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Montrell Jones caught six passes for a career-high 118 yards and two touchdowns and linebacker Brandon Johnson&#39;s third-quarter interception helped No. 17 Louisville overcome an uncharacteristically sloppy performance to win a school-record 12th straight home game, 41-17 against Syracuse on Saturday.<br> <br> The Cardinals (8-2, 4-2 Big East) held off a late rally by the Orange (1-10, 0-7), who finished with the first 10-loss season in the program&#39;s 110-year history.<br> <br> The Cardinals bolstered their quest for a Jan. 2 bowl bid thanks to a defense that tightened up after Louisville starting quarterback Brian Brohm went down with a sprained right knee in the third quarter.<br> <br> Brohm threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns but also threw two interceptions, twice as many as he&#39;d thrown in Louisville&#39;s first five home games this season.<br> <br> But Brohm&#39;s afternoon ended on a third-quarter scramble, when he ran to his right and was tackled by Syracuse&#39;s Kellen Pruitt at the Louisville 28. Brohm awkwardly rolled over his right knee as he fell and lay on the turf for several minutes before being helped to the sideline.<br> <br> Redshirt freshman Hunter Cantwell replaced Brohm, but with the Big East&#39;s leading passer on the sidelines, the Cardinals used steady play from running backs Kolby Smith and George Stripling to run out the clock.<br> <br> Filling in for injured starter Michael Bush, Smith finished with a career-high 96 yards and a touchdown. He also caught four passes for 68 yards, including a 57-yard catch-and-run late in the fourth quarter that set up a 9-yard touchdown run by Stripling to seal it for the Cardinals. Stripling later added an 89-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds left to end the best day of his career with 137 yards and two scores.<br> <br> Syracuse quarterback Perry Patterson threw for 259 yards and a touchdown, but an intentional grounding penalty midway through the fourth quarter stopped a Syracuse drive. <br> <br> On second-and-12 from the Louisville 13, Patterson threw the ball away while getting chased by a pair of Louisville defenders. The penalty pushed the ball back to the Louisville 31 and two plays later a 48-yard field goal attempt by John Barker bounced off the left upright, ending Syracuse&#39;s last real chance at the upset.<br> <br> © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.