Malik Cunningham rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, including the clinching score, as Louisville stopped Boston College 28-14 in Louisville, Ky.
The Cardinals (4-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) held the Eagles (4-3, 0-3) to 266 yards and came up with a pair of second half stops in their territory, including Josh Minkins’ interception of Dennis Grosel at the 2-yard line with nine minutes left in the game.
Boston College closed within 21-14 with 6:10 remaining on Grosel’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Jaelen Gill. But Louisville wrapped up the game with 2:53 on the clock when Cunningham took a read-option play 11 yards up the middle to restore a two-score lead.
Trevion Cooley added a career-high 112 yards on 13 rushes for the Cardinals, who finished the day with 331 yards on the ground. Cunningham chipped in 107 yards on 9 of 17 passing, although he was intercepted twice.
Grosel hit on 17 of 32 passes for 141 yards and was picked off twice. He also lost a fumble with 2:34 left that C.J. Avery recovered to seal the outcome.
Louisville outgained the Eagles 438-266 but wasn’t able to pull away because it made a spate of mistakes. The Cardinals drew seven penalties for 70 yards and coughed up four turnovers, including Cooley’s fumble that set up Boston College’s last touchdown.
Boston College initiated scoring seven minutes into the game when Alec Sinkfield ran 11 yards for a 7-0 lead, finishing an impressive 63-yard drive. But Louisville wasted little time responding as Cunningham rushed 10 yards less than three minutes later to equalize at 7-7.
The Cardinals took the lead for good in the second quarter with two touchdowns. First, Cunningham capped a 70-yard drive with a 1-yard run at the 8:35 mark. Then Trey Franklin set up a 49-yard field with an interception of Grosel and Louisville cashed in with Jalen Mitchell’s 5-yard scoring jaunt 1:11 before the half for a 21-7 advantage.
–Field Level Media
