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Syracuse Stuns No. 18 Louisville 38-35

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The Associated Press

Published: September 23, 2007

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Andrew Robinson threw for a career-high 423 yards and four touchdowns as Syracuse surprised No. 18 Louisville 38-35 on Saturday.

Taj Smith caught four passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns for the Orange (1-3, 1-0) as Syracuse ended Louisville's 20-game home winning streak by dominating the listless Cardinals (2-2, 0-1).

The victory was Syracuse's first road conference win and first victory against a ranked team since beating Boston College at the end of the 2004 season.
Brian Brohm completed 45 of 65 passes for a career-high 555 yards and four scores for Louisville, but the Cardinals' defense allowed Syracuse - which entered the game ranked near the bottom nationally in every offensive category - to pile up 465 yards and make big play after big play.

Syracuse, a 36 1/2 -point underdog, built a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter before trying to make it interesting late. The Orange turned the ball over twice in the final minutes allowing Louisville to get within three with 56 seconds left.

The ensuing onside kick, however, failed to go 10 yards and the Orange held on.

Syracuse needed just one play to take the lead as Robinson hit Smith for a 79-yard TD. The play was symptomatic of Louisville's defensive struggles all season, as Smith found himself all alone at midfield with no Louisville player within 10 yards when he caught the ball, allowing him to run free to the end zone.

WEST VIRGINIA 48, EAST CAROLINA 7: Pat White threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as No. 5 West Virginia (4-0) overpowered visiting East Carolina (1-3).
Steve Slaton rushed for 110 yards and a score to match a school record for career touchdowns, and the Mountaineers rolled up 599 total yards against the Pirates, who suffered their most lopsided loss under third-year coach Skip Holtz.

West Virginia's defense didn't allow a score until the final two minutes, limiting the Pirates to nine first downs and 160 total yards.

West Virginia scored seven of the first eight times it had the ball in beating East Carolina for the seventh straight time. The team's last two meetings weren't decided until the fourth quarter, but this one wasn't close.

East Carolina entered the game allowing 86 yards rushing per game, and had been the only team to hold West Virginia under 200 yards rushing in each of the past two seasons.

CONNECTICUT 34, PITTSBURGH 14: Visiting Connecticut turned two turnovers by ineffective Pitt quarterback Kevan Smith and another by backup Pat Bostick into 17 points and the Huskies remained unbeaten.

Tyler Lorenzen directed two first-half touchdown drives and the Huskies (4-0, 1-0) beat Pitt (2-2, 0-1) for the second season in a row and the third time in four seasons since joining the Big East in football. Neither of those previous defeats were this bad for Pitt. The Panthers fell behind 34-7 while being dominated on their home field in a game they were favored to win by more than a touchdown.

Pitt's offense hasn't been the same since starting quarterback Bill Stull injured a thumb in the season opener, forcing redshirt freshman Smith to start far ahead of schedule. Smith was 3-for-9 for 29 yards while being sacked twice, throwing an interception and losing a fumble before being benched as Pitt trailed 27-7 at halftime.

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