Louisville tops Green Wave, 55-7
NEW ORLEANS -- Another week, another display of offensive fireworks for No. 7 Louisville.
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The Cardinals got touchdowns from five different players - including two from Eric Shelton - in a 55-7 romp over Conference USA rival Tulane.
With the win, Louisville (10-1, 8-0 C-USA) becomes the fifth team to go through the conference undefeated. The Cardinals had already clinched the title with a win over Cincinnati last week and are headed to the Liberty Bowl for the fourth time to face Boise State on New Year's Eve.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 13-0 lead after the first quarter, led 27-0 at the half and were in front 55-0 before Tulane averted the shutout with a TD in the game's final minutes.
Shelton rushed for 58 yards on 18 carries and his first TD - a one-yard run with 3:23 left in the first - gave Louisville a 10-0 lead.
Louisville used a balanced offense to score 55 or more points for the fifth consecutive game, an NCAA record. The Cardinals ran for 216 yards and passed for 306 to close out the third 10-win season in school history.
Stefan LeFors completed 19-of-27 passes for 247 yards and a TD. He added a TD run with just over one minute left in the second quarter and freshman Brian Brohm completed all eight of his attempts for 59 yards.
Tulane (5-6, 3-5) managed only 165 total yards and nine first downs. The Green Wave got on the board with 2:12 to play when Richard Irvin hit Roydell Williams with a three-yard TD pass.
Irvin completed 12-of-25 passes for 112 yards and was intercepted once and sacked four times.
Louisville kicker Art Carmody had two field goals on the game, as well as seven PATs. Carmody has connected successfully on 66 straight PATs for the season tying the NCAA record for season consecutive extra points.