David Amerson returned an interception 65 yards for a
touchdown, and had two more pickoffs to give him 13 for the season, the most in
the country, while setting a new Atlantic Coast Conference record.
T.J. Graham made the most of his final game at North
Carolina State with seven catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns, including a
65-yard score on a nifty catch-and-run, as the Wolfpack (8-5) overcame a series
of special teams blunders to win narrowly.
Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who threw for 274
yards and two touchdowns and ran for another, nearly brought the Cardinals back
from a 21-point deficit, but his final heave on fourth-and-23 was picked off by
Amerson with 41 seconds left.
In Detroit, Purdue recovered two onside
kicks and held on to beat Western Michigan 37-32 in the Little Caesars Bowl.
Raheem Mostert returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown
before halftime to give Purdue a big lead but the Boilermakers struggled to
hold off the hard-finishing Broncos.
Western Michigan had the ball with a chance to go ahead, but
their comeback hopes ended when quarterback Alex Carder fumbled for his fifth
turnover of the game with just under 2 minutes left.
The Boilermakers (7-6) led 27-15 at halftime after
third-string running back Reggie Pegram scored the first two touchdowns of his
career.
The Broncos (7-6) scored first on Carder's 49-yard pass to
Jordan White and went back ahead midway through the second quarter.
Mostert returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD to put Purdue
ahead for good.
