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Oct. 5, 2009

• Gameday Central
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Audio Clips
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• Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe
• Redshirt Freshman C Mario Benavides
• Junior QB Adam Froman
• Podcast

Video Clips

• Watch Weekly Press Conference

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville football head coach Steve Kragthorpe, redshirt freshman Mario Benavides and junior quarterback Adam Froman met with members of the media on Monday to preview Saturday's homecoming contest against Southern Miss. The Cardinals and Golden Eagles will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Ky., and the game will be televised nationally by ESPNU.

The Cardinals dropped their third straight game and fell to 1-3 overall following a 35-10 setback at home to Pittsburgh on Friday night. Louisville took a 10-7 lead into the half, but watched the Panthers score 28 second-half points to run away in the league opener. Senior Joe Tronzo put the Cardinals on the board first with his first career rushing touchdown - a one-yard run in the first quarter. After Pitt tied the score at 7-7, senior Ryan Payne put the Cardinals ahead 10-7 right before the half with a 32-yard field goal. However, the Panthers scored touchdowns on four of their next five possessions to take control of the game.

Junior Adam Froman made his first collegiate start and played pretty well. The junior-college transfer completed 18-of-30 passes for 166 yards, but was sacked six times. The Cardinals were held to 305 yards of total offense and just 101 yards on the ground. Sophomore Victor Anderson was the Cardinals' top ground gainer with 51 yards on 12 carries. He also caught four passes for 24 yards.

Pittsburgh's Bill Stull beat the Cardinals through the air all night, going 16-of-23 for 242 yards and three touchdowns, while Dion Lewis ran for 87 yards and Ray Graham added 75 yards and a touchdown.

Southern Miss enters Saturday's contest at 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Conference USA following a 30-17 loss to UAB on Thursday. Golden Eagles' quarterback Austin Davis completed 24-of-32 passes for 234 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Quentin Pierce, who hauled in seven catches for 108 yards. Southern Miss played without leading rusher Damion Fletcher and receiver DeAndre Brown who sat out with injuries. Both are expected to return to the lineup this week, but Southern Miss was dealt another tough loss as Davis will miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury suffered in the UAB game.

The Series - U of L and Southern Miss
The Cardinals and Golden Eagles will resume their old rivalry and meet for the 28th time in school history on Saturday with Southern Miss holding an 18-8-1 advantage. It is the first meeting since the 2002 season when Louisville won their third straight in the series defeating Southern Miss 20-17 in overtime. Both schools were members of Conference USA and combined to win eight conference championships since the league was formed in 1996. The Cardinals were C-USA champions in 2000, 2001 and 2004, while the Golden Eagles won in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003 and 2006.

GAME FACTS - Louisville (1-3, 0-1 BIG EAST) vs. Southern Miss (3-2, 1-1 Conference USA)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 10
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Site: Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (40,000), Louisville, Ky.
TV: ESPNU will televise the game with Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and David Diaz-Infante (analyst)
Radio: Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Craig Swabek (analyst) will call all the action and Doug Ormay will report from the sidelines on WHAS 840 AM
Also: SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Ch. 126, XM Satellite Radio, Ch. 242
Rankings: Both teams are unranked in this week's AP Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll.
Coaches: Louisville's Steve Kragthorpe is 12-16 in his third season as the Cardinals' head coach. He went 6-6 in 2007 and 5-7 in 2008. He is 41-38 all-time in his eighth season overall. Southern Miss' Larry Fedora is 10-8 in his second season as the head coach of the Golden Eagles.