LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Dae Williams rushed for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead score with 5:01 remaining, as Louisville rallied from a 14-0 deficit to beat in-state rival Western Kentucky 20-17 on Saturday night.
Quarterback Malik Cunningham once again provided a huge lift for the Cardinals (2-1), rushing 21 times for 129 yards and completing 10 of 18 passes for 88 yards. He threw a 16-yard pass and had back-to-back carries for 22 yards on the pivotal drive. Williams added an 11-yard run to the 1 before scoring the winning TD.
Williams rushed nine times for 58 yards.
WKU had one last chance and drove to Louisville's 34 to set up Ryan Nuss' 51-yard field goal attempt to tie the game. His low kick sailed wide right as time expired, leaving the Hilltoppers (0-3) with a second consecutive close loss after holding a double-digit lead.
Louisville beat WKU for the 10th consecutive time in the series and gave coach Bobby Petrino the victory against the school he coached in 2013 before returning the next year for a second stint with the Cardinals.
Doing so involved more drama than he preferred.
''We came up with some big plays when it was needed. ... just enough to win the game,'' said Petrino, whose team won despite being outgained in total yards 428-292. ''There's no question about it that we need to improve.''
THE TAKEAWAY
Western Kentucky: Davis Shanley (22 of 33, 240 yards, three sacks) threw and rushed for a touchdown in relief of Steven Duncan and completed several key passes during a fourth-quarter drive ending in Nuss' 35-yard field goal for a 17-13 edge. But the Hilltoppers once again squandered a first-half lead by allowing the Cardinals to regroup and outscore them 20-3 over the final 43 minutes. They blew a 21-0 lead in a 31-28 loss to FCS Maine last week.
''We've got to find ways to allow us to finish games,'' coach Mike Sanford said. ''That's two weeks in a row we've let them get away from us and, starting with me, we've got to find a way to put teams away.''
Louisville: Cunningham might have made his strongest case to be the Cardinals' starting quarterback by relieving Jawon Pass in the second quarter and bailing out a sluggish offense. It took a while, but once Cunningham got going he seemed to channel Heisman Trophy-winning predecessor Lamar Jackson at time with exciting runs before delivering timely passes. Special teams delivered a field goal leading to Williams' first TD, while the defense held WKU after the Cardinals finally went ahead.
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