No. 14 Louisville outlasts Memphis in 56-49 victory

The Cardinals scored the winning touchdown with just 37 seconds remaining.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Louisville and Memphis marched up and down the field all night. All it took to decide the game was a 1-yard plunge.
Eric Shelton got into the end zone with 37 seconds remaining and the 14th-ranked Louisville Cardinals escaped with a 56-49 victory.
The teams combined for 105 points, 1,202 yards of total offense and 15 plays of more than 20 yards.
Leading the Cardinals
Louisville, the nation's top offensive team, gained 599 yards. Shelton ran for 136 yards and four touchdowns and Stefan LeFors threw for three more scores and 321 yards.
"It was unbelievable, it was a blast," LeFors said. "It was a great game for this team. We pulled through it and it showed a lot about this team's character."
The Cardinals (6-1, 4-0 Conference USA) gained 92 more yards than their average but 4 fewer than the Tigers (5-3, 2-3), who nearly beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 1996.
"I wish we could have put up some more points and won the game -- I really don't know what to say," Memphis quarterback Danny Wimprine said. "It was a fun game to be in. We did some things that were good to see on national TV, but you hate to lose one like that."
LeFors, the nation's most efficient passer, wasn't as sharp as his 76 percent season completion rate, but he was still 24-of-34 with three first-half touchdowns and no turnovers.
10 lead changes
It was a wild game that featured 10 lead changes, capped when Shelton put the Cardinals ahead 54-49. LeFors ran in a two-point conversion, then Louisville's Abe Brown intercepted a pass to seal it with 21 seconds remaining.
"It was a big night for us on the national stage. We earned the right to be here," Memphis coach Tommy West said. "When we had them on third down, we could not stop them. I think we just got whipped on defense."
Louisville, 9-for-13 on third-down conversions, took a 48-40 lead after consecutive touchdown runs by Shelton, the second with 11:54 remaining.
Memphis answered when Wimprine, who threw for four touchdowns and 361 yards, ran in from the 1 to make it 48-46. The Tigers failed on a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied it.
Key turnover
But the Memphis defense got a key turnover when Shelton fumbled a handoff with 7:36 to go, and Wimprine went back to work on the Tigers 39.
He led his team to the Louisville 9, but after a penalty, two incomplete passes and a 2-yard run by DeAngelo Williams, Memphis settled for Stephen Gostkowski's 29-yard field goal and a 49-48 lead with 6:20 remaining.
That was plenty of time for LeFors, who gave the Cardinals their seventh play of more than 20 yards when he found J.R. Russell for a 28-yard completion to the Memphis 27. Russell finished with 146 yards and two TDs on seven catches.
The Cardinals then ran the ball four straight times as the clock ran down under a minute, and Memphis couldn't stop Shelton from scoring the winning touchdown.