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Come Fan with UsThursday, August 6, 2026

2013 Sugar Bowl results: Louisville pulls off biggest upset in BCS bowl history

The No. 21 Louisville Cardinals entered NOLA as 14.5-point underdogs to No. 3 Florida, making the 33-23 2013 Sugar Bowl the biggest shocker the BCS has ever seen.

No, seriously -- Boise State and Utah were only touchdown-or-so underdogs against Oklahoma and Alabama in their respective BCS upsets.

Also, here’s Charlie Strong with confetti sticking to his head, via ESPN:

Confetti_medium

Louisville punched first, with Terell Floyd running back a tipped Florida pass just 15 seconds in, and very rarely stopped punching after that. The biggest lead was 24-10 in the second, followed by a 33-10 Cards advantage in the fourth.

Anyone who wasn't already convinced of Teddy Bridgewater has now changed his or her mind. The sophomore (sophomore!) slashed the nation's No. 5 defense for 266 yards* and two touchdowns on 32 attempts, and it really would've been much more drastic than that if Florida's offense had been good enough to push him.

Oh, that Florida offense. Long the far, far weaker half of the Gators, they amassed fewer yards in the first 28 minutes than the Cardinals got on just one scoring drive. Florida turned the ball over three times, gaining just 285 yards -- fewer against Louisville than was mustered by Kentucky, FIU, Pitt, Temple, USF, Rutgers and so on.

The Cardinals pass rush, which ranked No. 90 in the country in sacks coming in, brought down Driskel four times, including one on a two-point conversion attempt that essentially sealed the deal.

* The most Florida’s defense has given up since November 5, 2011.

Box score hero: Bridgewater. And that defense.

Rankings ramifications: Louisville returns a GRIP of talent, including Bridgewater. Pretty much their entire defense. All along, 2013 has projected to be a very good year for Louisville -- a BCS win in 2012 is gravy, but sets expectations even higher. A top-10 slot in next year’s preseason rankings should be assured. Florida, meanwhile, won’t be far behind. Their helmets have Florida logos on them.

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