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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The circumstances today 12 years later are eerily similar to the last time West Virginia met Louisville in Morgantown in 1993. The Cardinals were on a roll having beaten No. 23 Arizona State 35-17, Texas 41-10 and Pitt 29-7 the three previous weekends heading into an early October clash with the Mountaineers.

	West Virginia offensive guard Dale Williams celebrates Robert Walker's short touchdown run in the first half of the Mountaineers' 36-34 win over Louisville at Mountaineer Field on Oct. 9, 1993. WVU Sports Communications photo

A Brohm -- Brian’s big brother Jeff -- was quarterbacking Howard Schnellenberger’s nationally ranked football team.

“He can rope an out-cut,” said West Virginia coach Don Nehlen, also noting that Brohm will tuck the football under his arm and run much like Virginia Tech’s Maurice DeShazo.

Brohm and West Virginia quarterback Jake Kelchner were almost teammates at Notre Dame. Brohm was the Kentucky High School Player of the Year and was one of three quarterbacks Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz hoped to sign in 1988. And while Lou got Kelchner and Rick Mirrer, Brohm chose to stay home and play at Louisville.

After a year at Notre Dame, Kelchner wound up transferring to West Virginia where he shared the position with senior Darren Studstill.

But Kelchner and Studstill were facing their stiffest tests of the year against 5-0 and No. 17 ranked Louisville, which Nehlen called “the best team we’ve played to date.”

The Cardinals boasted 14 fifth-year seniors, a productive running back in Ralph Dawkins, a strong defensive line and an alert secondary, according to Nehlen.

West Virginia was piecing together a pretty good season, too, having defeated Eastern Michigan, Maryland, Missouri and Virginia Tech to bring a perfect 4-0 record into the game. The team’s great start brought the fans back to Mountaineer Field and Nehlen said a boisterous crowd was the reason his team was able to overcome five turnovers in a narrow 14-13 win over the Hokies.

“One thing I like about our team is that the magic is back at Mountaineer Field,” Nehlen said prior to the Louisville game. “It gets those kids excited when the place is rocking and socking.”

It was a less than subtle hint from Nehlen that his team was going to need all the help it could get against the favored Cardinals on Homecoming.

Schnellenberger, Louisville’s plaid-jacket-wearing, pipe-clenching coach, said big plays were going to decide the game. “It should be a game determined by the play of the players,” the veteran coach told reporters during his Tuesday afternoon teleconference. Schnellenberger also anticipated a “very physical game.”

It turned out to be that and a whole lot more.

Playing in a steady rain from the second quarter on, the two teams traded swings like a pair of heavyweight prize fighters and electrified an already super-charged Mountaineer Field crowd of more than 57,000. The two teams combined to score 41 first-half points; Louisville leading 21-10 at one point in the second quarter and taking a 21-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Cardinals took an eight-point lead in the third quarter when Brohm directed a nine-play, 80-yard drive right into the teeth of West Virginia’s defense. Brohm had a pair of 20-yard scrambles and then withstood a vicious pass rush to find tight end Jamie Asher for a two-yard touchdown to put the Mountaineers into a big hole.

But West Virginia quickly crawled out with a 14-play, 51-yard drive that culminated with a Robert Walker one-yard TD run. Kelchner eluded the rush to scramble for 11 yards on a third and seven and the Mountaineers converted a fourth and one when fullback Rodney Woodard was able to get to the Louisville two. The two-point conversion failed, leaving Louisville with a 28-26 lead.

Walker, who fumbled earlier in the game and had problems throughout the year holding onto the football, was nearly replaced in the first half by Jimmy Gary but Nehlen played a hunch and stuck with him.

“Coach Nehlen knows how hard I’ve been trying to hold onto the ball,” Walker said. “He put me back in there and that showed me a lot about him as a coach.”

Nehlen’s patience was rewarded late in the third quarter when Walker broke free at the 50 and raced untouched into the end zone to give West Virginia its first lead since early in the first quarter. Walker went off right tackle, split two Louisville defenders, and out-ran the rest of the team for his 50-yard score. Todd Sauerbrun’s PAT gave West Virginia a slim 33-28 lead.

But Louisville wasn’t done. The Cardinals benefited from a pass interference call on West Virginia strong safety Mike Collins on a third-and-18 play that kept the drive alive. On first and 10 at the Mountaineer 32, Brohm found Kevin Cook for a 32-yard touchdown to give the Cardinals a 34-33 lead with 14:46 left in the game. West Virginia was able to knock down Brohm’s conversion pass to keep Louisville from taking a three-point lead.

Four minutes later, after a 48-yard Michael Baker kickoff return and a Kelchner-to-tight –end-Nate Rine 25-yard pass moved the ball deep into Louisville territory Todd Sauerbrun put the Mountaineers back ahead with a 36-yard field goal.

West Virginia was looking for more points and a firmer grasp on the game when it moved into position to try another Sauerbrun field goal with 6:47 left, but defensive tackle Joe Johnson blocked Sauerbrun’s attempt and wound up with the football. Instead of falling on it, he tried to return the ball and it was knocked out of his hands. WVU’s Joe DeLong recovered the ball at the West Virginia 23, giving the Mountaineers another set of downs and an opportunity to eat more time off the clock.

“I don’t know how it got blocked or anything,” said the sophomore offensive guard after the game. “I saw the defense moving and when I turned around I saw the guy with the ball and the ball came out. I just fell on it.”

West Virginia was in a position to add more points, but Sauerbrun hooked his 32-yard field goal try well left of the goal post.

However, the defense came up big once again with a little less than three minutes to play when cornerback Tommy Orr stepped in front of teammate Aaron Beasley to pick off a Brohm pass despite a jarring collision with teammate Mike Collins.

“I closed my eyes and held onto it like I’ve never held onto anything,” Orr said.

Beasley and linebacker Wes Richardson forced Louisville’s fourth turnover of the second half with 2:03 left in the game when Beasley stripped the ball from Chris Fitzpatrick and Richardson scooped it up and returned it to the Louisville seven. From there the Mountaineers were able to run out the clock.

Students, so excited with West Virginia’s 5-0 start, rushed the field after the game and partially tore down the South goal post.

“I’ve been around here a long time and we’ve had some awful good games on this field,” said Nehlen, “but this is as good as most of them.”

Robert Walker survived the hook to finish the game with 161 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 25 carries. Kelchner completed 13 of 20 passes for 112 yards and backup Darren Studstill was three of four for 40 yards and a touchdown.

Brohm was 22 of 39 for 270 yards and four touchdowns to lead Louisville. He also threw two interceptions. The Mountaineers won the battle of the trenches, out-rushing the Cardinals 229-81.

Louisville’s four turnovers were uncharacteristic of a team that came into the game with the nation’s best turnover ratio (19-to-5). It was also the first West Virginia win over a ranked team in four years.

A disappointed Schnellenberger, still wearing his soggy sport coat, was in a reflective mood after the game.

“We lost to a very good team,” he said. “With the exception of one fumble, they played near-perfect football. We won the battle of the pass, they won the battle of the run, and they also won the game.”

Nehlen earned his 150th career victory in a triumph that catapulted the Mountaineers toward their second undefeated, untied regular season in five years.

Scoring Summary

UL – Bailey 15 pass from Brohm (Akers kick)
WV – Walker 3 run (Sauerbrun kick)
WV – Sauerbrun 32 FG
UL – Cook 27 pass from Brohm (Akers kick)
UL – Davis 13 pass from Brohm (Akers kick)
WV – Rine 8 pass from Studstill (Sauerbrun kick)
WV – Sauerbrun 32 FG
UL – Asher 2 pass from Brohm (Akers kick)
WV – Walker 1 run (run fails)
WV – Walker 50 run (Sauerbrun kick)
UL – Cook 32 pass from Brohm (pass fails)
WV – Sauerbrun 36 FG

Individual Statistics

Rushing: UL – Brohm 9-35, Shelman 4-22, Dawkins 8-18, Fitzpatrick 3-5, Bailey 1-1; WV – Walker 25-161, Woodard 11-29, Freeman 4-16, Gary 5-14, Studstill 1-6, Kelchner 8-5, Baiker 1-minus 2.

Passing: UL – Brohm 22-39-2-270-4, Dawkins 1-1-0-27-0; WV – Kelchner 13-20-1-112-0, Studstill 3-4-0-40-1.

Receiving: UL – Asher 6-113, Cook 5-86, Dawkins 4-16, Fitzpatrick 3-21, Bailey 3-32, Feguson 2-29; WV – Baker 3-40, Rine 3-42, Hill 3-36, Freeman 2-7, Gary 1-14, Abraham 1-9, Kearney 1-7, Walker 1-minus 3.

Attendance: 57, 578