FINAL: Louisville 38, Virginia 31

The Virginia Cavaliers lost a game they couldn't afford, dropping their seventh game of the season at Louisville, 38 to 31.

The Hoos' defense couldn't stop the Cardinals rushing attack, giving up close to 300 yards for the day. There were more signs of life from the pass rush, as Zach Bradshaw and Mike Moore both recorded sacks, while David Dean and Andrew Brown forced UL QB Kyle Bolin into two fumbles. But the defense gave up more than 7 yards per play to Louisville, who outgained Virginia by 75 yards despite running 16 fewer plays.

While the Hoos won the turnover battle 2-1, the Cardinals were able to capitalize better than Virginia. After Virginia's defense recovered a Louisville fumble at its own 20-yard line, UVa kicker Ian Frye missed a field goal badly and left the Hoos without any points to show for the recovery. Louisville, by contrast, scored 2 plays after a bad Olamide Zaccheaus fumble on a punt.

That O.Z. turnover embodied the problems of the Mike London era in one moment. It was probably a bad call by the officials to not flag Louisville for kick catch interference. But without question, Zaccheaus should have called for a fair catch. Instead there was a special teams blunder that led to opponents' points while Hoos fans got nothing more than clips of their head coach yelling on the sidelines.

Canaan Severin's day is worthy of recognition. In a game that was otherwise dreadful for UVa, Severin had another 100-yard performance and hauled in three touchdowns. His connection with Matt Johns seems to be the only constant of an otherwise inconsistent Cavalier offense.

With the loss, Virginia is out of bowl contention for the fifth time in Mike London's six seasons. The Hoos next play at home against Duke.