It took awhile for Heisman contenders Teddy Bridgewater and Brett Hundley to wake up from the midday haze of their noon kickoffs, which seemed particularly bothersome for the UCLA Bruins traveling East to Nebraska.
Both quarterbacks erupted in the second half, particularly Hundley. The Bruins went into halftime down 18 points after Taylor Martinez led the Nebraska Cornhuskers, rocking all-black jerseys, to such a dominant first half that the game appeared theirs to lose.
Apparently, it was Hundley's to win.
He racked up three touchdowns in the third quarter, leading UCLA to 35 unanswered points in 16 minutes. Hundley connected with nine receivers on the day with 61 key rushing yards to keep drives alive. Jordan James added 105 yards and a touchdown, and the Bruins won 41-21.
Bridgewater didn't need as much time to wake up. He got things going in the first half with a 13-yard score, which gave Louisville some breathing room heading into halftime as they held a stingy Kentucky team at bay. Senorise Perry added a touchdown after the break, and the Cardinals scored on their next three drives to put a woeful Kentucky offense out of reach, an inevitable conclusion once QB Maxwell Smith went down with injury.
Bridgewater finished with 250, Perry added 100 on the ground to go with two scores, and Michael Dyer ran for 62 yards on the way to a 27-13 victory, and Louisville's third straight Governor's Cup.
