Utah holds off Louisville, 44-35

Brian Johnson passed for 312 yards and a touchdown and Darrell Mack rushed for a career-high 163 yards and three touchdowns to help Utah hold off Louisville, 44-35, on Friday night at Louisville, Ky.

The Utes (3-3) rolled up 582 yards against Louisville’s shaky defense, sending the Cardinals (3-3) to their third loss in four games.

Two weeks after Syracuse stunned the Cardinals with big play after big play and ended their 20-game home winning streak, the Utes handed the Cardinals consecutive home losses for the first time since 1999.

Utah didn’t run free through Louisville’s secondary as the Orange did, instead moving steadily behind the play of Johnson and Mack. Johnson spread the ball to eight receivers and also ran for 37 yards and a touchdown.

Brian Brohm completed 39 of 58 passes for 467 yards and four touchdowns for Louisville, which played without three of its top receivers. Harry Douglas sat out because of an injury. JaJuan Spillman was suspended indefinitely on Monday, and Mario Urrutia wasn’t in uniform.

State prosecutors dropped a felony burglary charge against Florida safety Tony Joiner, clearing the way for the senior to play tonight at top-ranked Louisiana State. He was arrested early Tuesday for allegedly trying to take his girlfriend’s car out of a towing company’s impound lot.

Tommy Blake, Texas Christian’s standout defensive end, said he had to get away from football after he became overwhelmed with stress. He will sit out his second consecutive game, and third this season, when the Horned Frogs play today at Wyoming. His status was expected to be reevaluated next week.