No. 20 Louisville can't stop No. 13 Georgia's run

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Louisville coach Bobby Petrino wasn't about to let a disappointing finish put a damper on his team's accomplishments this season — or what he perceives to be a bright future for the program.

"It's been a good year for us and we have a ways to go," Petrino said. "This was a good measuring stick for us."

Freshman Nick Chubb ran for a career-high 266 yards and two touchdowns as No. 13 Georgia defeated 20th-ranked Cardinals 37-14 in the Belk Bowl on Tuesday night.

Louisville finished 9-4 in its first season with Petrino back at the helm.

But how it ended was a bit surprising.

The Cardinals came in with the nation's second best defense but allowed 301 yards on the ground. Chubb's rushing total was second highest in school history behind only Herschel Walker's 283 yards rushing against Vanderbilt in 1980. Chubb averaged 8 yards per carry.

"He's hard to tackle and has great vision," Petrino said. "There were a number of times when we had guys there to make plays and he just ran over them. They also have a very good offensive line."

Louisville linebacker Keith Kelsey called Chubb the best running back the Cardinals have faced this season. He said the goal now is to get bigger, stronger and faster this offseason.

"We didn't finish it how we wanted to, but we had a great year," Kelsey said.

Petrino decided to give redshirt freshman Kyle Bolin his first career start.

It was a struggle for Bolin, who finished 20 of 40 for 300 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown. Backup Reggie Bonnafon attempted just three passes and completed one for 14 yards along with one interception.

"I think our young quarterbacks learned that when you call plays and nobody is open, you have to throw the ball the away," Petrino said. "You can't take negative plays and you can't throw interceptions."

DeVante Parker lived up to his billing with eight catches for 120 yards for Louisville.

Georgia quarterback Hutson Mason threw for 149 yards and a touchdown before leaving with blurred vision in the second quarter with the Bulldogs (10-3) ahead 20-7. He was replaced by Brice Ramsey, whose primary duty was to hand the ball off to Chubb and watch him run.

Mason said after the game he didn't have a concussion, but couldn't see straight.

"Right now, I can look straight ahead and tell that, hey you have a blue scarf on," Mason said to a reporter. "But beforehand, I couldn't even tell you were right there. It was just super, super blurry. That's dangerous when you're out there and need your peripheral vision. The last thing I needed to do was go out there and take another shot, because my awareness wasn't up to par."

Georgia's defense certainly contributed to the win.

They came up with three interceptions, two of those by Dominick Sanders.

The Bulldogs leaned heavily on the 5-foot-10, 228-pound Chubb after Mason left the game and Ramsey was intercepted on his first play from scrimmage.

Louisville's defense came into the game allowing just 93.7 yards per game on the ground. Chubb nearly had that in the first half, rushing for 78 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. He added an 82-yard run in the second half that led to another Georgia score.

Georgia coach Mark Richt said Ramsey, who could be Georgia's starting quarterback next season, made a few mistakes during the game but "overall he secured the ball well."

The Bulldogs roared to a 20-7 lead in the first half as Mason found wide open flanker Chris Conley down the middle of the field for a 44-yard touchdown strike for a 7-0 lead. Chubb added a 31-yard scoring run.

The Bulldogs (10-3) made it a three-possession game late in the third quarter when Chubb broke free from his own 3 and raced 82 yards, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run by Sony Michel. Chubb later sealed the win with an 8-yard touchdown run.

Louisville's only scores came on an 11-yard scoring strike from Bolin to Gerald Christian and a 6-yard run by Brandon Radcliff.

NOTES: Chubb set a new Belk Bowl rushing record, eclipsing the 174-yard effort set by Boston College's Andrew Callender in 2004. ... Conley led Georgia with four catches for 80 yards and the TD.