On a night when the greatest boxer of all time was in the house, Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater evoked a memorable quote from one of the scrappiest fictional fighters of all time.
On the very first passing play the underdog Cardinals ran against the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl, Bridgewater took a monstrous hit that sent him (and his helmet) flying backwards.
But the sophomore from Miami, Fla. got up and went on to lead Louisville to the biggest upset in BCS bowl history.
On that play in the first quarter, Bridgewater rolled out to his right on 2nd and 10 and fired a pass on the run. Florida senior linebacker Jon Bostic was charging him at full speed and clobbered Bridgewater just after he released the football. Bostic ran right through the 6'3" 218-pounder, dislodging his helmet as Bridgewater rolled onto the ground. The hit drew a flag for roughing the passer.
Although Bridgewater was a little shaken up after the hit, nobody else threw a pass for the Cardinals. Bridgewater went right back in... and got sacked on the next passing play. But from that point on, he shredded the Gators' stout defense with 266 passing yards and two touchdowns en route to a 33-23 upset win.
While you can watch the video above, the brutality of the hit was perfectly captured by AP photographer Bill Haber.
