At first glance, there is nothing scary about Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. He has a mouthful of braces and could pass for a middle-school student.
“That’s pretty misleading,” Cardinals running back Jeremy Wright said. “He plays like a man.”
There is strong evidence for that statement. Barely 20 years old, Bridgewater is in his first full season as a starter and already stands as one of the country’s best quarterbacks. He has thrown for 287.7 yards per game and connected on 25 touchdown passes with just seven interceptions.
He is the Gators’ top concern as they prepare to face Louisville in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday night. The Cardinals are in this game largely because Bridgewater powered them to a win at Rutgers in the final game of the regular season despite a severely sprained right ankle and a broken left wrist.
“That’s just who he is; he always gives it up for his teammates,” said Louisville offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, who got choked up discussing that performance. “Real honestly, he was playing on one leg and with one arm and he went out and had a heck of a game. He just wills himself to great moments.
“I’ve been doing this 30 years, and I’ve never had a guy who could do so much so early. We put a lot of responsibility on him. He makes our world go. He does everything for us.”
Bridgewater still wears a brace on his left, non-throwing wrist, but he said his ankle is “not much of a factor” and he felt fine running in practice.
The Gators (11-1, No. 3 in the BCS standings) saw several talented quarterbacks this season, including Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, Tyler Bray (Tennessee) and Aaron Murray (Georgia). Florida safety Matt Elam placed Bridgewater above them all.
“Hands down,” Elam said.
He continued, “Playing against a good quarterback like Teddy makes you lock in a little more. Having a challenge like that makes the game more fun.”
Bridgewater’s rushing stats are unspectacular — 18.6 yards per game with one touchdown — but his scrambling ability is a problem. Defensive backs will have to hold their coverage longer than usual, and he might catch defenders up front out of position with what UF coach Will Muschamp calls “off-rhythm” plays.
Even with Bridgewater’s mobility, his accuracy is the first thing Muschamp and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn addressed when they began analyzing Louisville this month. He has completed 69 percent of his attempts, sixth in the nation, and is eighth in passer efficiency rating at 161.6.
“When any quarterback gets into a rhythm he’s tough to beat, and that’s especially the case here with Bridgewater,” Quinn said.
Bridgewater nearly became a Gator before signing with Louisville (10-2, No. 21). He grew up in South Florida and played quarterback for Miami Northwestern. He had scholarship offers from Florida, Florida State, Miami, LSU and several other prominent schools.
He turned them down because he saw a shot to play immediately for the Cardinals. He also wanted to experience a different environment.
“I was ready for something new,” he said this week. “I’d been in Miami my whole life, and I was ready to branch out. I wanted to build something special at Louisville.”
He is accomplishing that. He started 10 games as a true freshman and carried that momentum into this year. As a sophomore, he has topped 300 yards six times, including 400-plus yards against Cincinnati and Syracuse.
In Louisville’s 27-25 win over South Florida, Bridgewater completed 21 of 25 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns, plus he rushed for 74 yards.
Those performances put him on a short list of quarterbacks who have led the Cardinals to 10 wins. Louisville has reached that mark five times now, and few people outside the program expected it to happen in 2012 after the team went 7-6 in each of the past two seasons.
“This year was a little different because of the quarterback that we had,” said Louisville coach Charlie Strong, a former Florida defensive coordinator. “He got us where we are right now.”
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