Nevertheless, the Cardinals overcame three turnovers and pulled themselves together behind backup quarterback Cantwell for a ragged 24-6 victory over Kansas State on Saturday.

Starting in place of Heisman-hopeful Brian Brohm, who was injured in last week’s 31-7 rout of then-No. 17 Miami, Cantwell threw for 173 yards and a touchdown.

But like the entire Louisville attack, he was inconsistent. In one careless stretch in the second half, the Cardinals turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions in defense of their highest ranking ever.

“I feel good about getting the win in a tough stadium like this against a pretty good defense,” Cantwell said, “but I made some mistakes and I’ve got to get some things adjusted this week and get better,”

Expected to start two or three games while Brohm recovers from a thumb injury, Cantwell was 18-for-26 for 173 yards.

“He was hot and cold and what happened was it took us out of our tempo,” Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. “Sometimes he sat at the line of scrimmage a little bit long and allowed them to talk him into some checks.”

Louisville linebacker Nate Harris insisted the Cardinals did not suffer a letdown, even though the Wildcats’ unheralded defense forced three turnovers and held the nation’s leading offense 26 points and 170 yards below its average.

“Everybody was talking about a letdown, but we knew we weren’t going to come out here and let down,” he said. “Coming into this hostile environment at Kansas State, they’re a good team, so we just came out here and executed our plays to the fullest.”

It was a defense which in two road games has given up only six points that kept the Cardinals (4-0) from ever being in danger.

“I am very proud of the way our defense played,” Petrino said. “They played fast and they played aggressive. They made plays and bailed the offense out when the offense turned the ball over.”

Thomas Clayton’s 69-yard scoring run after Louisville had taken a 24-0 lead in the fourth quarter enabled the Wildcats to avoid their first shutout at home since 1991.

“We are not going to worry about the offense,” said Kansas State safety Marcus Watts, who intercepted a Cantwell pass and returned it 58 yards to the Cardinals 19. “We are going to do what we do and that is play good defense.”

Cantwell directed a crisp, impressive 97-yard touchdown drive on the Cardinals’ first possession, capped by Harry Douglas’ 19-yard catch.

But Louisville managed only 87 total yards the rest of the half in taking 10-0 lead.

After George Stripling’s 1-yard run put the Cardinals on top 17-0 in the third quarter, Louisville turned the ball over on two fumbles and an interception.

After Watts’ long interception return, freshman quarterback Josh Freeman, who had replaced Dylan Meier, was sacked for a 5-yard loss on third down.

Then Malik Jackson blocked Jeff Snodgrass’ 40-yard field goal attempt and Louisville took possession on the 46.

Two plays later, Brock Bolen scored on a 17-yard run for a 24-0 lead in Ron Prince’s first loss since replacing Bill Snyder as Kansas State coach.

“We faced a mighty good team today,” Prince said. “We knew that was going to be the case coming in.”

Art Carmody kicked a 25-yard field goal for the Cardinals with 4:17 left in the half after Jon Russell’s 53-yard interception return to the 15.

In the third quarter, Bolen went around right end for 22 yards on third and 1, then Kolby Smith picked up 19 yards to the 7 on a perfectly thrown pass by Cantwell.

Kansas State had to call timeout because it had only 10 men on the field, and then Stripling scored on a 1-yard run.

Bolen made it 24-0 on the second play of the fourth quarter when he scored on a 17-yard run.

“They did a nice job of giving Hunter different looks,” Petrino said. “Sometimes you have to take your had off to their defense.”

Smith and Stripling, who are combining to replace injured star running back Michael Bush, each had 63 yards rushing while Bolen had 53 yards on five carries.

Clayton wound up with 119 yards for Kansas State.

Freeman, Kansas State’s most highly touted freshman in years, hit 3-of-10 passes for 18 yards. Meier was 14-of-33 for 121 yards, but both quarterbacks were harried all day by a Cardinal defense which has allowed only six points in two road games.