LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Teddy Bridgewater threw for 355 yards and five touchdown passes and No. 9 Louisville totaled 615 yards of offense in a season-opening 49-7 blowout victory against Ohio on Saturday at Papa John’s Stadium.

Bridgewater completed 23 of 28 passes as the Cardinals built a 28-0 halftime lead.

His first two touchdown passes went to Damian Copeland, a 34-yard strike on the game’s opening drive and a 19-yard connection midway through the first quarter. Copeland finished with six catches for 98 yards.

DeVante Parker made a 27-yard grab for a score early in the second quarter and Kai De La Cruz scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 40-yard pass with 3:44 left before halftime.

Michael Dyer broke off a 46-yard run for a score and Robert Clark had a 25-yard touchdown catch from Bridgewater in the third quarter, while De La Cruz’s other score was on a 30-yard pass from backup Will Gardner in the fourth quarter. De La Cruz finished with 116 yards on four catches.

Ryan Boykin had Ohio’s only touchdown – a 10-yard run on the final play of the third quarter to make the score 42-7. Boykin had seven carries for 39 yards to lead Ohio’s offense, which managed only 273 yards of offense.

Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton was 11 of 23 for 140 yards. Beau Blankenship, who totaled more than 1,600 yards on the ground last year, was held to 22 yards on 12 attempts.

Bridgewater completed all six passes, including two for third-down conversions, on the opening drive, and after Ohio netted a loss of 3 yards on its first possession, he went 2 for 2 on the next drive. Bridgewater finally was off the mark on his 10th attempt, but he still capped off an 86-yard drive with a pass right on the mark to Parker to make it 21-0.

With Tettleton on the sidelines getting stretched out, Derrius Vick entered at quarterback and Ohio finally converted a first down on an 8-yard pass to Chase Cochran. Vick, though, was sacked on the next play, and two plays later he was picked off by Hakeem Smith.

Bridgewater made one of his only mistakes off the game on the next drive, getting intercepted by Xavier Hughes. It led to Ohio’s most successful drive of the first half.

Keyed by a 36-yard completion to tight end Anthony Talbert, the Bobcats reached the Louisville 15-yard line but resulted in no points after Matt Green missed a 32-yard field goal attempt. Green also missed his only other try, a 45-yard attempt in the fourth quarter.

De La Cruz was wide open for his first touchdown after a defender fell down.

After Dyer’s long run in the second half, the Bobcats had their longest play of the game, a 47-yard connection between Tettleton and Donte Foster. It moved the Bobcats to the Louisville 22-yard line, but the Bobcats turned the ball over on downs, leading to Bridgewater’s finally touchdown pass.

Ohio’s defense finally got a stop on Bridgewater’s finally possession. With Louisville at the Ohio 36-yard line, Bridegwater was sacked by true freshman Tarell Basham on a fourth-and-13 play.

That gave the Bobcats good field position. An 18-yard pass to Daz’mond Patterson was the key play on the drive, which was capped off by Boykins’ run up the middle.

That was the end of the day for both team’s starting quarterbacks, but Gardner did not miss a beat. He completed a 31-yard pass to De La Cruz before completing the 30-yard touchdown pass to him on a 74-yard drive.

Cochran caught a 37-yard pass from Cochran on Ohio’s next possession, which ended on Green’s second missed field goal try. Cochran had three receptions for 48 yards.

Devin Bass had one of the most impressive plays of the game, staying on his feet after being flipped by a defender on a 41-yard kick return in the first half.

Josh Kristoff, Brandon Atwell and Ben Russell had eight tackles each to lead the Bobcats defensively. Hughes and Nieco Teipel had seven tackles apiece. Last year’s leading tackler Gerald Moore left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury and did not return.

Ohio will try to rebound in its home opener against North Texas at 7 p.m. Saturday at Peden Stadium.