LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It took one play for Louisville to get on the scoreboard. Not to be outdone, Pittsburgh tied the game on the next kickoff.

Two plays, two touchdowns — and almost too much for Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino to comprehend.

"Have you ever seen a start like that?" Petrino said. "That was unbelievable. That's pretty wild."

By game's end, though, the result was routine: another lopsided Louisville win.

Michael Bush rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with a sprained foot and Art Carmody tied a school record with four field goals as No. 24 Louisville (6-2, 2-2 Big East) controlled the game in the second half en route to a 42-20 win over the Panthers Thursday night.

Pitt's Terrell Allen muffed the opening kickoff, which was recovered by Deon Palmer in the end zone for Louisville. But Allen proved he wasn't rattled, returning Louisville's ensuing kickoff 97 yards to tie it at 7 just 25 seconds in.

After a 5-yard touchdown run by Bush on Louisville's next possession, the oddities continued when Pitt snapped the ball over punter Adam Graessle's head and through the end zone for a safety, giving Louisville a 16-7 lead.

"At the beginning, it kind of felt like it was a little video game," Bush said. "After that, we got ourselves together and we made a couple of nice plays and we were able to get the win. Things just settled down in the second half."

Louisville has won two straight after losing its first two league games and temporarily falling out of the Top 25. The Cardinals, wearing black jerseys for the first time since the 1984 season, became bowl eligible with the win in front of a record crowd of 42,692 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

Pitt (4-5, 3-2) had a three-game winning streak snapped. The Panthers must win their final two games, against Connecticut and No. 18 West Virginia, if they are to extend their streak of consecutive bowl appearances to six.

"In a game like this, everything gets magnified and you can't afford to make any mistakes," Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said.

Louisville, known for its high-scoring offense, wore the Panthers down with long, clock-chewing drives after halftime. The Cardinals scored the final 23 points and held a commanding edge in time of possession — 37:10 to 22:50 for Pittsburgh — and never punted.

Bush's second score, a 3-yard run in the third quarter, was his 20th rushing touchdown of the season, tying the school record set by Lenny Lyles in 1957 and matched by Eric Shelton last season.

Bush, the NCAA Division I-A scoring leader, left after that with a sprained left foot. X-rays were negative, and Louisville spokesman Rocco Gasparro said Bush would undergo an MRI exam Friday. Bush said he "felt fine" after the game.

Bush, who had 16 carries, also caught four passes for 59 yards.

"I did OK," Bush said. "Coach had a few plays down that we wanted to run and we all executed."

Carmody kicked field goals of 46, 47, 32 and 36 yards, matching the school single-game record set by Nate Smith against Houston in 2000. The 46-yarder was a career-best, but Carmody booted a 47-yarder minutes later.

Entering the game, Carmody had attempted only eight field goals this season, making six.

"The deal was to try to force field goals and minimize the touchdowns and come up with a couple of turnovers," Wannstedt said. "I felt like we had that going on defense. But in the second half, we've got to get a couple of scores."

Louisville trailed in the final minute of the first half before Carmody's 47-yarder, which put the Cardinals up 22-20 at the break.

"That was a big swing for us right there," Petrino said.

Louisville scored on its first three second-half possessions, with Bush's second touchdown and Carmody's 32- and 36-yarders, and led 35-20 entering the fourth quarter.

Louisville wide receiver Joshua Tinch knew how dangerous his team could be when they're on track.

"It just came down to executing our offense," he said. "Guys making plays in the second half, guys making blocks. Everybody just stayed composed."

Pitt reached the Louisville 22 early in the fourth quarter before penalties set the Panthers back and forced a punt. Louisville took over with 9:44 left and ran more than 9 minutes off the clock before Kolby Smith capped a 16-play, 80-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.

Brian Brohm completed 21 of 31 passes for 247 yards for Louisville, which finished with 467 yards of offense. Pitt finished with 260 yards of offense, and Tyler Palko was 17-for-30 passing for 198 yards.

Cardinals defensive end Elvis Dumervil, who leads the nation in sacks, added another to push his total to 201/2 for the season. He also made three tackles and forced a fumble.