Go Cards!!!

If you're reading this you can get our predictions here and here. Now turn off the computer and help the Cards steal a win in the land of potatoes Mormons.

Last minute links

I've gained some respect for the plucky Utah program this week. They certainly aren't accustomed to losing, and it's unfortunate we caught them coming off a loss. Our two programs have a lot in common actually, or at least we did until Hurricance Kragthorpe struck without warning. Two fan bases that have tasted BCS success and are striving for national recognition. As you can read here, Louisville's downfall has disappointed Utah as well. They signed-on to the multi-game contract hoping it would be a marquis game for them each year. Sorry Utes, Krags' bad.

Here's their complete game release, with lots of good trivia to annoy your friends. Come on Cards, let's show them how quickly a pristine program can fall!

One on One = Seven?

The most interesting news of the day so far is that Utah has no plans to drop their aggressive one-on-one cornerback coverage.  Great news for Trent Guy and Scott Long, and they're already licking their chops: "We should dream of one-on-one coverage," says Guy. Quick strike scores? Makes me miss Petrino. I miss his musk.

Wait...where the hell am I watching this ornery bastard?

CBS College Sports? Who has that? And the snitty lady at the WHAS hotline has informed me they won't be picking the game up. So I guess I've got to shower up and head out into the world. There really should be a blog that informs you about these sort of things beforehand. 

Some goosebumps to go with your coffee...

Morning Cards fans. Why is Dan Devine such a dick in this movie? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...C! A! R! D! S!

Sosa's shot was better

But here's more awesomeness from the guys that made the world's longest shot currently going viral.

Zip it Zane!

Here's an article on Utah left tackle and captain Zane Beadles. The highlights. The 6'4'' 306lbs Beadles just finished designing a robot named "Shia the Destroyer" for his Mechatronics 3200 course. When the 3.92 GPA student finishes his NFL career he says he wants to get a masters degree in aerospace engineering and design complex defense weapons systems. Pfff. Loser.

...and predictions

Cards get a nice return from Trent Guy to put them in good field position to start the game. A playaction pass to Scott Long and a two Vic Anderson runs later and its 7-0. The team is pumped up, but Utah scores right back, and everyone switches into "Holy shit these guys are good" mode.  Our offense sputters the rest of the half, and we are lucky to get into the locker room down 17-7.  A turnover to start the half gives the Cards the ball in good field position, and Bilal Powell breaks off a long run to make it 17-14. Suddenly it's a whole new game. Mutual scrapping by both teams ensues, but the Cards get the ball tied at 24 with 3:48 left in the fourth quarter. QB Justin Burke marshalls the team downfield in a manner that solidifies his leadership. The shoeless Ryan Payne kicks in the game winner.  27-24 Cards. Book it.

War has made me very paranoid...

Utah football is starting to creep me out a little. From the Salt Lake City Tribune:

"Utah's practice fields, which are tucked behind the Dee Glen Smith Athletics Center, were further protected from spying eyes Wednesday. Utah's baseball team was enlisted to wrap the newly installed wire fence that surrounds the field in a black cloth that prevents anyone from seeing the field.

Whittingham said the protection was added because he felt the field was too accessible to those who might want to see what the Utes are installing."

Predictions, predictions...

Let's not harbor any illusions about how much the odds are stacked against us to stroll into Salt Lake City and steal a victory from a very talented, formerly-ranked Utah squad that is coming off an unexpected loss and playing us for their homecoming. Still, if the Cards were to make a run at the Runnin' Utes...

Justin Burke will be steady for the most part, but a few interceptions will test his confidence. Look for Trent Guy to have a big game in his first action since dropping the punt that Coach Krags says we're not allowed to talk about. The Cards defense will play well but be exhausted by the second half, but will have to have a big stop late following an ill-timed turnover. Louisville has to score at least 30 to win this game. If they can, call it for the Cards, 35-32.

Kickoff Clarification

See, due to the curvature of the earth and the rate at which it spins, there exist time zones. Utah is in the Mountain Time Zone, and is therefore two hours behind us. So for those of you that have been confused all week about the two hour discrepancy in kickoff times, there's your culprit. 7:30 Kickoff.  5:30 Utah time.  Were you confused? Umm, me neither.

Blue again over the loss to Big Blue

Seems that after the rush of optimism that followed our unexpected strong performance at Kentucky, the confidence of some of the faithful has turned dour to go with a week of rain. Check here (a positive forecast also commenting on the returning skepticism) and here (as down in the dumps as you get).

If you build it...

Charlie Springer at Card Game gives us the latest on the Papa John's stadium expansion... things coming along.

He also writes a nice preview of the uphill-yet-maybe-possible climb the Cards face against the Utah Runnin' Utes.

Stacey Poole cures cancer! I mean...commits to UK.

I assumed there had to be a reason for the ridiculously dramatic buildup to Stacey Poole's announcement today. But no, the 6'5'' shooting guard best known for not being Doron Lamb is going to be a Wildcat.  Seriously, John Wall gets a national announcement.  Poole? Next time just send a fax.

Paging Josh Chichester, come in Josh...

It's a little disconcerting that you can read an entire article about UofL's red zone woes and not see the name Josh Chichester.  When you've got an freakish 6'8'' athlete playing hybrid tight end/receiver, I'm thinking inside the 20 might be the time to deploy him. Look at the guy. He's a giraffe. Throw him the ball.

Cain is Able

The best Heisman campaign slogan ever, courtesy of The Program. Here's some grainy, Zapruder-like footage of Utah QB Terrance Cain. As you can see the junior college transfer has got legs and ain't afraid to use em.

Seeing the positives

Brian Bennett's article on ESPN.com... I only wish Kragthorpe would stay in pissed-off mode like he was after Kentucky (the most likeable he's ever been), and quit apologizing to the media for his non-biblical language and talking about his emotions and how much "fun" he had last Saturday. Jeez...

Already predicting scores

ESPN is anyways, and they've got Utah beating the Cards 28-16.  Another "respectable" loss to a solid team might be too much for this blogger to handle. Also, here's a pet peeve of mine. When one predicts a score, one should provide a little context. For example, how does Bennett think the Cards score 16 points? It's an odd score for a football game. Two touchdowns and a safety? One touchdown and three field goals? Eight safeties? Unless I get more, I'm just assuming you're randomly picking a number.

Runnin' Scared

The Utah Runnin' Utes know they're in trouble against our (ranked!) defensive unit. Consider this from the Salt Lake Tribune:

"[During Utah's loss to Oregon], the passing game didn't work, the running game didn't work and the Utes managed just 15 first downs. All those mediocre efforts came against a defense that wasn't so great. Now on Saturday, they face Louisville, which ranks 10th nationally, giving up just 223.5 yards."

I can hear 'em shaking in their runnin' boots...

Don't worry, I gotta Guy.

I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that UofL has a secret weapon this week. D-coordinator Brent Guy, former head coach of Utah State, is very familiar with the offense of his former archrival. The bad news? Guy went 8-38 at Utah St. and lost to Utah 58-10 last year. He's veerrrry familiar with their offense.

Bone Crusher gives us 10 Utes to watch for...

When the Cardinal Bird received his dentures

From Louisville.com: Here are the 50 things every Louisvillian is supposed to know (I think from 2007). For sports-related points, see:

12 - Derek Smith and the high five


23 - The Cardinal Bird's 1979 makeover


27 - Ali


34 - the Kentucky Colonels


47 - the Louisville Grays, who were evicted from major league baseball in 1877 for bribery and gambling.

UK Hypocrisy Watch

Still take grief for the tired stereotype that UofL athletics is comprised of a "bunch of thugs"? Well...Ridge Wilson, UK linebacker and avid Chris Brown fan, is back at practice this week. I'm sure she had it coming.

Beware the Bearcats

CollegeFootballNews.com is predicting that Cincinnati will play in the national championship. Don't buy it? Have a look at their remaining schedule... who beats them? If they are destined to have a letdown somewhere, let's pray it's on October 24.

Anxious Morning Links

UofL strong safety Terrence Simien is out indefinitely with a lacerated kidney. Ouch. Jody Demling reports that every day that goes by without guard Marquis Teague signing is cause for concern. Ouch. This game against Utah on Saturday is their homecoming. Ouch.

Utah Football Trivia

Here's something I dug up after extensive search (wiki-d Utah football). An odd tradtion:

For each home game, at the start of the fourth quarter, the Utah marching band plays the Blues Brothers' Theme while a female fan dances energetically in front of them. The tradition was started by Bubbles, an elderly fan who danced enthusiastically to the song when the band first played it and helped energize the crowd. The crowd so enjoyed the song and Bubble's performance that it soon became a tradition. After years of doing her dance, Bubbles retired so Crazy Lady took over. Crazy Lady received her nickname from the MUSS, which is the "Mighty Utah Student Section". As the third quarter comes to a close, the MUSS chants for Crazy Lady to do her dance.

As an avid admirer of referee-hating Crazy Old Guy at Freedom Hall, touche Utes fans, touche.

Utah, we have a problem

Lots of fallout from Utah's surprising loss to Oregon last week, snapping the Utes' 16-game winning streak. As if it isn't bad enough that the best team on our schedule loses the game before we head out West, the loss seems to have sharpened the local media's sense of who's coming to town next week and the need to be prepared. So much for sneaking into Salt Lake!

Downtown Arena is already dancin'

Despite having a website apparently designed in 1991 (Hat Tip: theHoff) the Louisville Arena Authority managed to land the first two rounds of the NCAA 2012 tourney.  This is going to be pretty awesome unless the Mayans were right and I have to dodge cannibal cults and rampaging monkey hordes on my way downtown. Say what you want about the Fairgrounds, but it's looked post-apocalyptic for years now and I think Ring Road offers a better escape route.

Steve backtracks...

Just when he was starting to garner some respect, Steve Kragthorpe apologizes for having the audacity to say that the Cards weren't scared to throw at all-SEC corner Trevard Lindley.  Ay, ay, ay...my head hurts. Seriously, you gave Lindley credit, called him a "great player",  stick to your guns you human turd!  Ahh, all seems right with the world suddenly.

Kurt Kragthorpe's Konundrum

Keep a klose eye on Kurt Kragthorpe in the koming days. The klose kin of koach Steve is kurrently the konflicted kolumnist for the Salt Lake City Tribune; he kovers kollege football for the Utes.

The loss at Kentucky: something to rally around

My four points on the Kentucky game:

1) Justin Burke was terrific. Not perfect, but terrific. After his debut performance against Indiana State, many had their doubts about the kid. For two long weeks, his abilities were questioned or even dismissed. If it had any effect on him, it didn't show. He wasn't without his mistakes -- the intentional grounding call hurt, and he's still putting too much mustard on some of those passes. But with Burke scrambling out of the pocket, throwing on the run, the offense felt dynamic, let alone functional, for the first time in a while.

2) Red zone offense was terrible. Four straight pushes inside the Cats' 20 resulting in two field goals? Offensive play-calling has to improve. One of the last drives ended with Burke throwing his first touchdown pass, I think from inside the twenty, so maybe the Cards are beginning to find some rhythm when the goal posts are in sight.

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3) The toss-sweep-option play on 4th and 1 already has been decried... basically by everyone. To me, the biggest mistake was that we were going for it in the first place. To do so following a long drive in the second quarter was wreckless. Better to chip in the field goal, pull within four, and reap a more certain benefit from a solid drive. Rick Bozich said he couldn't fault it because it showed Louisville was "playing to win." But this isn't an offensive juggernaut to which Krags is sending in his play-calls (often belatedly). We need to take the points where we can get them, we need to make sure the offense doesn't come off a long drive empty-handed, and we need to trust our defense enough that the urgency to score touchdowns isn't so desperate. For all the heroics of Burke, Long, Guy, and Anderson, Louisville's defense probably still had the better day.

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4) Even with the loss, Kragthorpe has bought himself time and patience from Cards fans, and it's much deserved. Outside of a win, what Cards fans had to see was a spirited, semi-competent team performance not overly marred by penalties and inconsistent playcalling. I still have my qualms about the playcalling part, but overall Kragthorpe delivered. The raw, exhaustion-induced emotions that poured out following the game, from both coach and players, is testimony to an intensity around which Cards fans can -- and will -- rally.

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Now Krags has to prove he knows (or can figure out) how to win some games, especially the close ones. One hard-fought near-victory ending in defeat can be appreciated, especially given the circumstances; 5 or 6 more of 'em will be a season's disaster. But like most Cards fans at the moment, I feel surprisingly optimistic. Kragthorpe should be happy that his team came so close, and he should know it meant a lot to Cards fans. But if he is ever to win them back, he can do no better than adopt the singular-minded mantra of "just win, baby."

One last reluctant look...

It's been raining in Louisville for nearly two days, which must mean the angels hate a UK win as much as I do. Earlier today I wrote that there is no such thing as a moral victory. That's true. But that does not mean that every loss is the same. Case in point: evaluate the feelings surrounding the program after last season's 27-2 debacle and this season's loss. They both hurt, sure, but in different ways. The former hurt stemmed from the black-hole sucking absence of hope. The latter hurt stems from that one brief moment of hope when victory seemed possible. I'll take the latter kind any day. And while a loss is still a loss at the end of the day, I bet you're more excited for the Utah matchup than you expected to be. Remember, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. 

From a fan perspective I got a lot from this year's Governor's Cup (but not the Cup dammit). I cheered, I railed, I made fun of UK idiots, I devoured a stack of waffles at Guiness-book speed, I slapped hands, I was a UofL idiot, I lost count of C-A-R-D-S cheers, I punched a wall, I got punched in the gut,  I grew closer to my favorite players, and I began to see some positive in a man I've consistently referred to as the human embodiment of a turd. Moral victory? No. A pulse? Yes. On to Utah.

And unless you want nightmares tonight, DO NOT click this link.

It's not your fault...It's not your fault...It's not your fault...It's not your fault...

Why do I get the feeling that if I tried the Robin Williams routine on Trent Guy he'd punch me in the face rather than break down sobbing in my arms?  But anyways, let's be honest. I know you're supposed to say that many factors contribute to a loss, but realistically, in all likelihood, that muffed punt cost us the game.  But am I mad at Guy, do I blame him? Of course not. Because as noted here before, I don't blame kids wearing red and black that are trying their best to win a football game. He's our best player and had an awesome game with one ill-timed mistake; this blue marble keeps on spinnin'. In fact, I can't shake the feeling that I helped jinx the Cards with my pregame Kerry Rhodes shoutout, another Cardinal legend remembered for such a mistake. But like Mr. Guy said admirably after the game: I promise to do better next week.  Yes we will Trent. Go Cards.

Kentucky's post-game analysis (warning: do not read immediately after eating)

Should you be curious, here's some sample analysis from the other side: how Cats fans thought they played against us. SEC Sportstalk seems none too happy about Mike Hartline's performance. The defense played well, however, and after all "a win is a win." (I hate being on the receiving end of that comment). Kentucky Sports Radio was reasonably satisfied with Hartline. They describe the game as one where Kentucky overall played "uncharacteristically stupid," yet found a way to win. They also note how emotionally exhausted the Louisville players looked after the game. A direct compliment apparently isn't possible, so they settle with "in a perfect world, it will be just enough to keep Kragthorpe's job." Another web site, something called AMNews.com (I think it's from Danville), lists all the "team records" set by Kentucky on Saturday, a scoring summary, and something called "UK Individual Notes" that knows no limit of glowing statistical announcements ("WR Matt Roark earned his second and third career receptions, both good for first downs and 15 total yards") Okay, enough with that, I'm starting to feel ill...

Monday afternoon press conference

Here's a link to suddenly Must-See-TV-Steve's press conference.

Silver Lining Watch: Scott Long

Here's standout wide-receiver Scott Long fighting back emotion after the game.

We got to see the emergence of leaders throughout the game Saturday. Scott Long is quickly becoming the heart and soul of the offense, an eloquent spokesman that can back it up on the field.  Justin Burke quieted his doubters, myself included, looking LeFors-esque making plays with his wits and his legs. Johnny Patrick continued his stellar play and looks to be the bedrock of our secondary. I don't believe in moral victories, but these sort of games reveal the dynamics of a team. I like what I saw.

Someone buy Eric Crawford a thesaurus...

I'll follow the Pitino-Krags party line and continue lecturing the Louisville press on how to do its job. Eric, next time you're tempted to describe a game that ripped the collective heart out of one fan base and left the other one feeling queasy at best as FUN, don't.  How about bitter, depressing, disagreeable, black, soul-crushing, disconcerting, gloomy, discouraging, dreary, suicide-inducing, disheartening, displeasing, dark, distasteful, liver-torture, failing, flailing, falling short, frustrating, inadequate, melancholy, ineffective, somber, inferior, insufficient, lame, mournful, mediocre, joyless, unfulfilling, unhappy, uninteresting, dismal, unpleasant, unsatisfying, funereal...

Kragthorpian Analysis

I remember this joke on SNL's "Weekend Update" from way back when. After the 2000 election was finally decided by the Supreme Court, Al Gore and his closest team had a consolation/farewell party.  U2 played at the event, and a picture made its way into the paper the next day showing Al Gore drinking a beer, laughing, sweating, jamming it up with U2. This prompted Jimmy Fallon to remark, "Who is this guy? I would have voted for this guy?" 

I had a similar reaction to Steve Kragthorpe's post game presser. Impassioned, somewhat insightful, genuine. And apparently our head coach is a sorta lame, sorta fiery, sorta funny kind of guy. And I can get behind that. Hell, I am that. I even laughed at the biblical "ass" remark. And the preposterously empty threats to the Louisville press corps regarding Trent Guy? Gold, Jerry, gold. Double-edged quasi-compliments to the other teams best defensive player? Hell yea! These are all the humanizing moments that would have done Kragthorpe a world of good about a year and a half ago.  Unfortunately, I think it's just too late for Kragthorpe to win back the Louisville fan base from a personality level. That can only be done by re-rallying the team to finish the season respectably. No small task after such an emotionally-deflating loss. And if his time is indeed up after this season, I'm predicting a beard and a Nobel Peace Prize are in his future.  Somthing to think about Jurich.

Roundup of Sunday coverage

Bozich characterizes Saturday as a game that Kentucky seemed determined to give away, answered by Louisville's equal determination to not accept. Crawford focuses on the emotional element, writing that Kragthorpe delivered his most impassioned press conference following the game. Still too many of the usual Kragthorpian quirks, Crawford writes, but even in loss the team generated respect and hope. Less optimism from ESPN Big East writer Brian Bennett, who looks at the rest of the Cards' schedule and wonders where is Steve Kragthorpe going to get some wins. Relative optimism over at Card Chronicle. Same at Card Game. All seem agreed that while the Cards were far from perfect, there was an extremely encouraging dynamic to the way the team played not measurable in the statistics.

Whadaya know, the sun came up...

We'll break down everything about this oh-so close loss to the Cats yesterday.  I won't bitch and moan, it's undignified.  For now I'll just say I'm proud of our guys, even you Krags (despite the 4th an 1 option disaster).  We went into a thoroughly hostile environment, especially returning QB Justin Burke, and outplayed UK in every way a team can outplay an opponent. But we lost. More tomorrow, then on to the Utes.   

Wheaties con salsa!

Here's an awesome highlight video apparently made by one of Dejuan Wheat's admirers in Mexico. The Louisville legend plays guard for the Soles de Mexicali. I think with a new arena we need to revamp some rules for the retiring of uniforms. Wheat's jersey needs to hang in the downtown arena's rafters. Watch the same old confident free throw motion at the 2:10 mark and let the memories come flooding back.