Burke: "Our defense played spectacular. And offensively we couldn't get anything done."

Strong: "What they have to realize is if they want to get to a bowl game, they have one more to play. So go win the next one."

Offense lets down defense: Cards fall to West Virginia 17-10

That sucked.

That second half... oh my Lord, that second half. Offensive execution was atrocious. Trailing by a touchdown or less throughout, Louisville punted on five straight possessions. On the sixth possession, it failed to move the chains going for it on fourth down. And on the seventh possession, God said, "Let there be an INT," and Justin Burke threw a bad interception (thrown into double coverage), effectively ending the game. This following the defense managing to buy the offense one final shot to win by blocking a kick attempt.

Burke looked terrible. His interception at the end was due -- at least four other passes in the game should have been picked off, such was his inaccuracy. Mr. Red texted in from the game that his receivers were becoming visibly frustrated.

But when the sun and moon did align and Burke managed to throw a catchable pass, his receivers did him no favors. Josh Bellamy dropped a long dart that hit him in his hands. Chichester dropped the fourth down conversion that would have given us that first down.

And WOW. we could NOT run the ball.

Dear Mike Sanford: what the hell was the gameplan? You couldn't establish the run. Passing game was an obvious trainwreck -- Burke couldn't have thrown the ball into the Ohio River if he were standing on the 2nd Street Bridge. Blocking was subpar and too many guys made mistakes. Blayne Donnell kept screwing up his blitz pickup assignments. I know West Virginia's defense is excellent, but come on... was that the BEST we had to offer? Couldn't we have made some adjustments? Whatever you had in mind, it did not work.

The defense held West Virginia all day. They were heroic. 17 points allowed should have been enough to win. We wasted their effort. The offense let it go. It was -- I hate to say it -- Kragthorpian.

Maybe we just don't have the players yet. I hate to think that, but that was a pitiful showing out there. We still have the chance to win next week and give our seniors a bowl game. But I think we all had had greater hopes for today.

Very disappointing. On to basketball.

Predictions, predictions...

Screw the predictions. We're going to win. Go Cards!

TheHoff's Top 25 Breakdown

Sup Ya'll? I'm gonna have to make this one pretty short. I've got some studying to do and it has nothing to do with college football. With virtually no change in the top 10 it was a relatively calm weekend. We did have a couple close calls and even a few eye openers as to what might or might not have been previously viewed as a quality win or a bad loss. Here we go: (<-anyone know why the hell Bud Light is using that as a marketing strategy??)

RK TEAM RECORD

1 Oregon 10-0
2 Auburn 11-0
3 TCU 11-0
4 Boise State 9-0
5 LSU 9-1
6 Stanford 9-1
7 Wisconsin 9-1
8 Nebraska 9-1
9 Ohio State 9-1
10 Oklahoma State 9-1
11 Alabama 8-2
12 Michigan State 9-1
13 Arkansas 8-2
14 Oklahoma 8-2
15 Missouri 8-2
16 Virginia Tech 8-2
17 South Carolina 7-3
18 Nevada 9-1
19 Texas A&M 7-3
20 Iowa 7-3
21 Mississippi State 7-3
22 Arizona 7-3
23 Utah 8-2
24 Miami (FL) 7-3
25 Florida State 7-3

* 15-13. That was the final score of the Oregon/ Cal. game. That didn't really surprise me. Every team is going to have an off game. For a team that wins by an average of 33 points even the Ducks are allowed to have a close one. This was a .500 Cal team's chance to make their season statement. They got close. How they did it was a different story. Apparently the best way to slow down this offensive machine is to fake injuries. Now I didn't watch the game live, but I've seen some highlights and it's become quite a story this week. Cal players mysteriously going down, but only after a quick glance to the sideline. Must have been Betty White in a g-string. Some say this was Oregon vs. The French World Cup team. Look. I'm all for cheating, Ahem, bending the rules, but this is weak. Go ahead and try to steal signals. Sneak in a hold here and a groin shot there. But faking injuries... in the words of Keyshawn Johnson... C'mon Man!

* Auburn has a week off before playing 'Bama on the 26th, then plays the fake USC in the SEC championship Dec. 4th. Let the rumors keep swirling...

* TCU plays a one win New Mexico team in their last game. Utah loses two in a row. We might see Boise State take advantage of the friday night lights and pass the Horned Frogs in the polls.

* LSU needs to win it's last two games to stay in a BCS Bowl.

* Three Big Ten (next year) teams are in the top 10. It just so happens that they are # 7,8, and 9. Right where they belong.

* Oklahoma State has been one of the most under-the-radar teams this year. Who would have thought that their offense would be 3rd in the country with a passing game averaging 360 yards per game?

* Texas SUCKS.... I mean where the hell did this come from?!

* Utah. That was cute. You know. That little thing you did where you had us convinced you were top 5 caliber. You lost to got crushed by TCU at home. We thought it might have been a off game, so we dropped ya a few spots as a slap on the wrist. THEN you take your little dog and pony show to South Bend and .... how do I put this politely ... get your nuts stomped on by a golf cleat wearing touchdown Jesus!!! By 25!!! Holy hell. Utah, I don't want to hear from you until a playoff system is intact. They we'll discuss why you were sitting on the 9 spot in an 8 team field.

That is all.

Final thoughts

I agree with Dick Vitale's sentiment shared today that the star of last night's game was new Kayefseum (though I cringed when he refers to it as Pitino's Palace). The best compliment I can give it is that I'm even more insanely jealous of season ticket-holders than ever. Viewed from outside, lit up in the twilight, the place radiates energy and excitement.

The players translated that energy into a terrific first half performance, putting away the Bulldogs with greater speed and athleticism. A lot of the chatter today was whether the Cards or Butler is over/underrated.

Which is unbelievably asinine at this point. Is Butler the same team as last year? Of course not. But for a team that returns ZERO starters to beat them soundly, never trailing, is still impressive. How good this team can be is still a mystery.

But what I do know is that basketball has become fun again, and there's a new crop of players to rally around. It's still going to take awhile for the new arena to attain a worn-mystique. Right now it's just new and exciting. And it seems like we have the right squad to match.

For posterity

First POINTS = Mike Marra

First DUNK = Terrence Jennings

First halftime T-SHIRT CHANGE = Preston Knowles

First TECHNICAL = Brad Stevens

First LIKELY CONCUSSION = Peyton Siva

First STEAL = Rakeem Buckles

First ASSIST = Peyton Siva

First player to make me scream STOP SHOOTING THREES = Rakeem Buckles

First PLAYER OF GAME = Rakeem Buckles

HONORABLE MENTIONS = Mike Marra, Elisha Justice

Pitino: "I think this team has tremendous potential."

Rick Pitino's post-game remarks. Another gem, on Kyle Kuric's off-night: "I think ever since he won homecoming king, it's gone to his head."

Welcome to downtown: Cards over Butler 88-73

Wow. What a way to break in the new digs.

Against the team that stormed all the way to the NCAA final last season and returned four starters from that squad, Louisville built an early lead and hung on the entire way. Say what you will about the certain lack of finesse points endured for stretches of the game. For a night, Rick Pitino and his "fast-track" hype stands vindicated. Our guys looked faster than theirs did. Ours was a hustle tour de force.

The Cards beat up on Butler on a night when our only two starters-for-certain, Kyle Kuric and Peyton Siva, never could get revved up offensively. Instead, a ragtag gang manned by Rakeem Buckles, Mike Marra, Elisha Justice, and Terrence Jennings led the way, each of those players scoring in double figures. And that's not to forget scrappy performances by Gorgui Dieng, Stephan Van Treese, and Preston Knowles. It is hard to select a player of the game because different guys stepped up at different times throughout. The most constant preseason prediction may be truest. A different guy may lead the way each night.

That said, let's call attention to Rakeem Buckles' performance in particular -- 17 points and 11 rebounds -- and hope and expect that it marks the beginning of a breakout year.

Screw sloppiness, though the number of whistles grew tedious... Did we ever hold a lead from beginning to end last season against a talented team like we did tonight? We scored above 80. We forced 17 turnovers. We made 10 steals. Butler played poorly, but until proven otherwise I will believe that part of their misery is explained by the fact that we exhausted them. At the least, I end the evening 1) a case of Bud Select richer, and 2) further persuaded of something we have believed since the end of last year -- that this will be an extremely likable crew. Bridge year be damned, they're worth believing in. Welcome to basketball. Go Cards.

Quote of the Day

"Tough loss. I believe in each one of you. We're a really good football team, and you are a very special group of guys. If I had to do it all over again, I would go for it on fourth-and-inches. That's how much I believe in each one of you."

-Charlie Strong to his team, via text

What's most important

Amid all the hoopla about the new arena, the pending showdown with Butler, and Pitino's "fast-track"-style offense, we have lost sight of the most critical preseason element of all: Mr. Red and I have made a bet. Mr. Red bet that Kyle Kuric would not start in the season opener. I bet that he would. If he wins the bet, I have to move away from Louisville. If I win, he has to buy me a case of Bud Select.

Since that bet, events have benefited neither Mr. Red nor the basketball team. Red quite literally gambled that Justin Coleman would displace Kuric in the lineup, and of course... well we all know what happened, it bears not being rehashed. But a bet's a bet. And Kyle Kuric is expected to start tonight against Butler. So when Louisville p.a. man Seth Moth calls out Kuric's name in the starting lineup, please take a moment to think kind thoughts about me, conjure up disparaging and ridiculous thoughts about Mr. Red, and toast the Cardinals with the full flavor of Budweiser's tastiest low-carb brew.

But it was the wrong play

As for the play itself? Major issues. The quarterback sneak was a pitiful play-call. I can almost guarantee you that in those hurried moments, Charlie Strong and Mike Sanford must at least have implicitly reasoned that leaving the game up to the offensive line guaranteed the best chance for success. They are our most experienced squad, the thinking would go, and to this point in the game and in the season they have done a bang-up job.

But this understanding ignores two things about any quarterback sneak: 1) it still necessitates that the quarterback will make the correct, split-second, instinctive decision to move the ball forward, which in Justin Burke's case, is highly problematic; and 2) it does not give the ball to Bilal Powell, who even more than the offensive linemen, deserves it with the game on the line.

And one last point on the play: I think it should be a general axiom NEVER to run the same play in a critical situation that won you the game the week before. You think after watching a week of film of Louisville's win against Syracuse, that South Florida's coaching staff and players had any doubt what was about to transpire when the Louisville offense again rushed forward to snap the football as quickly as they could, in hope of catching South Florida off their guard?

If South Florida's coaching staff was good (and the last name of the head coach is Holtz), they had even specifically cautioned against that very play. Imagine if Louisville's coaches had been as creative and aggressive in drawing up the play-call, as they were in deciding to go for it in the first place. Play-action throw to Graham, for instance? Ballgame. Even the wildcard formation at least would have left the ball in the hands of legitimate playmakers.

But the above final thoughts is coulda, woulda, shoulda whining. My sense about this coaching staff is they are willing to take risks, but are generally averse to fancy plays. Instead, the onus is on execution. The fact is we still have two chances to become bowl eligible in now epic games against West Virginia and Rutgers. Strong elected to go for it on fourth down last week and earned the program's first conference road win in three years. He elected to go for it on fourth down this week and got burned. In my opinion, both weeks he made the right call.

It was the right call

In deciding to go for it on fourth down during overtime of the South Florida game, rather than chipping in the field goal, Charlie Strong showed a few things. First, he demonstrated that not only is he playing to win, but he is not afraid of losing. The distinction is important, as it illustrates a level of aggressiveness and fearlessness sorely needed before this season. He certainly showed no remorse after the game about the play-call. Bozich's column on Sunday makes clear that contrary to preseason expectations, there actually is something to lose now this year. But Charlie Strong's not afraid of that. He saw the chance to clinch victory, and he went for it full-boar. I like that. At this early juncture in the program's development, it sets the right tone.

Second, Strong distinguished himself, at least in my mind, in a very clear way from his predecessors. The scenario doesn't lend itself easily to the Kragthorpian era since there weren't many opportunities to distinguish coaching mentality with the game on the line (i.e. the game almost never was on the line). If you compare back to the Petrino era, however, the contradiction in style arguably can be made. I don't see Bobby Petrino going for it on fourth down. Petrino elects to play it safe, to live to play another down. And in the coaches' canon, that may indeed be the right call. But in Strong's decision to buck the canon and go for it, I see traces of Schnellenberger, the famous (cue baritone voice) "kick a dog while he's down" attitude. Coming off the missed field goal, Louisville had a chance to bury South Florida, emotionally and otherwise. A first down would have broken their backs. But they didn't get it.

Third, Charlie Strong showed his offensive linemen just how much he believes in their ability. Just as important, the offensive line let Charlie Strong down. The confidence that he showed in his linemen will pay long-term dividends in terms of recruiting and team attitude. Who doesn't want to play for a guy willing to put it in your hands at the end of the game? More to the point of the short-term, the fact that the linemen couldn't get the job done will stay with them as a motivating force. Strong stuck his neck out to give them the opportunity to decide the game, and they failed him. That's a motivational reservoir that the coaching staff can tap for the rest of the season. How they respond next week could be very interesting... Hopefully, it galvanizes the team to pulling out not just one, but two incredible victories to close out the regular season and prime the Cards as one of the most exciting and surprising teams heading to a bowl. Optimistic? Sure. But do you see our locker-room moving in the opposite direction after an affirmation in the team like we saw Strong make on Saturday?

Fourth: I love this team, I think they will be remembered for years to come. But I don't think the talent level is there, yet, where you don't move aggressively and try to achieve victory if and when that opportunity presents itself. The fact that you might survive longer on the field does not necessarily improve your chances of winning the ball-game. Until we get the players all in place, this program must chase victory wildly, aggressively, even irrationally, at any point that it shows itself, even if only a fleeting glance. If the Cards make first down on that play, their chance of scoring the go-ahead touchdown rises dramatically. If they had settled for a field goal, they might have lived to regret it. For just a few friggin' inches, the risk must have seemed worth it.

I think it was the right call. Strong's playing to win, not NOT to lose. He went for the KO against South Florida -- swing and a major miss. He reaffirmed his belief in his players -- and I think that the fact that he did so and his players let him down won't be lost on them. Charlie Strong didn't want to outlast South Florida. Charlie strong wanted to beat South Florida.