Thoughts on the debacle

In the maturation of the Louisville program under Charlie Strong, these must be the acne-scarred high school years when your voice is cracking and you still have to give speeches in front of upperclassmen every week. In other words, it's not fun.

I know how much was lost to graduation, but there still seems to be something else missing from the team that was present last season. A fire and fierceness, some creativity in the gameplan, playing hard even while making mistakes.

The first two performances by the Cardinals have just been so listless, almost like they're just going through the motions for looooooong stretches at a time. Against Murray State they got away with it, barely. Against a completely unintimidated FIU squad with a player of T.Y. Hilton's caliber and the outcome was inevitable.

The team is just woefully inexperienced. Despite all the preseason talk of leaders emerging despite their youth, it's clear that's all it was. Talk. The squad looks leaderless on both sides of the ball.

They're young. They'll grow this year. But it's going to be painful.

Other thoughts...

* I don't want to pick on Will Stein, but he's a big boy, he can take it. Well, not literally big. He's just not a BCS-caliber QB. He's trying his darndest, and he's not totally incapable of making plays. But he can't do it with the consistency and regularity to move the football down the field with poise. The FIU quarterback was making some throws last night that Stein simply can't.

His numbers were decent for the night, which greatly surprised me, one of those things I felt was a deceptive difference between watching the game in person and on TV. But his 1st quarter pick-6 was brutal and changed the complexion of the game. He doesn't see the field very well and seems to only have one throw in mind when he drops back in the pocket.

* To his credit, I don't think Stein was getting much help from his offensive coordinator, Mike Sanford, who called a very poor game. For some reason Sanford seemed to be the last one in Papa Johns on Friday to remember that our senior offensive line is gone, and that Bilal Powell ain't walkin through that door.

He was forcing a running attack that just wasn't there. Run on first and second downs, and Stein was staring at 3rd and longs for much of the night. The offense was numbing in its uncreativity. And the two routine runs up the gut in the 4th quarter on 3rd and 4th down when the game was on the line, well, there was consternation in the UPS FLIGHT DECK.

Sanford needs to coach the team he has rather than the team he wished he had. There's firepower on the roster and it's going to be squandered this year if shakeups aren't made.

* Firepower like DeVanter Parker! DeVante Parker! DeVante Parker! who I'm developing quite a fondness for. The kid's got it, that rare indefinable quality in a football player that you recognize when you see it. He's going to have a great career.

But Chichester was really the star of the night, one of the few who played with the fire and fierceness I mentioned above. He made some incredible catches. And he looked like he was having fun playing the game, a quality that's always underestimated.

* You can lose years off your life if you worry about the collective behaviors of UofL football fans, and constantly criticize for not being "like the big boys" but sometimes I just can't help it. It was another pretty poor showing for the Louisville contingent, with very late arriving fans and huge swathes of seats that never felt an ass.

And just when the late shift was finally getting in, the early shift was clocking out and heading to "The Deck" which appears to be the absolute place to be during the games. It's packed to the gills from just before halftime on. It's like the Crunch Zone but without, you know, that pesky game watching.

The most hilarious part is that UofL actually advertises it during the game! My jaw dropped a little when the little in-game "superfan" comes on the Jumbotron saying, "Come on down to the deck, where there's a party goin' on!"

Look, Louisville fans can find the sauce. We're like the bloodhounds of booze. So do we really need the extra encouragement for Cardinals to leave their seats during the game?!?

And, I'm dead serious, I'm not just speaking out of frustration, the absolute loudest the stadium got was at the tail end, the final gasp when all but a handful of thousand of diehards remained, and were trying to will the defense to hold to get the ball back for one last attempt.

The decibals rose significantly, all the empty chairs were being slapped like war drums, and the players on the field visibly responded. It was kinda cool, and a little sad all at the same time.

Like I said above, Louisville football is what it is. We're a quirky bunch that supports its team in its own unique way. So, whatever. For the most part, the tickets are being bought and lots of money is being spent on beer. To each their own. But sometimes I can't help feeling we get the football program we deserve.

* I was surprised that Teddy Bridgewater didn't play more, again logging only one series. But unlike his last outing, this time he completed both his passes, and though the drive stalled, looked more comfortable in the pocket. The offense was so lackluster that we need some spark, anything to shake up the rhythm and try to get something going.

Remember, this was a team last season that played QB roulette at the whiff of a mouse fart. I'm curious to see what the kid can do, with some real opportunities.

* Alas, this is precisely the worst way to enter rivalry week against UK, the hated rival who's own putridness is only slightly less pungent than our own, but still appears likely to extend its recent dominance over Louisville to a nauseating 5 years. It's likely to be an ugly affair both on the field and in off-the-field sportsmanship all week.

But as I'm writing this I'm watching Mississippi State-Auburn. A terrific and exciting game with both teams making plays on offense and defense, with passionate players laying it all on the line. College football is a beautiful thing when it's played right, and I have a new respect for how difficult it is to get it right, to play the game at a high level.

Louisville looks the part with some fine, if young, players all over the field. But an inexperienced offensive line and young cornerbacks can gum up the entire works. You're only as good as your weakest links.

We'll get there. It's just going to take longer than some expected.

Thud! Louisville stumbles against FIU 24-17

Game Time

If you're reading this, it's Friday night, it's been a long week, and pathetically you're reading our blog when Louisville is playing FIU on ESPN3 right now. What's wrong with you?! You need to watch! Time to jump on the Charlie Strong train or get run over. Go Cards!

... and predictions

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Louisville wins convincingly tonight. I hope not to eat those words, but I thought some of the reactions to last week's less-than-stellar debut were exaggerated, based too much on one sole outing. Imagine if we had based our entire prognosis of last season on the Kentucky game! One thing I also remember from last year is that it was hard to stay down on the Cards for too long. They seemed always to follow a disappointing outing with rapid improvement, which was a credit to the Charlie Strong and the coaching staff. And they're all still here.

Things got out of sync after the Bridgewater series last week, but the offense did show it could be functional and even exciting early in the game. That's a big difference between a truly awful game and a dysfunctional outing that at least left something to build on. As for tonight, all rests on whether the offense can keep the chains moving throughout the ballgame, and I'm thinking they will on the strength of a stronger running performance by Victor Anderson and an offensive line that will play with marginal improvement having at least a game under its belt. Stein, of course, will have to make some throws to keep their defense honest. Keep your chin up Will.

But the most crucial element to victory will be our Defense, which will provide the Louisville Offense with a large margin of error. T.Y. Hilton will have his big plays, but the rest of the offense will be contained and pressure on the quarterback will disrupt FIU's ability to put the ball in Hilton's hands. Assuming that Anthony Conner and company can follow up last week's tightly efficient secondary work with a performance tonight that limits Hilton's yardage after reception, the Cards will win this one going away, 24-7. Player of the game: Anthony Conner. GO CARDS!

Ware ineligible

A Louisville recruiting tradition continues. From the CJ:

Basketball recruit Kevin Ware will not enroll at the University of Louisville this fall after failing to meet NCAA initial eligibility requirements, the school announced Friday.

A waiver and subsequent appeal to the NCAA were both denied.

Ware, a 6-foot-4 guard from Conyers, Ga., will continue to work on improving his standing, the release said, and could become eligible for the spring semester -- as soon as Dec. 14.

“I've never seen anyone this close to being eligible,” U of L coach RickPitino said in a statement.

“He is just fractions away and he fully intends to enroll here.”

Somewhere, Justin Coleman nods in agreement. 

Predictions, predictions...

I expect a very tight game from start to finish, but one that is played cleaner and better than last week. The offensive line gains a little traction, and the Cards are able to move the ball efficiently on the shoulders of Jeremy Wright. Stein plays within himself, makes conservative passes that keep the chains moving. DeVante Parker scores another touchdown, and Parkermania starts full bore.

The defense struggles to get the slippery T.Y. Hilton to the ground. He has another big game, but the UofL defense is able to bend not break for most of the game, holding their ground at key moments. An FIU turnover in the 4th quarter will swing this one to the Cards.

Teddy Bridgewater will struggle again, playing only one series that stalls in the second quarter. The d-line shines, and plugs the FIU running game effectively and registering 5 sacks.

Final score: 24-17 Cards. Player of game: DeVante Parker.

FIU fun facts

* It's frickin' huge! Has an enrollment of over 44,000, the 15th largest university in the country. Who knew?

* Claims to be the most selective public school in the state of Florida, as well as the destination for the most high school valedictorians in the nation.

* The top floor of their enormous Green Library is supposedly haunted, by a ghost with a friendly disposition.

* What makes it international? Overseas campuses and one of the most diverse student bodies in the country. 61% hispanic, 15% white, 13% black, 4% Asian-Pacific Islander, 7% hodgepodge

* Notable Alumni? Actor Andy Garcia and Miami Heat guard Carlos Arroyo.

* Not everyone is impressed. There's a prominent FIU Sucks, Blows, and Swallows Facebook page

* Nice recent article on the football program and how far its come here.

It's just a game theory

Remember in the movie "A Beautiful Mind" when Russell Crowe and his college nerd buddies are sitting around the bar ogling the attractive girl that just walked in? At that moment he has his big breakthrough, the realization that the worst possible outcome for them would be to all go after the hottie, because they would essentially block each other out.

Riveted by this epiphany, John Nash gushes...

Adam Smith said the best result comes from everyone in the group doing what's best for himself, right? Incomplete. Incomplete! Adam Smith was wrong! The best solution comes from each person doing what's best for himself and the group.

And then he did a bunch of complicated math. And went crazy. But I keep thinking of this quote as the college landscape is ravaged across the country. Apparently a lot of ADs and college presidents never saw the movie. With Texas AM imminently joining the SEC, the dominoes are poised to topple. Texas then to the PAC, Missouri or West Virginia to the SEC, the Big East and ACC try to cannibalize one another, and the midmajor programs are essentially banished from the adult table for good.

With the emergence of superconferences, there will be absolutely no reason for a program to risk legitimate out-of-conference scheduling, and many ancient regional rivalries will be lost (including UofL-UK...just wait). Despite the fact that I haven't met an actual fan who believes the seismic shakeup to be a good thing, it's progressing full bore.

Everyone hates it, yet everyone is pretty much resigned that it's just the way it is. But if this is really the way it is, why does it feel so contrived? This whole thing has an air of unreality to it. The idea of university presidents getting together for secret meetings and votes, Ken Starr of Clinton impeachment fame resurfacing to litigate to the death, and proud programs with enormous endowments, histories, and legacies being traded around with less consideration than most kids trade baseball cards.

The prime mover in the fiasco was firstly greed; the Texas Longhorns alienating the rest of the Big 12 with its own TV network. But since then, the moves have been motivated by other factors, namely, fear and distrust.

Fear of schools being the last one standing when this music stops. And the distrust in other administrators, those in the same conference, to stand together for the mutual good. Like John Nash's game theory (of which I understand absolutely nothing and won't pretend to) it's a fascinating if depressing example of what happens in human systems when the order is disrupted and sole self-interest dominates. It's Lord of the Flies, college football style.

For instance, if the Big East stood pat and made no other moves, I believe it would be absolutely fine. While Big East football has been down (there's no argument there) there's no reason to think it won't greatly improve in the next few years. Simply in terms of athletic budgets dedicated to football programs, teams like Louisville, West Virginia, Pitt, and TCU spend too much to not be good. And after that there are intriguing programs like South Florida, UConn, Cinci, and Syracuse that are dedicated to building. Big East basketball will obviously remain the gold standard nationally. If the Big East powers that be looked around at what they have, I don't think there's any reason to press the collective panic button.

But I don't expect that to happen. Rather than stand together, I believe someone will crack, right now it's looking like West Virginia, and if/when that happens all bets are off.

And when all the reshuffling is done, I expect very little tactical or monetary advantage will be gained by anyone. But a lot will have been lost. And everyone will be left scratching their heads, asking, what did we do that for? And wondering how it all happened.

**UPDATE**

A jackass colleague has attempted to point out my hypocrisy, saying this is exactly how C-USA felt when UofL bolted for greener pastures. It's a fair point, but ultimately wrong. Under the current BCS system, I begrudge no team for bolting to try and achieve a fair shake at the true prize, the top bowls and ultimately the national title. That's the goal. It's partly a revenue grab, in that the rewards for competing in and winning BCS bowls are large, but it's one within the bounds of the sport.

That's NOT what's happening here. It's other BCS teams trying to strategically compile, a pure money grab, one that is damaging to the product of college football as a whole, and has little or nothing to do with on field competitiveness. Big difference.

Out, out damned blogspot!

We did it. Goodbye blondie, hello home sweet home. After two weeks of being relatively blogless, living life like any normal shmuck, we're finally back in business. Special thanks to those that were able to follow us over to our emergency blogspot bunker, and especially to Charlie Springer at Card Game who helped keep us afloat throughout the ordeal. We should be good now, at least until next fall when I invariably forget to renew and we have to go through the whole thing again.

But that's next year! Right now we've got Cardinal football at hand.

The season has famously gotten off to a clunky start, with a bizarre game at a bizarre time played in a bizarre fashion. I'm putting that experience behind me, and am immensely anticipating tomorrow's matchup against FIU.

For one, the game should just be a more enjoyable experience all around. A more fall-like temperature, enough time for some solid tailgaiting, and the prospect of not having to work in the morning should help provide for a more electrifying atmosphere.

What we will see on the field, however, is anyone's guess. As Rick Bozich has been tracking all week, the spread for this game in the Cards favor has been steadily shrinking and shrinking all week, to where now Louisville appears to be getting the Vegas nod solely because of the +3 bump for home games.

FIU is absolutely no pushover, and the Louisville defense will get a great test containing scintillating all-purpose athlete T.Y. Hilton, one of the most intriguing prospects in college football. The Cards offense will be looking to get back into some semblance of a rhythm. Stein and his receivers need to get back on the same page, the offensive line needs to eliminate mental mistakes and begin taking on linebackers, and Jeremy Wright and Vic Anderson need to hold on to the damn football.

Do those things, and we'll be marching down to Commonwealth stadium with 2 wins and a modicum of momentum. Yes, yes, I know, that's terribly cliche. But I'm a little rusty.

Anyways, it's good to be back. Check back throughout the day. Go Cards.

We're back!

Dear fellow Cards fans, we're back up! www.cardinal-laws.com has been restored to its rightful throne. It is now fully operational. Our long national nightmare is coming to a close. Mandy Moore's reign of terror has finally ended. May freedom and peace prevail.

Thank you for your patience, and special thanks to those who sought us out on our backup web page and on our facebook page (which proved a Godsend just two weeks into its launch). Just like that emotional moment in Apollo 13 when a grateful crew bids farewell to the lunar module Aquarias and sends it floating into space oblivion, we thank cardinal-laws.blogspot.com for carrying us through an ordeal it was never designed to withstand, and wish it well as it cycles through the endless tumults of cyberspace.

Link of the Day, ehhh? ehhh? Get it? Oh go to hell.

To me, this is more impressive than the opening to the Beijing Olympics...



(Hat tip: toplessrobot)

Edgar Sosa goes down with gruesome injury

The former Louisville point guard, now playing for the Dominican Republic national team, experienced a nasty leg break at the end of a qualifying game against Panama.

Sosa had been thriving under coach John Calipari's dribble drive offense, and was riding a hot hand from stellar performances against the UK Legends team. The injury couldn't have come at a worse time for a kid still eyeing professional basketball.

Google "Sosa leg break" if you need the nitty gritty visual details, but fair warning. it's not for the squeamish.

Get well soon, Edgar. An entire city is rooting for you.