Game Time

BEAT PITT.


Game available here.

... and predictions

What a weekend indeed Mr. Red. If the Cards win today in the final home game of the year, they are officially bowl eligible, something that very few predicted when the season began; truth be told, even die-hard optimist Cards fans weren't willing to put a lot of money behind their preseason predictions. And yet here we are, on the cusp for a second straight year. Pretty impressive, when you think about it, that Charlie Strong has brought both his inaugural teams to the brink of bowl berths, when each was selected to finish 8th and 7th in the conference, respectively.

But enough of that, can't get ahead of ourselves. Time to Beat Pitt. And both the blessing and the curse of a Strong-managed game plan is that you know exactly what is needed for the Cards to pull out a much anticipated win: 100+ yards rushing, crucial passing plays, and tenacious D. I think by now most fans take impressive defense as a given -- even last week, surrendering 35 points to West Virginia, the Louisville defense was crucial down the stretch in providing key stops. Expect Gregg Scruggs, who killed last week in Coach Strong's Monday press conference, to have a killer day out on the field -- 1 sacks, 10 tackles.

For the Cards to win, they must rush effectively while making the occasional big passing play. Look for Dominque Brown to have another breakout day on the ground, solidifying his status as the rightful "first head" of our three-headed rushing monster (though the true leaders in that department are our offensive linemen). It will be tough for Teddy to top his 250 yard, 70 percent throwing performance from last week. But he will come close: 200 yards throwing, 60 percent completion percentage, and -- crucially -- zero interceptions. Bridge's heady play will lead the Cards for a memorable victory against Pitt. Let's call this one for the Cards 28-17, much to the delight of a grateful fan base, leading to another memorable Saturday night celebration. And may we toast tonight, I hope, to all who decided unilaterally they were "too good" for Louisville and the Big East. May each of you forever remember the humbling you took.

I haven't yet picked Bridgewater as my player of the game this season. Each week, I convince myself that he's due for a freshman letdown, and each week he proves me wrong. No sense in jinxing our star player now, with so much on the line. Player of the game: Gregg Scruggs.

Pitino Wins 600th Game in Season Opener: Cards over Tennesee-Martin 83-48

The weekend is off to a good start. The Cards opened their basketball year with a mostly convincing performance against Tennessee-Martin. Peyton Siva made plays, Kyle Kuric showed aggressiveness, and Chane Behanan demonstrated how he will be a force to be reckoned with this year -- 14 points, 12 rebounds.

Congrats to Rick Pitino on win number 600. After the game, Pitino talked about the milestone he really wants to reach: winning a national championship at Louisville. Let's go do it.

Stats here.

On to football.

Predictions predictions...

What a weekend for UofL athletics. I'm more than ready to soak in a solid 48 of nonstop excitement for the future of Louisville's impending bball season, the present importance of a Cardinal football victory, and nostalgia for some fine players that will stalk the Papa John's sidelines for the final time tomorrow. It's gonna be a lot of fun.

The football team has a chance to "Complete the Sweep" tomorrow and defeat all 3 Big East teams that defected the conference/were chosen over Louisville and put our future in jeopardy. That would be sweet. And I think it'll happen. Here's how...

I don't know what the rest of the season will bring, there are tough games on the schedule and ultimately the program still has a ways to go to get back to playing elite football. But tomorrow, I think we'll see the Cards play their best football of the season.

The offensive unit is gelling, the defense will be looking to redeem its reputation after giving up 35 last week, and the entire roster is brimming with confidence. Tomorrow I think we'll see it all "come together" so to speak, at least for one game.

On the coattails of a running game capable of moving the ball downfield, Teddy Bridgewater will benefit and pick his spots, tossing 2 TDs. One will be to Vic Anderson, who says goodbye to his hometown fans with a strong 80+ yard performance.

The defense gets its swagger back and hounds Pitt QB Tino Sunseri most of the day. There will be a few big breakdowns in the secondary that lead to scores. But on this day, this afternoon, it won't matter.

Louisville 34. Pitt 17. Player of game? Vic Anderson. Go Cards. 

It's a Stripe Out

Ambitious organizers are trying to arrange a "Stripe Out" for the last home game of the season tomorrow. Though the math is pretty simple...

EVEN SECTION: WEAR RED
ODD SECTION: WEAR BLACK

It'll be interesting to see how it turns out. I'm in. Let's pack the house for the last chance to see the football Cards at home this season.

Five for Friday night

Here's five things I really hope we see tonight at the Kayefseum...

1) Aggressive Kyle. King Kyle cannot afford to let the game come to him this season. Maybe with a healthy Wayne Blackshear stalking the perimeter with him he could, but without that, Kuric must be selfish for the good of the team. Since this is mostly out of character for Kuric, we need to see him being assertive early in the season to grow comfortable in that role. Say, like tonight.

2) Double digit rebounds for Chane Behanan. He can do more than this, I think he can be a complete player, but far and away, Behanan's bread is to be buttered on the glass. And the freshman needs to get his sea legs against the lesser competition before the Big East grind. Say, like tonight.

3) Some 3-pointers that actually go in. UofLs shooting has been very suspect in the early exhibitions. I'm completely confident that will change, there are just too many good shooters on the roster for it not too. But I'd like to see it, just for reassurance. Say, like tonight.

4) Some post-moves from Gorgui monster. Like I said above, the way this season was supposed to go with Blackshear, Gorgui could have been the cog of the team, one of the best big men in the Big East, and still not average more than 8-10 points a game. But without WB and with the departure of Preston Knowles, the need for a true scorer on this team is paramount. I'm not saying it's going to be Gorgui, but he has to alleviate some of the perimeter pressure defense. Last season we saw more post moves from Dieng than TJ ever learned, and we're going to need to see more of them. Say, like tonight.

5) 600 wins for Rick Pitino. It could be a special atmosphere tonight if we take care of business and Pitino notches his 600th. There's a complex relationship between the Louisville faithful and Coach Pitino; there are layered levels of respect, admiration, frustration, and dependency. The relationship was strained to some extent in the offseason with Rick Pitino's Big East lobbying against the wishes of the majority of fans, some more verbal gaffes, more injured players. But there's still the same respect and excitement about the season. And to earn his 600th win on opening tipoff could go a long way to healing some wounds. Say, like tonight.

Michael Bush breaks out

Big congrats to Michael Bush, who filled in admirably for the injured Darren McFadden and the Raiders last night. Bush rushed for a career high 157 yards on 30(!) carries and a TD. Oakland now stands alone in first place in the AFC West.

Bush is playing in a contract year, and could be making himself quite of bit of money with strong showings in two straight nationally televised games for teams out there in need of a running back. But they love them some Michael Bush in Oakland as the secondary power punch to the McFadden attack, and Bush appears to thrive in the Raiders power rushing system. I'd expect him to stay right where he his.

Well done, big fella.

T minus 9 hours

Every season is special, every chapter part of something bigger than any of us. It's almost upon us, the Louisville Cardinals embark on another quest tonight. Time to get chills...

P.S. Was overcome with pangs of sadness seeing Preston in these highlights. I had forgotten how much I'm going to miss him not being on the court tonight. I'm not sure we'll ever get over PK finishing his proud career injured and on the bench, watching his team losing a game in which, undoubtedly, he could have willed us to win.

Let's get ahead of ourselves, shall we?

Sportingnews is calling the Big East a two-way race between Cinci and Louisville. Having already lost to the Keg of Nails, of course, the Cards are down two games with four left to play (for the Bearcats).

Cinci has West Virginia, Rutgers, Syracuse, and UConn remaining on is schedule. This Saturday will essentially reveal whether the Cardinal faithful should stop dreaming of oranges till next year.

The Bearcats could be walking into a buzzsaw in Morgantown where the Mountainners will be playing for pride and trying to salvage the season. Louisville is favored in its Senior Day matchup against Pitt; Bedford has to be licking his chops analyzing the Louisville defensive front against the battered Pitt o-line.

The excitement dial for this season could get cranked up to white-hot at 3:30 on Saturday if two outcomes go our way.

Charlie Strong piece

Excellent work by CL Brown in the CJ today, anaylzing the personality of Charlie Strong and what makes him effective as a head coach.

Terry Rozier officially a Cardinal

The 6'1'' guard from Ohio has just sent over his letter of intent, according to Scout.com. Here's a look at what the kid can do...

Smile: Peyton Siva and Shoni Schimmel posing for basketball cover

Give it a few minutes, it get's there eventually. The finest duo photo shoot since T-Will and Angel.

 

Voila: Subtle shifts in offensive philosophy

From CL Brown's blog (bold is mine):

Teddy Bridgewater said the game plan hasn’t changed since the Cards switched from Mike Sanford to Shawn Watson as the play caller. But he hinted at subtle differences that have led the Cards to score a combined 65 points in two weeks (they had just 52 weeks 4-7.)

“We’re throwing the ball more on first down probably and doing a lot of naked passes but it’s still the same game plan,” Bridgewater said and added, “Lately we’ve been shifting a lot motion a lot trying to get the defense to show what they’re in and reveal themselves.”

In other words, the Cards have shifted offensive philosophy in the direction pretty much every fan that I know wanted desperately to see in the early part of this season. 

Probably an oversimplification of things, failing to acknowledge in particular the maturation of the offensive line in recent weeks. But when there's even the appearance that the fan base has better instincts than the former offensive coordinator, it's not a good scenario, underscoring why a change might have been urgently needed. The way in which Sanford's departure was handled was clumsy, to say the least; but Charlie Strong's instinct to make the change appears to have been vindicated.

Crowd-surfin' Charlie

Here. Noon.

Helmet stickers

* Teddy. Let's get the easy one out of the way, the National Freshman of the Week selected by Rivals. Completed 77% of his passes. Cooler than a polar bear's toenails. Leading the drive to tie the score at 21 right before half looked NFL-esque.

* Dominque Brown. Picked up a huge first down on 4th down (on a playcall I hated) and etched himself into lore with the "Yes sir, trust me on that" when Coach Strong asked if he would get it. Had a solid day all around, scored a TD, and soared to snag the onsides quick to seal the W.

* Adrian Bushell. The Big East special teams player of the week. Changed the game with his blocked field goal, which he read, adjusted, and predicted. Chipped in 7 total tackles, 5 solo.

* Geno Smith. Say what you want, by the WVU QB can play. Torched a fierce Louisville D for 400+ and 3 TDs. Hope we don't face a QB of that caliber again.

* Senorise Perry. A 13-yard TD scramble and more solid special teams coverage. Bright future.

Cardinal Pride

Have you ever been this proud of a football team before? Not only for rescuing us from the conference doldrums, not only for the symbolic importance of the win, but because of the manner in which they did so.

After getting punched in the mouth straight from kickoff, uncharacteristically giving up a touchdown on the 3rd play of the game, a lesser team would have folded. Hell, this team would have folded a month ago.

But now with a little more age-growth, the Louisville Cardinals calmly marched down field in the most hostile of environments and counterpunched. 7-7. Game on. The defense gave up chunks of yards to the spectacular Geno Smith, but they kept on grinding, kept playing hard and won the battle for turnovers. They were playing Josh Bellamy at cornerback. They were playing defensive lineman on the offensive line. At one point there were 8 freshman running plays for our offense. But under the uncanny cool of Teddy Bridgewater, and taking on the will of their head coach, the Cardinals are rewriting any and all scripts that outsiders and convential wisdom would seem to dictate.

Get on the train, or get out of the way. I couldn't be prouder.