U of L Card Game

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Froman, Louisville want best face on offense

By Paul Sykes

When you look back at the Louisville-Kentucky series, the list of quarterbacks is impressive.

Redman, Brohm, LeFors, Ragone and Cantwell for the Louisville. Couch, Lorenzen, Woodson and Boyd for Kentucky. This season’s starters don’t have  the name recognition and skills but neither coach is putting major pressure and responsibilities on them either.

Although this is his second season, Louisville fans really don’t know what to expect from Froman. He’s still pretty much of an unknown, as is Mike Hartline from the Lexington school. The coaches just want them to maintain, getting the ball to the running backs and wide receivers while avoiding costly turnovers.

• Louisville — Froman won a three way battle for the position over Will Stein and Justin Burke. U of L head coach Charlie Strong is looking for Froman to just operate the offense and get the ball to the right guys in the multiple options in Mike Sanford’s spread offense. Froman calls the Cardinal attack “fun” and likes the aggressive options available. He’ll have a strong, experienced offensive line and will help shape the “identity” that Strong says the Cards need to establish

• Kentucky — Mike Hartline returns as a starter, beating out Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski for the snaps. His job will be to “feed the studs” like Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke…guys that are proven game changers. The debate on the Lexington campus is whether Hartline is the right call, and UK will probably use Cobb and Newton under center in certain situations. Joker Phillips defends his decision to go with Hartline, saying that he is “the experienced guy and he’s going fast, being more efficient with things we want to get done.”

Advantage: Kentucky. Hartline never lost to a Steve Kragthorpe-coached team, and the Cats have options in Cobb and Newton if Hartline is ineffective. Neither starting quarterback is a powerhouse.

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Jurich turns another dream into reality for Louisville football fans

Saturday will be a special day for Tom Jurich.

By the time all the heads get counted at the Louisville-Kentucky football game in the expanded Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, attendance could be between 55,000 and 57,000, eclipsing the old attendance record by at least 10,000-plus fans.

Tom Jurich

To be sure, Jurich had the original expansion vision at a time when Bobby Petrino had the Louisville program among the nation’s top 10 football teams twice in three seasons. The future was bright at the time. His confidence enabled him to sell the idea to the administration. His credibility with the movers and shakers made it possible to raise more than $70 million.

There would be couple of bumps in the road, however. The hiring of a football coach unable to build on Bobby Petrino’s momentum and an inept Kentucky Legislature procrastinating a year before approving the expansion would not deter him. Though attendance fell sharply in the last three years and the program slipped, Jurich has never second-guessed his decision to expand the stadium.

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Attrition continues for Louisville women’s BB, but outlook improving

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Kentucky flag has to go, replaced by University of Louisville colors

By Paulie the Fist

We had to do it. There was no other way. Day after day, I’d drive by there … the manicured lawn, hedges trimmed weekly, not a speck of jimson weed, crabgrass or Johnson grass. And, there was that flag. That blue Kentucky Wildcat flag.

It was a big one, flapping from a pole in the front of the house. It never came down, not even on patriotic days when it should have been replaced by “Old Glory.” Not even when Lynyrd Skynyrd came to town and the Confederate stars and bars should have been rolled out.

A symbol of the superiority, arrogance, “holier than thou” attitude of the house owner and his snooty wife. Not ones to engage in small talk on summer evenings out in the front yard. Not ones to drop by with chicken soup if someone is feeling poorly.

A spot of blue in a decidedly red neighborhood. The enemy. Typical “Big Blue” believers. We gave them their space. An occasional nod of recognition. A prom wave if driving by. They got theirs. We got ours.

The plan developed with news the two were headed off on a short vacation through Labor Day weekend. Mostly, it was Clarence, the fanatical U of L neighbor,  and I, talking about it while relaxing with a beverage after cutting the yard. The blue flag was going to be history and a bright, shiny Cardinal red one would replace it.

We wait for the cover of darkness. Mostly because Clarence doesn’t get home till late that night. I have the new flag, just out of the wrapper. We walk to the front porch and up the steps humming the Cardinal fight song as we remove the symbol of tyranny, replacing it with one of hope and promise — of freedom and Bilal Powell.

The U of L flag waves proudly in the light breeze this afternoon as I gaze out the window. It will continue to until they arrive home. The flag rings are super glued to the rope, the old flag draped over the garden hose roller in the backyard.

A relative checking on the house while they’re gone gives it a cursory look yesterday but doesn’t act on it. We think he’s a closet Michigan State fan anyway, so the difference between red and blue is pretty insignificant for him.

The neighborhood is looking pretty good these days.

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Ready for tailgating

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Charlie Strong needs to keep the lid on Cobb and Locke

Charlie Strong, the new University of Louisville football coach, has a great deal of respect for wide receiver Randall Cobb and tailback Derrick Locke, the lightning-quick breakaway threats from Kentucky.

They are feared throughout the Southeastern Conference.

However, neither of them ever scored against his team when Strong was the defensive coordinator at the University of Florida where he had considerable talent and depth at his disposal.

Here’s how the two performed against U of L and UF last season:

Cobb:

• Against Louisville, six receptions for 71 yards, including one for the winning touchdown. One pass attempt for zero yards.
• Against Florida, five receptions for 24 yards, no touchdowns. One pass attempt for zero yards.

Locke:

• Against Louisville, 15 carries for 72 yards, four receptions for 47 yards, four kickoff returns for 191 yards and one touchdown, a 100-yard return.
• Against Florida, 13 carries for 36 yards, zero receptions for zero yards, four kickoff returns for 84 yards, no touchdowns.

Of course, a Strong defense never lost a game to UK either.

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