Archive for September, 2008
Ballyhooing The Bulls
At least one national broadcast analyst is picking South Florida to make the national championship. That would be ESPN’s Beano Cook, who made the prediction Tuesday morning on a Seattle radio station. Here’s the transcript from a USF blog:
Cook: "If I had to pick two teams right now to play for the national title, if I had to pick two, it’d be Penn State to play South Florida."
Host: "South Florida? How? Oh, you said South Florida. Well, who would you root for, Beano? Would you pull for the bully, Penn State and Joe Paterno?"
Cook: "South Florida, I’m a Big East fan. We’re in the worst conference, I would root for them."
Host: "You think the South Florida Bulls are going to run it."
Cook: "Well, why, yeah. You’re asking me. I thought USC was going to run it. Sports Illustrated thought Georgia would play for the national title."
Host: "Well, they’ve got No. 24 Connecticut at home, a game at West Virginia. They’ve got Pittsburgh coming up this weekend, they’ve got Syracuse — that will be a win. At Louisville, Louisville’s down. Oh, boy."
Louisville owes South Florida a big time embarrassment similar to those the Cards have suffered in three straight losses in Tampa. The Bulls have never won in Louisville. Knocking them out of contention for anything would be sweet.
Schnelly Night On TV
By Sonja Sykes
Tuesday night is traditionally not a big one for college football. You could spend your evening going through the mismatched sock drawer or attempting to master the numbers game Sudoku. A better option would be to watch an intriguing match up on “the deuce” (ESPN2 at eight o’clock) this evening.
Viewers won’t get Tirico, Erin Andrews or Lee Corso (thank goodness!). Something more constructive: a chance to scout Middle Tennessee, which will visit Papa John’s in a couple of weeks, plus a trip down memory lane with the coach that thrust UofL football into national consciousness.
The TV spotlight will be on Florida Atlantic vs. Middle Tennessee, a game involving former Louisville coach Howard Schnellenberger and a future Cards’ opponent. Both teams are 1-3.
Longtime Cardinal fans will remember some of Howard’s coaching staff. Gary Nord has returned as offensive coordinator. Kurt Van Valkenberg has been with Howard since Al Gore invented the Internet and hard hitting Ex-Cardinal linebacker Johnny Frost coaches the defensive ends.
The game will be the first national telecast at Middle Tennessee’s Floyd Stadium. It’s a “black-out” night. Promotional coupons for discounted tickets have been distributed all over Murfreesboro to create a sellout.
All Is Not Lost Just Yet
Was the five-point loss to UConn simply a disappointment that fans should consider as part of a growing process, or was it a symptom of a much larger problem? After all, a couple of wins can quickly change more than a few minds. Persuasive arguments can be made for either case but it was good to get a broader perspective from some Card Game visitors. Here are some excerpts; for the full responses visit the comments section:
From R Stanton Scott:
The man can plainly recruit quality players. He kept Anderson and Beaumont–obviously the core of a future stud offense–in Louisville. He got Bilal Powell, also a future star. Phil Simms thinks enough of him to keep his kid at Louisville. And he did all this less than a month after his hiring in January last year.
My point is that Louisville has no chance to build a consistent winner and traditional power by bringing in a new coach every year until we accidently get into a bowl. This breeds Petrinoism—mediocre coaches who come in, win, and go for the big bucks. Besides, if it’s all about the coach, why is Petrino getting killed in Fayetteville?
Louisville has just now begun to build the facilities that attract young players. We are putting kids into the NFL. We have started to build a fan base and tradition. But this all takes years, and we have to keep plugging and take the good with the bad.
To be sure, Kragthorpe may not be the man for the job. But until his recruits are seniors, and players scouted by the previous regime are gone, we won’t really know. I say let’s give the guy a chance, and I predict success if we keep doing what we are doing (and keep Ron English–high school cornerbacks will want to play for him).
From David:
This team is still playing for the coaches. There are serious holes in key positions though. You have to give them time to plug those holes. We are also a very young/inexperienced team. This game, although painful to the fans, was a great experience for the team in learning how you have to continue to execute down the stretch.
I don’t understand the over-emotional reaction to a tough loss to a team that was loaded with veterans who knew how to close out a game. Some things are taught, but only learned through experience. You have to give them time.
From Sonja:
The time to rally behind the Cards is now. Just as the Southern Miss game back then [a devastating 30-point loss early in a 1-10 season in 1997] was a turning point in a season…the Memphis game could prove to be a bellweather for the rest of the 2008 season. Capture a win in the Liberty bowl, and the Cards will have the momentum and confidence to take down a good Middle Tennessee team at Papa John’s.
Keep supporting these guys, there are a ton of rough and unpolished diamonds on this roster that could become brilliant showpieces with a little care, maintenance and support. Instead of jumping off the ship, grab a friend and bring them out for the rest of this cruise.
As Yogi Berra used to say, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” and your support over these next three games is crucial to a team tottering on the brink of either success or failure.
Meanwhile …
Joe is hopeful that Tom Jurich “will in due time admit this mistake and get us the coach we need to sustain a quality football program. I just hope it’s in time to hold onto the faithful who have donated and followed this program to the heights we have experienced the past nine years.”
Shannon believes that U of L has had stronger recruiting in the past and fears that Cards may have to resort to some “last minute Christmas shopping for junior college recruits.”
Personally, this observer can’t remember U of L ever having more than five or six recruits at this time of the year. John L, remember, wouldn’t tell us anything.
Finally, Wes, just wants to dump the coach, implying that anyone who even debates the wisdom of a quick firing is somehow overly supportive of the current head coach.
Gut Check For Longtime Fans
Two days after an inexcusable loss to UConn, this observer still feels it. The Louisville faithful are taking it very hard, as indicated by the E-mail this observer received from a longtime University of Louisville football supporter:
“After not missing a home game for 42 years and catching most of the away games, this is as bad as we’ve been since Cooper. Kragthorpe has lost us, a huge number of the old faithful. Never thought I’d say this, but bring on basketball …”
He and his wife were fans before the University of Louisville bandwagon made its most productive passes through town in 1980 and 1986, They were there for football in the sixties and seventies when Louisville football struggled to average 17,000 fans to meet Division I guidelines. They were there before Howard Schnellenberger started educating the locals about college football. They were there before anyone even imagined something like Papa John’s stadium. But when the stadium became a reality, they gladly forked over huge bucks for tickets, the donation and good parking.
Good times, bad times, they were there, putting their resources behind the program so it could get better, become respectable, competitive. You can imagine their euphoria going to the Orange Bowl. Thrilled when the jets flew over during the Star Spangled Banner. Jubilant when the massive silver vessel was awarded to the Cards.
Their incredible loyalty and love for the program had finally been rewarded. They eagerly anticipated the following season when the Cards would be ranked among the top 10 in the pre-season and expected to compete for even bigger stakes.
They were shocked, however, that the 2007 Cards bore no resemblance to their previous team, that the defense was a laughing stock, the offense became progressively worse as the season wore on. Okay, so maybe there were some bad apples left over from the previous coaching staff. Difficulties in adapting to a coaching transition, etc.
They bit their tongues when UofL opened the 2008 season with a embarrassing loss to a Kentucky team using a backup quarterback. But they recognized that only nine UofL players in that game had ever started a game. They knew this year’s team was putting forth the effort, and acknowledged that the defense had made significant strides.
But when the Cards lose a game they should have won and put the program back on the right track, they are left puzzled by many of the coaching decisions and can only shake their heads in frustration. They are looking at the head coach for answers but they’re not getting any — and they have begun to doubt if they ever will.
These two fans are reflective of many others who follow Louisville football, dedicated fans whose aspirations for the program have been put on indefinite hold. They have legitimate reasons to be disappointed. They worry in their collective gut that the situation may get worse before it gets better.
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Men’s Soccer Trips Notre Dame — The 19th ranked Louisville Cardinals defeated third-ranked Notre Dame 2-1 on Sunday afternoon in Cardinal Park. Senior Aaron Clapham scored the game equalizer in the 89th minute to force the overtime period. The Cardinals’ win snaps Notre Dame’s seven game unbeaten streak and its 15-game BIG EAST regular-season unbeaten streak. Link.
Women Bump UConn — U of L’s Women’s Field Hockey emerged with a milestone win over UConn Saturday at Cardinal Park. Read Sonja’s report here.
Cincinnati Loses Another QB
The loss to UConn could have been worse. Hunter Cantwell could have been stuck on the sidelines.
Just ask University of Cincinnati football coach Brian Kelly who lost his third quarterback of the year in a 17-15 win over Akron. The latest is Troy Pike, a junior, who completed 23 of 24 passes for 320 and two touchdowns before suffering a broken forearm.
Pike was standing in for Dustin Grutza who is on crutches after suffering a broken leg in the opening game loss at Oklahoma. Grutza was the successor to Ben Mauk, who lost a plethora of appeals to the NCAA before the season, seeking to add another year of eligibility.
Kelly says two red shirt freshmen will compete for the job.
A Cincinnati blogger doesn’t think Pike will be out for long:
He’s scheduled to have surgery on Monday. The prognosis is that he’ll be out for three weeks. But with the Bearcats facing a bye week after their Oct. 11 game against Rutgers, he could miss only two games.
Sounds like wishful thinking on his part. Five to six weeks sounds more realistic.
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Speaking of injured quarterbacks, West Virginia’s Pat White hurt a thumb in the third quarter of the Mountaineers’ win over Marshall and never returned to the game. Word is the injury is not serious.
