Go West Big East

If it’s true that the Big East is in conversations with some of the betrayed members of the Big 12 Conference, there are some exciting times ahead for University of Louisville fans.

One can easily identify with playing schools like Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and Iowa State on a regular basis. Why not go ahead and go after Utah and Brigham Young while we’re at it. All of these options are good to great, all competitive in football and basketball, and probably in the non-revenue sports as well.

Go ahead and let Rutgers and Syracuse go wherever. Good riddance to the unfaithful, the starry-eyed wannabes, the annointed prima donnas.

Dump the basketball-only schools. They should be happy with the singular focus on what the college sports world has deemed to be a secondary sport. Football is king. Long live the king.

Add East Carolina and Memphis, or Southern Miss. Let them join the big boys. They will contribute.

What one would have would be a great collection of schools happy to be together, ready to build toward a collective future.

Do it.

...

College Presidents Skirt Big East Expansion Issues

The issue of conference expansion came up during a meeting of college presidents during the Big East basketball tournament in New York, according to University of Louisville President James Ramsey. This is the first public indication that the presidents have acknowledged a possible crisis for the conference.

Ramsey said something to the effect that it was time the presidents stopped ignoring the elephant in the room. “It’s an area of concern for all of us,” he said. “We need to be prepared.”

And they talked about the issue, in what had to be one of the most generic discussions in conference history. There’s no indication of a committee being formed or consultants being hired to consider the league’s options.

Who would make up a Big East committee on expansion issues? The presidents of Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, even Connecticut, are salivating about being included in a Big Ten expansion. How could any discussion involving them be productive?

Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida aren’t in any position to have much of an impact on discussions. The only leverage they have is the investment they’re making in their athletic facilities. U of L is among the most profitable basketball programs in the nation. Cincinnati has a great following when its teams are winning. South Florida, in Tampa, is in the 14th largest media market.

None of which is apparently a big deal when it comes to Big Ten versus non-Big Ten considerations.

Converging these interests into a common agenda would appear to be an insurmountable challenge. The Big East is locked into a position of having to respond to whatever the Big Ten decides what it’s going to do — and that won’t be known until summer.

Don’t expect the Big East college presidents to have serious discussions before then.

...

Forde Will Be Analyst For U of L-Rutgers

...

Rutgers Will Show Up

by Paul Sykes

Which Rutgers will visit Papa John’s? The team that dismantled South Florida 31-0 and knocked off UConn 28-24? Or the Rutgers group that tanked at Syracuse 31-13 and failed to show up in the season opening loss to Cincy 47-15?

One thing certain is Rutgers will take the Louisville football team seriously, having learned its lesson in not respecting the opposition.

Friday’s 11 a.m. game is the season finale for Louisville, and possibly the last on the sideline for Steve Kragthorpe. Rutgers has one remaining regular season game, against West Virginia in Jersey at noon next Saturday … and a bowl trip.

Greg Schiano’s teams have established a pattern over the last couple of years of starting slowly and roaring by season’s end. This season appeared to be a carbon copy of that plan until the Scarlet Knights crumbled in the Carrier Dome. Before the loss, they were on a three-game win streak while prevailing in seven out of their last eight games.

The Rutgers’ defense has shown vulnerability against the pass and is allowing over 200 yards a game through the air. Whether Louisville can find a quarterback able to achieve that in the final contest is anyone’s guess.

...

The Play That Will Be Remembered

While Trying To Drown The Sorrows

Courtesy of University of Louisville senior cornerback Travis Norton: His dreadlock tackle of Rutgers running back Jourdan Brooks will go down as one of the highlights of the 2008  football season. There were a few other highlights and low lights, of course, but this is the play that will be remembered:

...

Rutgers 63, Louisville 14

One can only hope the situation doesn’t get worse for University of Louisville football before it gets better. That’s not an optimistic outlook; nor is it founded on any basis for encouragement.

...

South Florida Mirage

Louisville fans can be forgiven if they relax against South Florida. The Bulls have been down so long it’s hard to remember if they were ever a serious basketball threat. USF is trudging along with 10-9 won-lost record and is mired in a five-game losing streak.

But Cardinal fanatics should know better by now. This team can’t let up against anyone, not at home, not on the road. This South Florida team was very much in the game at Seton Hall last Thursday before finally succumbing by 10 points. Highlights include a win over Florida State 68-67 at Tallahassee and a 23-point spanking of Rutgers at Tampa.

The Bulls are backed into a corner, trying to salvage their season. They view the U of L game as an opportunity to salvage their manhood, ala Seton Hall. USF has a balanced scoring attack, with four players averaging double figures. They are led by 6-foot-9 Kentrell Gransberry with 16.9 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Their rowdy fans have always hated anything U of L, often taunting coaches and players on the bench. This is not a team to be overlooked or pitied.

* * *

Anyone else needing a college football fix? News from the Schnellenger Complex is that the Spring Scrimmage has been set for April 19th. By the way, football signing day is February 6th.

...