Ten years ago U of L fans would have been ecstatic with a 29-10 win over a North Carolina State team, even if NC State had a 1-3 won-lost record as the Wolf Pack did before the game.

After four years of Petrino, however, there’s a different mindset. You should have been expected to beat that team.

Well, after the first four games, Cardinal fans weren’t sure of what to expect. I, for one, was holding my breath on every one of NC State’s first offensive plays during the first half, half expecting their offense to get behind our defense was one of those embarrassing wide-open touchdowns.

Playing without leading receiver Harry Douglass and with Brian Brohm looking almost like it was his first start at times, the Cards dominated the ground game, withstood some serious third quarter challenges and won convincingly. I gritted my teeth when I heard that Douglass was not going to play, wondering what our coaching staff was thinking when SK said Harry would be good to go.

It was good to get another win, something to build on finally. This should give Card fans some hope for further improvement as Utah comes to town.

Back to main point. The fact that people didn’t go bananas over this win is an indication of how the program advanced over the last four years. We had more than 40,000 people at the Syracuse game, a noon time game that was nationally televised. Ten years ago, we would been lucky to have 28,000 fans in attendance.

Anyone who wasn’t born in the mid-eighties would have to admit there have been significances in the program. There were bound to be low spots and setbacks. Let’s hope the improvement continues.