The red sea parts and adoring fans seek to touch the garment of new University of Louisville football coach Charlie Strong as he arrives for his very first Card March at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. Not surprising after three years in the football wilderness but the saviour is going to need a little time to work his wonders.
The reconstruction of the University of Louisville football program had to begin somewhere.
Anyone foolish enough to criticize Charlie Strong for his team’s stumble out of the gate wasn’t paying attention in the second half or was refusing to admit just how far this program has regressed in terms of talent over the past three seasons.
Nobody expected Louisville to hang around after the second play from scrimmage put Kentucky on the scoreboard, extending the lead to 20-3 by the intermission. Ready for U of L to fold in the second half.
But this youthful, inexperienced group was able to hold a team with the likes of Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke to but three points in the second half.
Despite all the shortcomings, Strong had his team positioned for possible overtime. Not to be. A 23-16 win for Kentucky, a seven-point loss for Louisville.
If there were a major disappointment, it was the lack of push from a veteran offensive line, giving quarterback Adam Froman absolutely no breathing room and somehow making Victor Anderson look like he deserved to be a backup running back.
Bilal Powell showed occasional flashes of what the coaches had expected of him. The 80-yard touchdown run was nice but he was as surprised as anybody to have some open field for a change. His carelessness with the ball a few plays later, resulting in the fumble not so pretty, earning him extra time on the bench.
The touted spread offense was not much in evidence, possibly because Froman and company aren’t very far enough along on the learning curve. This is, after all, the new offensive scheme in three years for the junior college transfer.
Nobody was quitting, however, or going through the motions for a change. And how long has it been since a U of L team was charged with only 30 yards in penalties?
A good start for Charlie Strong’s reconstruction project.
I knew Strong would make some adjustments at half time and am glad to see that I wasn’t disappointed. He should have our Cards back to where they should have been. Stay Strong Cards!
Glad I just found this group. I moved to dfw a couple years and thought I was in the abyss out here.
Glad you found us, Anson, and thanks for the comment. We hope you become a regular commenter.
D was better than I expected. O was worse.
Didn’t see the line perform like advertised. And it looks like losing Harris and then Bellamy really hurts. Other than Beaumont and Graham it seems our receivers need to spend a lot of time with Kutz and Kleinert.
Now there’s an idea, cbcard. Poor Pascley, especially.
or Paisley, as the idiot commentators on ESPN3 were calling him.
Or does he really pronounce it that way?
He does pronounce it that way. I have to keep double checking the spelling.
Sept. 5, 2010
I am proud of our players and our new coach … I think really have a good coach in Charlie Strong .. Great things are going to happen, just give him a chance to pull it together.
Two quick comments:
First, the lack of blocking for Victor Anderson made me think that there is a team issue going on-0-perhaps starting at the head coach level.
Second, when our offensive line took the field, my thought was that I saw better bodies in the line at Paula Deen’s buffet. The players were taller maybe–but about the same amount of lard.
But the spirit as the second half began and later when the game wore down was a night and day difference. Coach Strong will get it done, but it may be 2012–sad to say.
“First, the lack of blocking for Victor Anderson made me think that there is a team issue going on-0-perhaps starting at the head coach level.”
Care to elaborate on why you think this has to do with coaching? From my perspective it just seemed like VA either isn’t quite 100 % yet or that he is a bit tentative coming off of the injury. He looked slow out there. Definitely not the player fans saw the last couple of years. I hope you are wrong about the issue dealing with the team and coaching. The last thing we need is for one of our most dynamic players holding onto the ideals and attitudes of the old regime.
Losing Harris and now Bellamy really made the difference in this game. I lost count of how many times Froman hit Pascley in hands and chest only to see the ball dropped. At least 10 points were left on the field by my count. That has to drive a OB insane.
Glad to see I wasn’t the only one to notice those things Charlie. Spot on.
Totally agree with every word! The future is bright!