There he was again, in front of 1,400 witnesses at the Downtown Marriott
Bobby Petrino reiterating during the kickoff luncheon for University of Louisville football team how he embraces high expectations for a team picked to finish anywhere between 10th and 23rd in pre-season polls.
Taking it one step further, however.
Going where only one UofL football coach has gone before, making it clear about what he wants to achieve with his UofL football program.
“I’m not afraid to say it: The reason we’re here is to win a national championship. That is our goal. That’s where we want to go.
“We embrace high expectations, enjoy them. Our coaching staff has them, our players have high expectations of themselves personally and of what we can do as a team. Our fans have high expectations, and we love that. Our administration has high expectations and it’s something for us to strive for and to live up to.”
“We’ve worked hard for two years to have high expectations. This is a product of the work and dedication of all of our players.”
Petrino said he expects this team to light up the scoreboard. “We want to get back to the standard that every time our offense takes the field, we expect to go score a touchdown,” he said. “Our expectation should be that we can score no matter where we start out on the field. We’re getting closer and closer to that point, and we should have some big plays.”
He was especially excited about his special teams and specifically the kick return game. “I think we’re going to have some fantastic returners, with some guys who can go the distance any time they touch the ball — in both the punt and kickoff return games,” he said.
That was all music to the ears of Tom Jurich, athletic director and vice president of athletics, who earlier had expressed confidence in starting the stadium expansion the day after UofL defeats Kentucky in the final game of the regular season.
“The expansion is going to provide a spectacular setting for Louisville football,” he said, indicating that fund raising efforts are proceeding nicely. “The only thing we need to figure out where to put the Johnny Unitas statue.”
On a day when the coach was tossing out the notion of almost scoring at will and winning it all, one could have easily envisioned Johnny U positioned next to a national championship trophy.
Anything is possible during the pre-season.
Truly looking forward to the upcoming season. I will be the first to admit that I was not over-joyed with the return of Petrino, but he seems to be on the right track to bring greatness to Louisville. I remember the words of Howard Schnellenberger when he said that the road to a national championship will come through Louisville. Our schedule reflects the kind of competition required to garner notice from the pundits who make these kinds of decisions. Lamar Jackson will certainly be fun to watch, and our receiving corps is probably the best we have ever fielded. Go Cards L1C4!!
Thanks for the comment, Gene. A veteran and highly-motivated defense, along with a more experienced offensive line, provides even more reason to be excited about the upcoming season. The one unknown is the kicking game with so little experience coming back. If the kicking game is respectable, hang on.