By Paul Sykes
The win over Arkansas Steve kept the Louisville football team’s chances alive for a possible bowl spot, with a 3-5 won-lost record. But even the most dedicated U of L fans aren’t making plans for a post-regular season bowl trip. However, they still have questions:
- Why not take the chip shot field goal at the end of the first half? A confidence builder for a beleaguered Ryan Payne and would have negated any chance of the final Arkansas State drive having a chance to tie it.
- When will Louisville try a different field goal kicker? We do have two on scholarship and now that Chris Philpott seems to be able to get close to the end zone on kickoffs. Maybe it’s time to turn the three-point attempts over to him?
- Who will take the snaps against West Virginia? Will Stein, Adam Froman or Justin Burke? Each guy has a win under his belt as starting quarterback. WVU’s defense isn’t the fearsome threat of years’ past.
- How will the thin Louisville defensive unit cope with explosive WVU running back Noel Devine? Packing the box against the speedster will only open up the passing threat of Jarrett Brown.
[stextbox id=”custom”]What kind of Louisville crowd will venture to Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown? Breeders Cup weekend, a history of incidents with the West Virginia fan base and a dismal season could limit the red jerseys. Yes, I’ll be there, tickets purchased way in advance and it’s the annual “guys road trip†event. Maybe the drive up will offer some nice fall colors. A noon kick means leaving Friday afternoon and some possible “hi-jinks†in the friendly college town of Morgantown overnight.[/stextbox]
Will Ashley Rainey assume the leadership spot vacated by Angel McCoughtry for the Lady Cards this season. See Sonja’s take here.
Paul,
I’m a Mountaineer fan and hope you enjoy your trip to Morgantown. Please note that the very large majority of WVU fans want you there and will treat you with respect. It’s only a few small idiot ignorant fans that are bad. With that being said, I hope you have fun and are treated well. Of course, I hope you leave with a loss but hey, someone has to lose.
John
Hi, John!
Thanks for reading and replying. This will be my seventh trip to Morgantown…six times for Cardinal football and once to watch the UofL Women’s basketball team play WVU.
Only a couple of bad experiences there, actually. In 1993, I kind of brought in on myself after Major Harris beat UofL with an amazing, falling out of bounds TD pass. Let’s just say I was less than polite to a couple of taunting WVU fans after the game and questioned their heritage.
The triple overtime win in 2005 ended with a pretty scary walk back to the bus because of overzealous college kids trying to frighten the elderly ladies I was escorting back. Fortunately, I didn’t have to punch anybody.
We enjoy the Waterfront Hotel and checking out the bars on High Street. Hopefully, my wife will handicap the Breeders Cup races well enough to pay for my trip.
Good luck to the Eers. Better luck is needed by us, though.