By Paul Sykes
You could sense the gleam in the eyes of the Arkansas State players.  Driving the ball late against a beleaguered Louisville defense. First and goal with a minute and change left. Shooting themselves in the foot to stay out of the end zone and give the Cards a scary win.
This one shouldn’t have been this close. Two missed field goals in the second half, chip shots blown by star-crossed Ryan Payne. A chance to make it 28-3 at the end of the first half but foiled by vintage Steve Kragthorpe play calling. All we needed was a witch flying out of the sky to trip up Brandon Heath on his interception return to paydirt.
- Give Will Stein all the praise he deserves for moving the first half offense as well as any Louisville quarterback has done this year.
- Give Bilal Powell a slap on the helmet for almost 100 yards of rushing.
- Hug Darius Ashley for tacking on another 70-plus yards of elusive running.
- Credit Trent Guy for some wonderful catches.
- Thank the 21,500 fans who proved themselves worthy.
But…realize this. Louisville failed to score in the second half. Andalmost allowed a mediocre Sun Belt Conference team to take a contest to overtime that would have been played out in front of less than 5,000 fans in the waning minutes.
The final four games aren’t going to be nearly as easy. South Florida in Tampa. West Virginia in Morgantown. A dangerous, reborn Rutgers team here to end the season.
Syracuse, please come in weak in two weeks. Louisville fans would like to see a win before Tom Jurich ends an era of UofL football coaching futility.
Our buddy Shannon over at Card Dom is negating the possible move of Mark Sander, Louisville DeSales head football coach, to the Cards staff next year.
Hey Sonya, et al:
http://hellinthehall.com/2009/11/03/not-a-jon-gruden-rumor/
It’s all starting to come together Sonja. There’s an interesting rumor about a player off of the Fiesta Bowl champion joining the new staff.
Speaking of Tom, he was in attendance at both the men’s and women’s exhibition games last week. Hearsay being what it is…one of the principals in organizing the original stadium commitee has seats not too far away from the Jurich box and point blank asked him if he needed any help in the coaching dilemna situation.
The reply? Expect an announcement around the time of the South Florida game. Hmmm. Let’s see. A certain candidate lives in Tampa and one has to wonder if the alleged upcoming breaking of media silence has anything to do with that?
Good ones as well, Truth. Maybe we’ll have to release a (2) CD set. Maybe the release date could coincide with Krags’ dismissal.
A little birdie flew near my ear and told me that Jurich may break the silence around the time of the USF game. This little birdie had access to Jurich at the Wednesday basketball game. We’ll see.
Notice how low a profile Jurich has kept lately? He has really worked hard at staying away from public situations where questions about football may arise.
I’d have to have “Misery”, and “I’ll Cry Instead” in that top 10 Sonja.
Love it, Sonja! Maybe you should forward the list to the scoreboard operator at PJCS.
This just in..Steve Kragthorpe’s 10 favorite Beatles songs (sing along if you know ’em)
10. Help!
9. I’m So Tired
8. Yesterday
7. While my Guitar Gently Weeps
6. Revolution
5. Yer Blues
4. With a Little Help From My Friends
3. I’m Down
2. Helter Skelter
and the clear winner…
1. I’m A Loser
Bravo!
Charlie and gang:
Here are some pics on the Ark St game and my observations while attending the post game presser for you and your readers…
http://hellinthehall.com/2009/11/01/impressions-arkansas-st-game-and-post-game-presser/