The University of Louisville opened the season flat against Kentucky, losing 27-2. But the 2006 Orange Bowl winners have been on the up and up since then, winning two straight against Tennessee Tech and Kansas State.
2008 is head coach Steve Kragthorpe's second year with Louisville. Kragthorpe went through a rough first year, often criticized for losing and continuing to focus on things other than football. After an inspiring performance against a respectable Kansas State team last Wednesday night, Kragthorpe is temporarily off the hot seat.
Defense
Kragthorpe's best coaching move was made in the off season when he acquired defensive coordinator Ron English from Michigan. English's "in your face" philosophy of coaching has his players swarming to the ball and making open field tackles.
Once a complete disgrace, the Louisville defense has been impressive so far. It allowed only one touchdown against Kentucky (other scores came on offensive turnovers) and held the Wildcats to 210 total yards. Two weeks later, the defensive unit forced two interceptions from highly touted quarterback Josh Freeman and held Kansas State to only 30 yards rushing.
Holes still exist past the defensive line. The Cardinals are extremely short at the linebacker position, and it showed up when Kansas State completed multiple over-the-middle passes with relative ease. The secondary has shown improvement, especially through JUCO transfer Woodny Turenne and sophomore Johnny Patrick.
Offense
On the other side of the ball, the Louisville offense looked to have fallen back to Earth after failing to score for the first time since playing at Florida State in 2000. Hunter Cantwell was forcing passes, running back Brock Bolen looked slow, and receiver Scott Long was injured.
Changes came following the Kentucky game, most notably the move of offensive coordinator Jeff Brohm to the press box to call plays. The adjustments worked.
Louisville rushed for 303 yards against Kansas State despite missing left tackle George Bussey and left guard Mark Wetter to injury, and Cantwell found Josh Chichester and Troy Pascley for touchdown passes.
Victor Anderson became a breakout player, rushing for three touchdowns as a redshirt freshman. The offense is beginning to show the "try and stop us" attitude of the past for the first time under Kragthorpe.
Special Teams
The kicking game has been a struggle for Louisville in 2008. Freshman kicker Chris Philpott had his first attempt blocked against Kentucky and proceeded to miss another kick and an extra point against Kansas State.
Philpott's struggles led Kragthorpe to bring in Corey Goettsche to kick field goals. Goettsche is normally responsible for punting and kick off duty.
Season Prediction
It doesn't hurt to play eight games at home, or to have four straight home games to start the season. The Cardinals are beginning to hit their stride, handling Kansas State after being annihilated by Kentucky.
Luckily for Louisville, the Big East is wide open this season. West Virginia isn't what it used to be, and Cincinnati needs a quarterback. The biggest game of Louisville's season comes on Oct. 25 when South Florida visits Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
If Louisville can win the close ones like they failed to do last year (UConn, Utah, WVU) and take down South Florida, it could be a surprise BCS appearance. An easy schedule lends the Cardinals a New Years Day visit to the Gator Bowl and a 9-3 record.
We're going to send you the most entertaining Louisville Cardinals Football articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
0 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete