2011 Belk Bowl: Plucky Louisville Falls, but Battled N.C. State Until the End

It’s hard to put into words how lucky we are that Louisville isn’t representing the Big East in the Orange Bowl.

I like what Charlie Strong is building at Louisville, and it starts with freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Strong looks like he is committed to Louisville and it’s clear they want him.

But Louisville isn’t ready for prime time yet. The Cardinals proved that with their performance against North Carolina State in the Belk Bowl Tuesday night. If Louisville lost 31-24 to N.C. State—a team that won just seven games in the regular season—in a third-tier bowl, it would have been extremely embarrassing for the Big East to have the Cardinals play Clemson.

Hey, but Louisville never quit and almost rallied for a come-from-behind win. So the Cardinals fans have to be pleased with the team’s never-say-die attitude.

While Louisville had some chances to close the gap in the final quarter, the offense couldn’t convert on fourth downs. And the Cardinals ran out of time as Teddy Bridgewater was taking a beating from the blitzing Wolfpack defense.

Louisville has a lot to build on even in a loss, and the Cardinals should be a favorite to win the Big East, even if West Virginia doesn’t leave for the Big 12.

Why? It’s all about Bridgewater.

He played like a freshman early in the Belk Bowl, but he got into a rhythm in the second half and looks like a guy with a bright future. His confidence will be light years ahead of where it was during 2011.

So where does this leave North Carolina State?

This is the second-straight year the Wolfpack have knocked off a Big East team. But this year, Tom O’Brien and his team need to ride the positive wave into the offseason and build on it this offseason and continue into the spring.

So where should the Pack start? How about run defense?

N.C. State played better the final few weeks of the regular season, but they still allowed more than 100 yards a game. Also, Louisville was able to pound them with Victor Anderson and Dominique Brown for more than 100 yards.

But give the defense credit on fourth-and-short, as N.C. State was able to stuff the Louisville running game at that crucial moments and thwart potential scores.

O’Brien has to be pleased with how Mike Glennon played this season and he should be back for his fifth season. Glennon flourished once he was handed the starting job, and he has lived up to the hype of being one of the top prep quarterbacks in 200.

Glennon entered the game with close to 2,800 passing yards and 28 touchdowns. He added nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns in the win Tuesday night.

Maybe the Belk Bowl doesn’t mean much on a national level. But as one of the few college football fans who prefers bowl games over a playoff, this game is proof why I think they are important.

Louisville and North Carolina State are young and potentially improving programs. A game like this gives them one more chance to see where they have improved and what they need to work on more. It can also build confidence for a program that needs it.

So we’re lucky neither of these teams are playing in a BCS bowl this year. But it might not be so crazy to see either in one next year.