October 14, 2004

Weeknight Lights: Louisville Says Bye-Bye to Saturdays

When folks talk about watching the Cardinals play tonight, they may not be referring to the St. Louis baseball team in the NLCS. They could very well mean the Louisville Cardinals, facing Miami tonight at the Orange Bowl in what could be the biggest football game in U of L history. A Cards win could possibly position the 4-0 team (ranked #17 in the Coaches' Poll, #18 in AP) for a first-ever BCS berth.

Louisville won't play again on a Saturday until November 20 (at Houston). The Cards will take advantage of national exposure, via ESPN coverage, playing their next four consecutive games on weeknights:

10/14/04 (Thurs.) -- @ Miami
10/22/04 (Fri.) -- South Florida
11/04/04 (Thurs.) -- @ Memphis
11/10/04 (Wed.) -- TCU

The Cardinals already faced Kentucky on a Sunday afternoon to open the season, meaning that five of the season's eleven games will have been played on non-traditional dates.

Weeknight games have been a staple of U of L Athletic Director Tom Jurich's strategy to raise the status and profile of the football program. No doubt, the added television exposure has aided recruiting and helped propel the Cardinals into the (accepted) invitation to join the Big East next season.

Please note that all comments are subject to the Fanblogs Comment Policy.