October 17, 2005
Louisville 'relegated to the wastebins'
If ever there was a case to be made against pre-season polls, I would like to offer up the 2005 Louisville Cardinals football team. How do you go from preseason #12 & potential BCS darling to el nada grande in the polls and 0-2 in the Big East?!
Head Coach Bobby Petrino, who turned his team from 1st half offensive juggernaut to 2nd half predictable conservative chickens when WVU showed signs of life, doesn't sound to upbeat on the prospects for the rest of the year:
"We're 0-2 in the league right now, and we never imagined being like that. And now what we've got to do is play for pride and for the opportunity to get into a bowl game. That's what we're scrambling for now."
Scrambling to make a bowl game? Yikes! Welcome to BCS football, Cardinal fans. How's that cake-walk through the Big East working out for ya?
Louisville blogger Tom Heiser breaks it down:
Cardinal fans had better hit the AAA offices and find the best overland route to whatever bowl game they'll be consigned to once the bloodletting is over. It won't be Tempe, Atlanta, Miami -- or Jacksonville, for that matter. Phoenix or Charlotte seem most likely -- but that assumes the Cards can beat any of the remaining members of the conference that once seemed ripe for the taking....
0-2 in the Big East. Do I need to say more? Makes one long for the good ol' days of C-USA. And to rub salt into the would, TCU has made its way into the Top 25 as the Cards will soon find themselves relegated to the wastebin of mediocre Division I teams.
Comments:
Jeremy Collins said:
posted on October 17, 2005 11:31 AM — 167.239.198.211 — link — abuse?
First of all it was a great game. One of the best i have seen the Big East have in a while. Hats off to Louisville for a great effort. The EERS are ready to take the reins and be off to the BCS bowl.
Best of luck to louisville run the table and get back in the ranking for the big east sake.
EER14 said:
posted on October 17, 2005 12:18 PM — 129.71.238.253 — link — abuse?
Your not in C-USA anymore, you must play 60 minutes of football. The Cards thought they could come in to the BE and win it..not !! Now that you know who the "Beast of the East" is, you can focus on winning out and getting back into the Top 25.
posted on October 17, 2005 1:33 PM — link — abuse?Kevin Donahue said:
Anybody remember the second half meltdown against Kentucky? West Virginia does.
EER14 said:
posted on October 17, 2005 1:41 PM — 129.71.238.253 — link — abuse?
My #3 comments were a bit harse. Not really directed to the Cards or the fans, but to the Media. All we have have heard from them is Cards, Cards , Cards. Last week during Syracuse v UCONN on ESPN2 they went so far as to say that it looked like Louisville and UCONN would be playing for the BE Title. WOW !! get real EER Hater's. Where do they get these "Goof Ball's" anyway. Mark my words, you heard it from me first. In two years the BE will be a power house with West Virginia, Louisville, Pitt and Syracuse all in the Top 25. To the Big East and WVU Basher's...keep fuel on the fire, WE LOVE IT !!!
FootballGuru said:
posted on October 17, 2005 3:37 PM — 205.204.240.1 — link — abuse?
OK, building a top tier program doesn't happen overnight.
Nor does it happen in 1 year.
Or 5 years for that matter.
UofL kind of reminds me of Marshall. Yeah, they were good for a year or two, even had a few guys make the pros. But then eventually the odds catch up to you, and you are back down to where you started. Remember, UofL was playing their football games in a baseball stadium just a couple of years ago. Not exactly a rich history or tradition there. Just because you build a small stadium and join a tainted BCS conference doesn't make you at the same level as Michigan, FSU, Ohio State, Alabama, Penn State and Notre Dame. And UofL v WVU just isn't on the same as USC v ND or Penn State v Michigan. You should ask yourself why this is, by answering this question you will realize you shouldn't have that high of expectations.
Free dickshunairy said:
posted on October 17, 2005 4:08 PM — 66.37.64.193 — link — abuse?
My what a "harse" conference it would be to have 4 teams in the top 25... wow... *yawns*
Especially Pitt, BCS player a year ago to this now. Gosh, what in the world are teams like Wofford and Buffalo thinking scheduling games against such "harse" teams like the Big Least?cygnus34 said:
posted on October 17, 2005 4:12 PM — 68.52.14.25 — link — abuse?
What can one expect, when the BIG EAST OFFIALS do not know the RULES.
cardfaninmd said:
posted on October 17, 2005 5:00 PM — 69.243.109.226 — link — abuse?
No excuses, the guys should have maintained their composure. However . . .
Big East: WVU onside kick was a penalty
By Eric Crawford
ecrawford@courier-journal.com
Copyright: The Courier-Journal October 17, 2005-----
The Big East Conference has acknowledged that game officials blew a call on an onside kick in the fourth quarter of the University of Louisville football team's 46-44 triple-overtime loss at West Virginia on Saturday.The Mountaineers lifted a surprise pooch kick about 15 yards down the field after scoring a touchdown to make it 24-14 with 8:16 left. A U of L player was moving toward the ball to try and field it, but was blocked to the ground by a West Virginia player. Officials threw a flag while the Mountaineers recovered, but after a consultation on the field, determined there was no foul on the play.
This morning, after speaking with U of L coach Bobby Petrino over the weekend, Big East officials admitted otherwise.
"We're acknowledging that the officials missed a call," said Big East associate commissioner John Paquette. "We're not putting out a statement or anything, but we have acknowledged that."
-----By the way "eers" fans, I agree with previous posts, this will be quite a rivalry. I just hope that y'all aren't as ornery as those Memphis fans!!! :?) Best of luck, and hope to see some of you in the stands next year at Papa John's!PANTHER75 said:
posted on October 18, 2005 8:06 PM — 205.188.116.199 — link — abuse?
Yes....its on track to being a great Big East rivalry between Louisville and WVU.....Southern Miss used to pull plays out of their....uh, play books like Saturday's pooch kick.....my question, though, is: Why is no one pointing a finger at the WVU coach? What a weasel!!! Obviously, they had practiced the kick and it was in their play book AND he had to have called it (knowing it was an illegal play). If this were a court of law, he would at least be charged with being an accessory..... This is college football....what kind of model and character does that portrey in an adult role model, Coach Rod? Or, are you going to claim ignorance? That wouldn`t say much for a person working for an institution of higher learning. I would assume one is required to have a minimal IQ to be hired to a college position(?).
WVU does have to go to Louisville next year....unless they bring the same officating crew and some more plays from the black list, it will be a LONG day for WVU....portis said:
posted on October 19, 2005 10:30 AM — 24.140.92.2 — link — abuse?
Panther is your arguement that the refs "helped" WVU win that game. Your view is obviously blurred from watching all that Panther football. Oh yeah, how's that new coach workin out for ya?? There is no way you can jump on Coach Rod for going for the onside kick. His team had to make a play, and that was the play that was made. If they don't get that kick then who knows what happens. We'll see you at the Backyard Brawl!!!
BlackpowderEER said:
posted on October 19, 2005 3:31 PM — 68.117.145.160 — link — abuse?
Typical comment from a sPitt fan. How's that Ohio Loss?? Still stinging??
Crawl back to your ghetto cityboy....
The play was legal...look at the replays...the UofL player did NOT call for a fair catch...and was moving away from the ball. He was fair game. The Ref had NO angle to see that. This is just sour grapes. Unlike last year...when Gregg Lee caught the bounce pass that EVERYONE including the announcing crew saw. Or the phantom roughing the passer penelty. Yea...we know how the Big East refs can hose you.
EER14 said:
posted on October 21, 2005 11:46 AM — 129.71.238.253 — link — abuse?
TO: Panther75, are you on Crack !! or what ? You are the first Pitt BOY I have seen on here. Must be that BIG WIN vs the #1 ranked South Florida Bulls that bring's you out of the Crack House.
see you NOVEMBER 24 tough guy !!!GO EERS !!! GO COACH ROD.
"Backyard Brawl" ??? Ya right
middleman_99_98 said:
posted on October 21, 2005 9:57 PM — 67.170.40.150 — link — abuse?
Louisville bought the preseason hype and fell on their face. BIG EAST should lose their BCS status, come join the SEC or PAC-10. They have at least 4 to 6 teams in the Top25 every week. Brohm you wasted your talent on U of L, should have gone somewhere else.
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portis said:
posted on October 17, 2005 11:26 AM — 24.140.92.2 — link — abuse?I imagine Louisville fans now know how us Mountaineer fans felt last March after we lost in the Elite Eight. Two epic battles on the hardwood and the gridiron have suddenly turned this into a nice little rivalry. Rivalry's take years to develop, but this one has a great chance to replace the VT rivalry. One reason why Tech is so hated in Mountaineer Country is because of their arrogance and swagger. Louisville marched into the Big East with their eyes on a BCS bowl slot, and that same swagger. Everybody in the nation was slurpin on the U of L and their high scoring offense, the only problem was that nobody told WVU and South Florida.
The Big East may be down, but when you look at games like the one I attended Saturday in Morgantown, it doesn't matter that VT, BC, and Miami have vanished from the Big East. Take away any other conference's top 3 teams and see what the other conferences have left. The fact is that the Big East is still one of the top 6 conferences in the country, just not as lofty as it once was. Louisville was "supposed" to run the table and sit among the big boys in the BCS despite coming from a "bad conference". Looks like the experts were wrong again, which brings everyone in Mountaineer Country joy. We always play with a chip on our shoulder because of the way we are viewed by the national media. A little friendly competition is good for the Big East. When you look at the "rebuilding" campaign that has been put up by the Mountaineers this season with all the freshman and sophmores in the starting lineup, you can't help but be excited about the future.
I almost forgot about the topic of Louisville being relegated to the wastebins'. Take no shame in losing to WVU, it's tough to come into Morgantown and win a big ball game. In another strange occurance, it was WVU who last year were ranked in the top 10 in the preseason polls and predicted to win the Big East title outright and go to the Fiesta Bowl. We ended up losing 3 games, including the backyard brawl. We know how it feels to be the media darling one minute and "thrown in the bin" the next. Keep your head up and good luck the rest of the season. The Big East needs you to put up 60 a game in blowout wins and help us get our credibility back!!
GO EERS!