September 8, 2008

Cards ink home & home with old foe

The Louisville Cardinals announced a two-game, home-and-home series with former Conference USA rival Southern Miss today. The games will take place in 2009 and 2012.

The Golden Eagles will travel to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on Oct. 10, 2009. The Cards will return to Hattiesburg, Miss., on Sept. 29, 2012. It will be the first time the teams have met since a 20-17 U of L win in overtime on Nov. 14, 2002.

"It's a great situation for us to play Southern Miss," said U of L coach Steve Kragthorpe at his weekly press conference. "I know we had some great games here. I had some great games with them when I was at Tulsa."

The Golden Eagles lead the series 18-8-1.

But some Cards fans feel the games with the Golden Eagles is a step backwards for UofL.

At the same time, I can't help but feel like the Cards are taking a step back -- reaching back to a former C-USA foe instead of reaching forward to an ACC, SEC (like Georgia in the coming years), or Big Ten school (or Notre Dame) in order to, at least a symbol of the team's commitment to keeping football vibrant. All of this seems strange now given the disfunction and uncertainty of the past 14 games, but it sure seemed the logical course following the Orange Bowl coronation.

That statement reek of typical UofL arrogance if you asked me. Despite their plans of greatness, the Cards simply aren't a powerhouse college football team just yet.

Honestly? I think games with USM is a big step up from Middle Tennessee. Just sayin.

Comments:

Cards ink home & home with old foe
The Louisville Cardinals announced a two-game, home-and-home series with former Conference USA rival Southern Miss today. The games will take place in 2009 and 2012.
The Golden Eagles will travel to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on Oct. 10, 2009. The Cards will return to Hattiesburg, Miss., on Sept. 29, 2012. It will be the first time the teams have met since a 20-17 U of L win in overtime on Nov. 14, 2002. "It's a great situation for us to play Southern Miss," said U of L coach Steve Kragthorpe at his weekly press conference. "I know we had some great games here. I had some great games with them when I was at Tulsa." The Golden Eagles lead the series 18-8-1.
But some Cards fans feel the games with the Golden Eagles is a step backwards for UofL.
At the same time, I can't help but feel like the Cards are taking a step back -- reaching back to a former C-USA foe instead of reaching forward to an ACC, SEC (like Georgia in the coming years), or Big Ten school (or Notre Dame) in order to, at least a symbol of the team's commitment to keeping football vibrant. All of this seems strange now given the disfunction and uncertainty of the past 14 games, but it sure seemed the logical course following the Orange Bowl coronation.
That statement reek of typical UofL arrogance if you asked me. Despite their plans of greatness, the Cards simply aren't a powerhouse college football team just yet. Honestly? I think games with USM is a big step up from Middle Tennessee. Just sayin.