Continuing on with our look at the best and worst possible scenarios for each Big East team. (And remember, we're having a little fun with these).
Today, it's Louisville's turn.
Best Case
New blood, new attitude, new fire. They make a world of difference.
It seemed like Steve Kragthorpe's teams lost a couple of games each season simply by not being prepared, focused or properly schooled. That won't happen under Charlie Strong and his staff.
Louisville won't wow anybody with its size and athleticism, but other teams have done more with less than the Cardinals have. We know they have good running backs, a solid offensive line, some guys with speed on defense and some promising newcomers.
Strong gets the most out of that combination, starting off right away with a win over rival Kentucky in front of the largest home crowd in Louisville history. The expanded Papa John's Cardinal Stadium rocks as fans watch the defense deliver big hits and the offense do imaginative things with Victor Anderson, Bilal Powell and mobile quarterback Adam Froman.
Louisville falls in Week 3 at Oregon State but takes care of business against Eastern Kentucky, Arkansas State and Memphis for a promising 4-1 start. Cincinnati has a bit too much firepower in the conference opener, but the Cards upset UConn at home to break a three-game losing streak to the Huskies. Demar Dorsey picks off Zach Frazer in the end zone to seal the win.
A loss at Pittsburgh follows, but Louisville rebounds by winning at Syracuse and continuing its home mastery of South Florida as true freshman Dominique Brown runs circles around the Bulls out of the WildCard formation. That makes the team 7-3, spiking the most interest around Derby City since the Orange Bowl year in 2006.
Alas, the regular season ends with losses to West Virginia and Rutgers, but Louisville fans happily travel down I-65 to Birmingham for the Papajohns.com Bowl. The local pizza chain isn't the only familiar part of the trip; the Cardinals get an unusual rematch with Kentucky and beat the Wildcats again, ending the year 8-5 and with nothing but good feelings about 2011.
Worst Case
Players make coaches, not the other way around. And Louisville just doesn't have the players in 2010 for Strong to engineer a turnaround.
The Cardinals lack a big-time quarterback, are scarily small on the defensive front, inexperienced in the secondary and generally lacking any big time playmakers outside of the tailback position. Since when has that ever been a good combination?
A more talented Kentucky team sends the record crowd home early with an easy blowout win in the opener. Louisville gets waxed again at Oregon State and loses to Memphis as its defense can't stop anybody. Strong's head nearly explodes as Cincinnati hangs 70 points on the PJCS scoreboard as payback for the Petrino era.
That's just the beginning of the pain. Injuries mount and Strong turns to as many freshmen as he can to jump start the rebuilding process. Overmatched in most games, the Cardinals manage to pull off just one Big East victory: an upset of South Florida. That only marginally brightens a 3-9 season -- one win fewer than Kragthorpe's worst year.
Kentucky wins the SEC East, and Joker Phillips claims the title of most celebrated new coach in the Commonwealth. Strong wonders why he ever left Florida; Louisville fans wonder when they'll ever be good again.
Today, it's Louisville's turn.
Best Case
New blood, new attitude, new fire. They make a world of difference.
It seemed like Steve Kragthorpe's teams lost a couple of games each season simply by not being prepared, focused or properly schooled. That won't happen under Charlie Strong and his staff.
Louisville won't wow anybody with its size and athleticism, but other teams have done more with less than the Cardinals have. We know they have good running backs, a solid offensive line, some guys with speed on defense and some promising newcomers.
Strong gets the most out of that combination, starting off right away with a win over rival Kentucky in front of the largest home crowd in Louisville history. The expanded Papa John's Cardinal Stadium rocks as fans watch the defense deliver big hits and the offense do imaginative things with Victor Anderson, Bilal Powell and mobile quarterback Adam Froman.
Louisville falls in Week 3 at Oregon State but takes care of business against Eastern Kentucky, Arkansas State and Memphis for a promising 4-1 start. Cincinnati has a bit too much firepower in the conference opener, but the Cards upset UConn at home to break a three-game losing streak to the Huskies. Demar Dorsey picks off Zach Frazer in the end zone to seal the win.
A loss at Pittsburgh follows, but Louisville rebounds by winning at Syracuse and continuing its home mastery of South Florida as true freshman Dominique Brown runs circles around the Bulls out of the WildCard formation. That makes the team 7-3, spiking the most interest around Derby City since the Orange Bowl year in 2006.
Alas, the regular season ends with losses to West Virginia and Rutgers, but Louisville fans happily travel down I-65 to Birmingham for the Papajohns.com Bowl. The local pizza chain isn't the only familiar part of the trip; the Cardinals get an unusual rematch with Kentucky and beat the Wildcats again, ending the year 8-5 and with nothing but good feelings about 2011.
Worst Case
Players make coaches, not the other way around. And Louisville just doesn't have the players in 2010 for Strong to engineer a turnaround.
The Cardinals lack a big-time quarterback, are scarily small on the defensive front, inexperienced in the secondary and generally lacking any big time playmakers outside of the tailback position. Since when has that ever been a good combination?
A more talented Kentucky team sends the record crowd home early with an easy blowout win in the opener. Louisville gets waxed again at Oregon State and loses to Memphis as its defense can't stop anybody. Strong's head nearly explodes as Cincinnati hangs 70 points on the PJCS scoreboard as payback for the Petrino era.
That's just the beginning of the pain. Injuries mount and Strong turns to as many freshmen as he can to jump start the rebuilding process. Overmatched in most games, the Cardinals manage to pull off just one Big East victory: an upset of South Florida. That only marginally brightens a 3-9 season -- one win fewer than Kragthorpe's worst year.
Kentucky wins the SEC East, and Joker Phillips claims the title of most celebrated new coach in the Commonwealth. Strong wonders why he ever left Florida; Louisville fans wonder when they'll ever be good again.
Brian Bennett | email
College Football- ESPN.com Big Ten blogger
- Joined ESPN.com in 2008
- Wrote for The Courier-Journal
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Andrea Adelson
Adelson joined ESPN.com in 2010 after spending time as a college football columnist at The Orlando Sentinel. She has covered college football since her days as a University of Florida student, and lives in Orlando, Fla.
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