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While a three-man quarterback battle raged on for Louisville all preseason, I always said that Adam Froman would likely be the starter. And head coach Charlie Strong confirmed Froman as his choice today.

That's no slight to the other two competitors. Justin Burke is as heady as they come, and Will Stein has a ton of moxie; if he were four or five inches taller, he'd be a star.

But Froman always seemed a much better fit for the type of offense Strong and offensive coordinator Mike Sanford want to run. Froman is no Tim Tebow, but he's easily the most mobile of the three challengers. I've seen many sprinting drills at Louisville in which Froman blew away the field in his group. Froman also has good leadership skills, if not a powerful arm.

This doesn't mean Froman is bound for sure success. After all, he had only six touchdown passes against five interceptions last season in seven starts. He needs to get better with his decision making, and there remains the possibility that true freshman dynamo Dominique Brown develops and at least takes some snaps at quarterback before the year is done.

But to start the year, Froman is the logical and best choice.

If Froman does have a big season, then Steve Kragthorpe can take some credit. Kragthorpe personally recruited Froman out of junior college when some other staff members weren't sold on Froman's ability. In fact, Froman is the only quarterback on the roster Kragthorpe recruited as a scholarship player; Burke transferred from NC State and Stein walked on.

Steve Kragthorpe's career has been dealt another setback, this time because of his wife's health concerns.

Kragthorpe, who was fired from Louisville after three disappointing seasons that all ended without a bowl game, resigned from his new job as Texas A&M receivers coach. The move came just before the Aggies were set to open fall camp.

"Steve and I sat down and discussed his situation," Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman said in a news release. "I wanted to try to make it work where he could come back this season once the family health issues were resolved. Ultimately, he felt his wife Cynthia, and his three boys, required his undivided attention and I respect him for that. Steve is not only an excellent coach, but he is an even better person. We will keep him and his family in our prayers."

Kragthorpe had this to say in the release: "My family is dealing with some medical issues and they need me at home. The timing could not be helped and I hate to leave Coach Sherman and the guys at this time. My group of receivers worked extremely hard this spring and they were a lot of fun to work with."

Whatever you think of Kragthorpe and the job he did at Louisville, let's hope for the best for his wife and his family.

Former Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe wasn't unemployed for long.

Kragthorpe, who was fired after the end of the regular season following three straight non-winning seasons with the Cardinals, was hired over the weekend as Texas A&M's passing game coordinator. That's the same school where Kragthorpe was offensive coordinator held from 1998 to 2000 and it's where he began to build his reputation as a bright offensive mind.

Louisville fans didn't see much proof of that this past season, when their team averaged only 18.1 points as Kragthorpe took over as his own playcaller. Perhaps a fresh start in more familiar terrain will help restore Kragthorpe's career.

Original post is here.

Best case in a nutshell: 8-4 and St. Petersburg Bowl

Worst case in a nutshell: 2-10

Reality: 4-8

That's just crazy talk: "The Cardinals' offense starts to hum along like the old days, with Victor Anderson leading the Big East in rushing and quarterbacks Justin Burke and Adam Froman guiding the team down the field with a short but precise passing game. ... [Steve] Kragthorpe's popularity soars and season tickets for the expanded stadium in 2010 become a hot commodity."

Not too far off: "Kragthorpe still doesn't have enough talent or depth to get the ship turned around. The offensive line is a mess and the quarterbacks can't stretch the field with deep throws ..."

What really happened: The Cardinals stayed in many games and at least had chances to win while on the road against Kentucky, Utah, West Virginia and Connecticut. But they could never get the offense going with any consistency -- ranking last in the Big East in scoring -- and were especially bad in the red zone. The lack of top-line talent across the board was evident and impossible to overcome, and Kragthorpe was fired at season's end. A 4-8 record was right about in line with what this team should have reasonably expected in 2009.

Two former Louisville assistants are going to Illinois to work under Ron Zook.

Paul Petrino -- who was his brother Bobby's offensive coordinator with the Cardinals before holding the same post at Arkansas -- will be Zook's playcaller. Longtime Louisville assistant Greg Nord will join him as tight ends coach. UPDATE: And former Louisville quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator Jeff Brohm will be hired as the Illinois QB coach, according to Bruce Feldman. Nord, Petrino and Brohm were all on staff for the 2007 Louisville Orange Bowl team.

Paul Petrino badly wanted the Louisville head coaching job when his brother left for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons in January 2007. He did get interviewed by athletic director Tom Jurich but probably had no real chance because of some of the ill feelings left by Bobby's constant job flirtations. It's fun to speculate what kind of job Paul Petrino would have done with the Cardinals and whether he would have made a better choice than Steve Kragthorpe, who just got fired after three straight non-winning seasons.

Paul Petrino needed to get out of his brother's shadows, especially since Bobby calls the plays. It's an interesting parallel to the current situation at Cincinnati, where Jeff Quinn is the interim coach after being Brian Kelly's offensive coordinator. But though Quinn wants the job, he may be hurt by the fact that Kelly was viewed as the offensive mastermind and perhaps because of some lingering resentment about Kelly's departure.

Nord had been on the Louisville staff so long that he was an institution. He first signed on as an assistant in 1995 and coached under Ron Cooper, John L. Smith, Petrino and Kragthorpe. He also served as recruiting coordinator and had valuable ties inside the state of Kentucky. But it looks like new head coach Charlie Strong will bring in an entirely new staff as he tries to rebuild the Cardinals program.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The moment that will be remembered from Charlie Strong's introductory news conference as the new Louisville head coach came when he was asked if he thought this day would ever come.

Strong has been a highly respected assistant for years, spending the last six years as the defensive coordinator at Florida. Yet despite several interviews for jobs, the 49-year-old had never gotten an opportunity before now. He had described the moment when Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich offered him the job as "so emotional" for both him and his wife, Victoria.

Strong paused. He tapped his right hand on the podium as camera shutters clicked away. His voice broke. And he cried.

"You just never knew if it would happen," he said.

It's clear that this is a guy grateful to finally get a chance. The only question is why it took so long.

"Makes no sense," athletic director Tom Jurich said when asked why Strong hadn't been hired before.

Louisville is happy he was still available. Jurich said several players had come by his office in the past week or so after Steve Kragthorpe had been fired. The only candidate they wanted to talk about was Strong. That's understandable. Strong has been a part of two national championship teams and led a Gators defense this year that finished in the top five nationally in most statistical categories. He's coached under Steve Spurrier, Lou Holtz and Urban Meyer.

"Just knowing we have a coach from a winning program, someone who's going to come in and win games, makes everything a lot better," receiver Doug Beaumont said.

Strong -- who agreed to a five-year deal worth $1.6 million annually -- has never been a head coach but brings instant credibility. Jurich said he followed Strong closely for the past three years. He talked to many people about his main candidate -- everyone from Meyer and Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley to Tony Dungy, Bill Polian and Mike Shanahan -- and couldn't find anyone to say a negative word.

"I've always felt this was a blue-collar job," Jurich said. "And I think he is the perfect, perfect individual to not only coach this team but lead this team."

Of course, Strong was announced in the same room where Kragthorpe was introduced less than three years ago. The mood that day was celebratory, as the Cardinals were coming off an Orange Bowl victory and Kragthorpe spoke about wanting to coach his entire career in Louisville. Things were a little more subdued on Wednesday, as Jurich admitted the Cardinals -- who went 15-23 under Kragthorpe --have "a lot of obstacles and a lot of work to do."

But Louisville believes it has found its man to undertake this rebuilding project. And Strong is incredibly happy for the chance.

Expectations for Louisville were low for 2009, and the Cardinals lived down to them.

A 4-8 season included just one win over a Big East or BCS conference team, and that was a 10-9 squeaker late in the year. Louisville's once-powerful offense sank to new lows, averaging a Big East-worst 18.1 points per game. Star running back Victor Anderson was hurt most of the year, and head coach Steve Kragthorpe juggled three different quarterbacks while not finding any who were particularly effective.

Louisville didn't roll over, and it gave battles to UConn, West Virginia and Utah during the year, but this team was outmatched physically and often outcoached. And thus, Kragthorpe was fired after failing to make a bowl game in any of his three seasons. The program twice drew crowds of under 30,000 for home games late in the season, as fan apathy and discouragement reached depths not seen since the 1980s.

The Cardinals can only hope that 2009 was rock bottom and things will now start to head back up.

Offensive MVP: Scott Long. Finally healthy for a full season, the senior wideout was clearly the Cardinals' best offensive weapon. He led the team with 53 catches for 727 yards and two scores.

Defensive MVP: Chris Campa. The linebacker came on strong at the end of the season, finishing second on the team with 91 tackles and leading the Cardinals in tackles for loss (14) and sacks (six). He also forced four fumbles and broke up five tackles.

Turning point: In the second game of the season, Louisville got nearly every break and created several turnovers to lead at Kentucky in the fourth quarter. But in what would become a theme for the season, the Cardinals couldn't convert red-zone chances into touchdowns. A win over their rival would have built some positive momentum and goodwill from the fans. Instead, they couldn't hold on in a 31-27 loss, making Kragthorpe 0-3 against the team he most needed to beat.

What's next: Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong will accept the head coaching job Wednesday afternoon. He has his work cut out for him. The Cardinals have a serious talent gap between them and the rest of the league, and their problems won't be fixed overnight. Strong will have to use his Florida connections to recruit and rebuild this roster, which really needs better players in the trenches and at quarterback.

It was supposed to be a down year for the Big East.

The league entered the season with no ranked teams and much uncertainty. Every team had at least one major question mark, and several stars were lost in the 2009 NFL draft.

Instead, the conference had one of its strongest showings and most exciting seasons ever. Two teams -- Cincinnati and Pittsburgh -- cracked the top 10, five total league teams appeared in the Top 25 at some point and three finished in the final rankings. Cincinnati provided the Big East a legitimate powerhouse, going 12-0 and coming up a controversial Big 12 second short of possibly crashing the BCS title game.

While the Bearcats were clearly the league's best team, the conference remained very balanced. Cincinnati beat Pitt by one point, Connecticut by two and West Virginia by three. West Virginia beat Pitt on a last-second field goal, while Pitt pulled the same trick on UConn.

South Florida got its usual September day in the sun by beating Florida State before slinking back into the shade by mid-October. Rutgers won eight games, including a blowout of South Florida and a thriller over UConn, but couldn't get a signature win. Syracuse, despite a 4-8 record, showed signs of progress under first-year coach Doug Marrone, while Louisville ended the Steve Kragthorpe era after missing a bowl for the third straight year.

In all, the league was highly competitive each week and finished 32-8 against nonconference opponents. The Big East provided lots of great stories -- like Cincinnati's run, UConn's strength in the light of tragedy and Greg Paulus' transition from point guard to quarterback -- and several dramatic games, including the Cincinnati-Pitt finale and virtually every game Connecticut played. Many young stars, from Dion Lewis to Mohamed Sanu to Zach Collaros, came of age under the bright lights and will be making plays in this league for years.

If that's what a down year looks like, may the Big East never find its way up.

Offensive MVP: Pitt running back Dion Lewis

Had Tony Pike stayed healthy all year, he may have run away with this award. But that doesn't diminish the amazing achievements by Lewis, who did the unthinkable by dominating the conference as a true freshman. He finished third in the nation in rushing with 1,640 yards and scored 16 touchdowns. He eclipsed 100 yards nine times and went over 150 yards in five of his last seven games. The rest of the Big East can't believe they have to face this guy for at least two more years.

Defensive MVP: Pitt defensive tackle Mick Williams

This was a very difficult choice. Several defensive players had standout years, but there was no one obvious guy like Scott McKillop last year. I asked a few coordinators around the league for help with this pick, and the consensus was that Williams and fellow Pitt defensive lineman Greg Romeus were the two most disruptive, headache-inducing defenders in the conference this year. I give Williams the nod over Romeus because he had 15 tackles for loss from the defensive tackle position, which is very impressive, and his work on the inside helped make it possible for Romeus to rush the passer on the edge.

Special teams MVP: Cincinnati returner Mardy Gilyard

Rutgers' Devin McCourty had a great year on special teams as well, but Gilyard had the uncanny ability to make a huge play when his team needed it most. Never was that more evident than his 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Pitt. Gilyard returned two kickoffs and a punt back for scores this year and was a threat to go all the way every time he touched the ball.

Newcomer of the year: Lewis

If he's the offensive player of the year, then this is obvious. There were other top-notch newcomers who might have won this in other years, including Rutgers' Sanu and South Florida's Jason Pierre-Paul.

Coach of the year: Cincinnati's Brian Kelly

Kelly might not have any more room on his mantle for this award since it would be the third time in three years he's won it. UConn's Randy Edsall deserves strong consideration as well for the way he kept his team together and led with grace after the death of Jasper Howard. But 12-0 is 12-0, especially when you replaced virtually your entire defense.

Biggest surprise: Connecticut

Not so much that it finished 7-5, which was about as expected, but because the Huskies rebounded from tragedy to close the year strong while becoming an offensive power.

Biggest disappointment: South Florida

I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise anymore, but after yet another 5-0 start that included a win at Florida State, the Bulls sure should have done better than 7-5 and the International Bowl. Yes, Matt Grothe's injury didn't help. But when you consider that five of the team's victories came over two FCS teams, Western Kentucky, Syracuse and Louisville, that 7-5 mark looks even drearier.

Game of the year: Cincinnati 45, Pitt 44, Dec. 5

The Big East saved its best for last, as the schedule worked out perfectly to create a de facto championship game at Heinz Field. And what a game it was, with Cincinnati coming back from a 21-point first-half deficit and 14-point fourth quarter hole to win on a touchdown pass in the final minute. It's a game that will remembered by both sides for a long, long time.

Cincinnati moved up one spot to No. 4 in both major polls today, which is the highest ranking in school history but of course not good enough to play in the BCS title game.

Interestingly, the Bearcats received one first-place vote in the coaches' poll, which undoubtedly marks the first time that has ever happened. No. 3 TCU, it should be noted, did not receive any first-place votes.

The coaches' final ballots will be made public at some point, and I can't wait to find out which coach voted the Bearcats No. 1. Brian Kelly does have a vote. Would he have voted for his own team?

Other Big East coaches with a vote in the poll are Steve Kragthorpe, Jim Leavitt and Greg Schiano. Or perhaps it was just a coach who's a fan of the Bearcats' work in their 12-0 season.

I am making my way to Pittsburgh this afternoon for tomorrow's Unofficial Big East Championship Game. (We need a sponsor for this thing; presented by Primanti Bros?) Anyway, there's always time to dip into the mailbag while traveling. Let's get to some of your e-mails:

Luke from Chuck Town, W.Va., writes: Why when a coaching job opens at a major school the top candidates are always Big East coaches? Do you see a day when the Big East is no longer a launching pad for coaches to jump to a higher profile program? Finally if all these Big East coaches are on other school's wish lists why is the conference always considered weak?

Brian Bennett: It will happen as long as there are other schools out there with more money, resources and fans. In that sense, the Big East schools are not much different than anywhere else. There are certain jobs, like Florida, Texas, Ohio State, USC, etc., that are always going to be seen as destination, top-of-the-line stops. In the Big East, the only real coaching moves we've seen lately are Rich Rodriguez going to Michigan (another destination job, and one he may regret taking) and serial job flirter Bobby Petrino leaving Louisville for the NFL.

If Brian Kelly were to leave Cincinnati for Notre Dame, that would again be one of those destination jobs. I'd be more worried for the Big East if Randy Edsall were to move on to a place like Kansas or Virginia, which aren't significant steps up.

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Alan B. from Annapolis, Md., writes: Notre Dame may have been helpful after the ACC raid of the Big East; however, its about looking forward and not backward. The Big East needs a ninth football team and they do not need another basketball team. I do not believe that Notre Dame athletic teams can function very well without a conference affilition in this day and age. It's time to fish or cut bait. There is not another conference in the country that is going to let Notre Dame keep all its football money to themselves while their other athetic programs dip out of the conference till. It's time to call their bluff.

Brian Bennett: What bluff would that be, exactly? I agree that in order to add a ninth team, the Big East would be wise to dispel a non-football playing member from the basketball side, but that should not be Notre Dame. Have you seen Luke Harangody play? The Irish are competitive in basketball and have many good rivalries with the Catholic schools. They also bring out big crowds in the non-revenue sports. If you want to get rid of a team, make it DePaul, which brings nothing to the table, or a struggling program like Seton Hall.

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Trever from Pittsburgh writes: Love your blog I just started following it this year, but I make it part of my daily routine in the morning. I am fed up with the whole bowl system right now, more than I usually am. I understand that if Pitt loses and WVU wins they get the Gator Bowl bid. That makes sense, but then how does Pitt fall to somewhere like St. Petersburg or Birmingham? Also why would Cincinnati fall to the Meinke Car Care Bowl if they lose to Pitt? What happened to the teams with the best records playing in the best bowls?

Brian Bennett: Thanks for reading, Trever. Let's not get too nostalgic about the past. Bowls have never been about rewarding the most deserving teams. Other than the BCS title game, no bowl is about that. They're about filling hotel rooms and restaurants and selling tickets. That's why West Virginia is almost certainly going to the Gator Bowl no matter what happens this weekend. It's why the Meineke Car Care Bowl wants all those Rutgers fans coming to Charlotte if Pitt loses. Remember that these are little more than exhibition games for the local chamber of commerce and your blood pressure will go down.

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Matt from Cincinnati: You obviously saw that Oregon State lost to Oregon. How much does this affect Cincinnati's legitimate shot at the national title?

Brian Bennett: An Oregon State win would have been a huge boost, as the team Cincinnati beat in Corvallis would have gone to the Rose Bowl. Now the Bearcats don't have that on the résumé. On the plus side, Oregon State was very competitive and in fact led in the second half on the road. The Beavers are obviously a very good team, and they should still help Cincinnati's computer rankings. Now the Bearcats will want to root for Clemson to lose to Georgia Tech in the ACC title game to take some shine off TCU's win at Clemson. Ultimately, Cincinnati needs to beat Pittsburgh convincingly and hope for a Nebraska upset of Texas. If those two things happen, the Bearcats still have a good shot of getting to Pasadena.

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Dennis R. from Louisville writes: What are your sources saying about the likelihood of Charlie Strong coming to the 'Ville? I have also heard that Butch Jones would be No. 2 in the queue. Really? What are your thoughts on him? My thought is that he would be another Kragthorpe and never be able to have the star power to win the fan base. That is unless he reeled off some major wins right off the bat, which ain't happening.

Brian Bennett: My understanding is that it is basically Strong's job if he wants it, which he'll decide after the SEC championship game. Unless a better job comes along, or some unforeseen snag occurs, he should be Louisville's coach by early next week. I'm not sure I understand the rest of your question. Strong should have instant credibility as the defensive coordinator for a potential three-time national champion. Jones is an up-and-comer with a background similar to Brian Kelly. While I think Strong brings more cachet, both would be excellent choices. And either one is going to be immediately popular simply by not being Steve Kragthorpe. But you're right that neither one is going to have this team in a BCS game next year.

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Mark B. from San Antonio writes: Why do the talking heads persist in the myth that "Cincy fans don't travel?" Last year's Orange Bowl was a virtual home game and all those tickets on the market at less than face value were snapped-up in droves. I realize we don't travel like Ohio State or the best travelers ... but don't you think we should be viewed as traveling "reasonably well" rather than as the "last choice leper to be avoided at all costs?"

Brian Bennett: A reputation for being a good traveling fan base is one that is built up over a number of years, as teams prove year in and year out that they will fill a stadium and hotel rooms. I thought Cincinnati did a good job of turning out for the Orange Bowl, but again there isn't much previous track record there. And the fact that the Bearcats only have a 35,000-seat stadium sends a message to bowl organizers that the fan base must not be very big. My advice for any school that would like to build its rep in this regard is to turn out heavily for every bowl game, even the lower-tier ones. Bowl officials eventually take notice.

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Curtis T. from Greensboro, N.C., writes: I know that the various bowl contracts state that any team with a "winning" record must be placed before the teams with a 6-6 record. USF currently has a record that, should they lose at UConn, will in essence be 6-5, since only one of the wins over a FCS opponent is counted towards bowl eligibilty. As such, would they be treated as a team with a winning record, which is accurate any way you slice it, or as a team with six wins, which is also accurated?

Brian Bennett: The rules seem pretty vague in this scenario. My understanding is that South Florida would be treated as a team with a winning record. Ultimately, though, it won't matter. There are six Big East bowl slots and six teams who are eligibile, so everyone will get in. The concern would be if one of the teams needed to find an at-large spot with a 6-6 record. Then it would have to wait until all 7-5 or better teams were placed before it could go bowling.

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David from Ohio writes: Even if Brian Kelly does leave for Notre Dame, won't the Bearcats be just as dangerous behind Kerry Coombs? He was hired at the same time as Kelly and was the Colerain High School coach before that. In his last season there, his closest game was a 21-3 win.

Brian Bennett: Ask Gerry Faust how well Cincinnati high school success translates to major college football. I do think, though, if Kelly were to leave that Coombs and offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn -- who's been Kelly's right-hand man for a while now -- would be considered in order to keep the continuity going. Cincinnati could also look at Butch Jones and Skip Holtz as possible candidates. But now we're way ahead of ourselves. For now, Kelly is still the Cincinnati coach.

Don't ask me. Ask the ministry.

Oh, OK, ask away:

Grant from Nashville writes: Can you see Charlie Weis in the Big East, at Louisville or as an A.D. somewhere? We know he loves Rutgers ... is there room for him on Greg Schiano's staff?

Brian Bennett: Uh, no. Weis is almost certainly headed back to the NFL to be a coordinator, which is what he does best. His Notre Dame time proved that he's not exactly suited to be a college head coach. And an athletic director? That's mighty far-fetched.

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Kainan M. from Breeden, W. Va., writes: If West Virginia goes to the Gator Bowl (assuming that we beat Rutgers and Pitt loses) who do you see us playing? And do you think that the Gator Bowl will take WVU into better consideration because of the fan base? And if all that happens,would Pitt go to the Meineke Car Care Bowl?

Brian Bennett: There are still so many possible bowl scenarios out there for the Big East, and I hope to address as many as possible in a blog post soon. But to answer your question: I think there's a good chance West Virginia goes to the Gator Bowl if it beats Rutgers regardless of what happens in the Cincinnati-Pitt game. Yes, that's right -- I think a 9-3 Mountaineers team could go to Jacksonville ahead of an 11-1 Bearcats squad.

The reason: ticket sales. West Virginia travels better than any team in the Big East, and the Gator -- which is in its last year of a deal with the league and is miffed that it won't get Notre Dame -- wants to fill the stadium. I'm hearing of two possible matchups: West Virginia vs. Florida State, which would match Bobby Bowden's first and last schools where he was head coach; or West Virginia-Virginia Tech, which would be big for obvious reasons.

There's a chance a Pitt loss could knock the Panthers way down the pecking order because of the Panthers' reputation for poor traveling fans. Remember, bowl games are businesses. They don't care which team is more deserving.

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John from New Market, Tenn., writes: I wanted to let you know a little info about the empty seats at Mountaineer Field during the Pitt game. The empty seats were in the student sections, and the dorms were closed all week. Morgantown is not an easy place to find overnight housing in, and not many students have money to pay for a hotel room and/or gas to drive up, then back home, then back to Morgantown again on Sunday.

Brian Bennett: I understand that and appreciate the situation over Thanksgiving weekend. My questions are: Couldn't the students have found other people who could have taken their tickets? And why didn't Pittsburgh take its full visitors' allotment? The bottom line is that you don't see empty seats at other big rivalry games over Thanksgiving weekend, when I'm sure some schools have the same situations. If this is the Big East's best rivalry, then there shouldn't be an empty seat in the house.

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Henry N. from Nashville writes: I haven't seen anyone mention former Louisville offensive coordinator (and ex-Rams coach) Scott Linehan yet for the Cardinals' opening. Is he a viable candidate? I would think that would be a home-run hire. As an aside, I can't see why UL would even consider hiring Philip Fulmer. He has proven that all he knows how to do is recruit to a name school. It's only when he's had good assistants (ie-Cutcliffe on O, Chavis on D) that he has fared reasonably well from an Xs and Os standpoint on either side of the ball.

Brian Bennett: I do think Tom Jurich will at least consider Linehan, who did a great job as offensive coordinator at Louisville. The big question would be whether Linehan has any real recruiting ties after being in the NFL for so long. I don't see him as one of the top candidates at this point.

And while Fulmer would like the Louisville job, I don't think he'll be considered for it.

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Joe from Bridgeport, Conn., writes: I have heard some talk about Randy Edsall's fourth down call in the waning seconds of the Syracuse game. What else can he do in that situation? Inside the 30, he can either go on 4th (which he did) or kick a FG which he then would have been accused of running up the score also ... at least with a 4th-and-10 the Syracuse 'D' had a chance to stop them without more points going up. You are not going to punt inside the 30. I really don't think he was piling on as others have said.

Brian Bennett: I have no problem with Edsall's decision. UConn had an 11-point lead with under a minute to go. Yes, it would have been hard for Syracuse to score, get an onsides kick and score again in that time frame, but you can blame the Huskies after all their tough losses this season? Edsall could have opted for a field goal, but it would have been a long one and it was a very windy day. It was a good call and the right call in that situation. If Syracuse didn't like it, the Orange should have stopped it.

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Barrett N. from Atlanta writes: I always enjoy reading your articles and insight; however, isn't it time that the media stops trying to blame Bobby Petrino for anything having to do with the Steve Kragthorpe era? The guy took a step back every season ... how does this have to do with Petrino misses? The guy proved without a doubt that he couldnt coach with talent or without talent. Leave anything about Petrino at the door and focus on what happened. He was a failure from the start and he did it on his on accord.

Brian Bennett: I agree to a point. There's little doubt that Petrino didn't recruit well in his last year or so at Louisville, probably knowing he wasn't coming back. That left huge gaps in the Cardinals' classes and made it hard to field a competitive team in the past two years after injuries, transfers and dismissals took their toll. However, Petrino left a pretty loaded team for Kragthorpe in 2007, with 18 returning starters coming back from the Orange Bowl win. And Kragthorpe went 6-6. Kragthorpe and others have hinted that they had to clean up Petrino's messes inside the program, but no one has ever publicly said what those messes were or why they weren't addressed earlier.

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Ben B. from Newark, N.J., writes: What's the justification for UConn over Rutgers in the power rankings? RU has the better overall record, the better conference record and won the head to head matchup. Is your ranking solely based on the Rutgers-Syracuse game?

Brian Bennett: These are subjective rankings, of course, but I feel like UConn has had a better body of work and has been more consistent. They've been incredibly competitive in every game and have done so against a strong schedule. Rutgers has gotten blown out twice and has two decent wins: over South Florida and over UConn on a last-second play. I think if you asked coaches which team they'd like to play less right now, they'd say UConn.

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Daniel J. from Colorado Springs, writes: First off Brian. I would like to thank you on an excellent year with many great blogs. I happen to be a huge Bearcats fan and though it seems very unlikely I think there still might be a chance for UC to make the national title. The only way this can happen is if Texas loses, of course. and hopefully Alabama will get beat down badly, or Florida. The toughest part though will be TCU, which is where Oregon State comes in. We beat Oregon State Corvallis, and that win has been looking better and better ever since.

Say they beat Oregon and we beat Pitt and Texas and Alabama lose, do you think all of that would be enough to boost the Bearcats to the national championship game?

Brian Bennett: Thanks for the kind words, Daniel. First of all, I don't think the SEC title game matters. I don't see a rematch happening, not with so many deserving unbeaten teams. Cincinnati needs Texas to beat Nebraska and should hope Oregon State beats Oregon and Georgia Tech beats Clemson. Remember that Clemson is one of TCU's best wins, and the Tigers just lost to a mediocre South Carolina. Cincinnati would have a better résumé if all that happened, and I think the Bearcats would go to Pasadena.

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Ben from Pittsburgh writes: Earlier this season, especially against Rutgers, Cincinnati ran Tim Tebow-esque plays with Travis Kelce out of the "Bearcat" formation. This seemed to be pretty darn effective in short yard and goal line situations. Do you know if coach Brian Kelly will bring this back against and a stingy Pittsburgh defense? If so ,why, and if not, why not?

Brian Bennett: It's interesting that Cincinnati did that in Game 1 and not once since. Wouldn't it be funny if we saw it again in the last game? My understanding of why Kelce hasn't come in for that play is that he has had trouble fumbling in practice. And when Zach Collaros was playing, the Bearcats didn't really need that formation to have a running threat at quarterback.

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Jason from Cincinnati writes: If Cincy loses at Pitt; explain to me why they are less deserving of at at-large bid to the BCS than an undefeated non-BCS school, or a Big Ten retread like Iowa?

Brian Bennett: Repeat after me: Deserve's got nothing to do with it.

It's nice work if you can get it: someone paying you lots of money to stay away from your job.

Problem is, there are few places other than sports where that happens. Fired Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe is the latest to receive a nice golden parachute.

The Courier-Journal's C.L. Brown reports that Kragthorpe will get $4.45 million to leave the Cardinals. That includes $1.1 million a year in salary for remaining two years on his contract, a one-time bonus of $1.25 million to be paid in 2012 and a $1 million annuity that Kragthorpe gets when he turns 65.

Athletic director Tom Jurich said Saturday that the payout to Kragthorpe would be built into the athletic department's budget. While Jurich promised to be aggressive and pay the new coach a salary that's in line with the current marketplace, it may be a stretch to think Louisville can offer someone a $3 million salary at the same time it is still paying off Kragthorpe and various expansion projects.

Steve Kragthorpe is taking his family and moving back to Tulsa on Sunday. But while the former Louisville coach could have gone slinking out of town, he chose instead to address the media on Monday -- a little more than 48 hours after being fired.

Kragthorpe began his news conference by saying he might not answer every question, "since I don't have to anymore," then spent the next 30 minutes talking about how he had no hard feelings about the school which fired him after three seasons.

"I don't leave here bitter," he said. "I leave here better."

As has been his normal way of operating, Kragthorpe offered few specifics for why things went wrong under his tenure. The Cardinals failed to make a bowl game and saw their win totals decrease every year under the former Tulsa coach, culminating in a 4-8 campaign in 2009.

"I'm sorry I didn't win more football games, because that's ultimately how you're judged," he said. "That's the only regret that I have."

Kragthorpe was asked in different ways whether he was shown enough patience by the program and by the fans, who booed him in his very first game and never really warmed up to him. He said "that's the nature of college football" and that three years "is about the time frame nowadays," especially at a school that had won so much before he arrived.

Kragthorpe said he thought he accomplished a lot with the team despite the won-loss record and that he believed next year's team could win eight or nine games, which seems to be overly optimistic given the talent on hand. He said he's already been offered three jobs, including one as an offensive coordinator at a BCS school. But he might take a year off and "be a dad." He has one son playing small-college football, another who is a junior quarterback playing for the Kentucky state high school championship this weekend and another who will be a sophomore in high school next year.

He'll receive a $2.2 million buyout from Louisville.

"I signed a contract," he said. "I deserve every penny of that."

While there wasn't much new information that came from the news conference, give Kragthorpe credit for standing in front of the media and taking questions before leaving town. He didn't have to do that, and most coaches probably wouldn't have done so.

Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich usually hasn't needed much of a search to find his next coach. After legendary basketball coach Denny Crum's forced resignation, Jurich famously called a news conference to announce he had one and only candidate: Rick Pitino. When Bobby Petrino left for the Atlanta Falcons, Jurich had Steve Kragthorpe lined up and ready to go within a couple of days.

This time around, as he seeks a replacement for Kragthorpe, Jurich said he hasn't zeroed in one guy but instead has a list of candidates in mind. There's no obvious coach out there who seems like a perfect fit for the Cardinals. But this might be the most important hire of Jurich's career.

Hovering over Kragthorpe's final, 4-8 season was the ever-growing second deck across from the home sideline at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. The expansion project will raise capacity by about 14,000 seats, to 56,000. This for a program that drew under 30,000 for a home game against Arkansas State on Halloween and had only 23,000 show up for the finale against Rutgers.

Jurich needs someone who can get the fan base excited again and sell all of those extra tickets. Louisville bills itself as "the best college sports town in America," but the program often has the feel of the city's only pro team, given the lack of a major student presence at either football or basketball games. And like a pro town, Louisville needs not just to win but to be entertained.

Cardinals fans loved the bluster of Howard Schnellenberger, the unpredictability of John L. Smith and the go-for-the-throat mentality of Petrino. One reason Kragthorpe never truly connected with fans was because his public speaking was as platitudinous as his style of play.

The next coach will have to unite a fan base that turned against Kragthorpe and even against Jurich during the past three years. Some of that will automatically happen because Kragthorpe was so disliked that the next guy can't help but be popular.

But he'll also have to win the news conferences, because winning on the field -- at least initially -- won't be easy. Louisville's roster next year won't have any obvious NFL players beyond perhaps the running back position. Jurich acknowledged it is now a rebuilding job, and improving the recruiting will be the top priority. A coach who can get the Cardinals back into their recruiting roots of Florida, Alabama and Georgia -- areas where Kragthorpe neglected as he turned his attention to Texas and California, with mixed results at best -- would also help. Not even Urban Meyer could turn this team into a Big East contender in 2010.

Of the most frequently mentioned candidates, Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong and Houston coach Kevin Sumlin are the most intriguing. Strong would bring instant credibility as one of the architects of a potential three-time BCS champion. Sumlin has overseen one of the most potent offenses in the FBS the past two years and could get the Cardinals back to their high-scoring ways. Texas Tech's Mike Leach would be another dream hire, but with the school paying Kragthorpe more than $2 million to walk away and likely needing to offer Leach about $3 million, it could prove financially unfeasible.

Jurich said the program has to be fiscally responsible, but that he would be aggressive in whatever salary he offers the next coach. He might not be totally sure right now who that next guy is going to be. But he knows he has to get it right this time.

1. Cincinnati (11-0, 6-0 Big East): Pitt's loss to West Virginia means the Bearcats are assured of being at least co-champions in the Big East this year. Of course, that doesn't mean much without the BCS bid.

2. Pittsburgh (9-2, 5-1): A 10-win regular season now hangs on whether the Panthers can defeat Cincinnati at home. If not, a 9-3 mark will seem kind of disappointing.

3. West Virginia (8-3, 4-2): Speaking of 10-win campaigns, the Mountaineers have a chance to get there by beating Rutgers and then winning a bowl game. Funny how one big win can change the outlook of an entire season.

4. Connecticut (6-5, 2-4): If the Huskies beat South Florida at home, they'll finish with the exact same record they had last year in the regular season. Yet I think this UConn team is better than last year's, even though they lost four NFL draft picks off the 2008 squad.

5. Rutgers (8-3, 3-3): Can the Scarlet Knights break through and actually beat West Virginia at home? This seems like one of their best chances, and it would be the highlight of their season so far.

6. South Florida (7-4, 3-3): Throw out the wins over two FCS teams and Western Kentucky, and the Bulls are 4-4 against opponents who could fog a mirror. And half of those victories came against Syracuse and Louisville.

7. Louisville (4-8, 1-6): Looking back, there were two games the Cardinals easily could have won -- at Kentucky and at West Virginia. But they also could have easily lost games against Southern Miss and Syracuse. In the end, 4-8 seems about right.

8. Syracuse (4-8, 1-6): A 4-8 record got Steve Kragthorpe fired but represents slight progress for Doug Marrone. The Orange seem better positioned going forward in the immediate future than the Cardinals, who will go through another coaching transition next year.