Louisville coach John L. Smith spent his vacation in Pamplona, Spain,
running with the bulls. It's the last time he was an underdog.
C-USA coaches have voted his Cardinals as favorites to repeat their
league championship performance of a year ago. But with an upgraded
conference schedule that sends the Cardinals to East Carolina and conference
newcomer TCU for their final two games, the door remains wide open.
While his team is favored to win the league, Smith says East Carolina is
his pick. The Pirates are talented and deep and return one of C-USA's top
quarterbacks in David Garrard, as well as conference defensive player of the
year LB Pernell Griffin.
UAB is rising fast, and with a softened conference schedule that doesn't
include either Louisville or East Carolina, the Blazers are a threat to go
bowling for the first time.
League bully Southern Miss stumbled a bit late last season, but still
figures to be a contender, as does newcomer TCU.
It just shows how far the league has come. While its most successful team -- Southern Miss -- is a little down, the Conference us going up. C-USA will introduce weeknight football to the nation this season, with teams playing every night of the week except Sunday. Conference commissioner Mike Slive is banking on the prime-time exposure to help raise the profile of the five-year old league.
With South Florida joining next year as C-USA's 11th team and the
probable addition of a 12th coming soon, the league will be in position to
stage a championship game, which will be more exposure. But until it gets a
spot at the BCS table, C-USA likely will have to settle for earning its
respect a little at a time.
Game of the Year: Louisville at East Carolina on Thursday,
Nov. 15. This one should be for the conference title, which makes it a shame
that the C-USA schedule allowed each team only five days of preparation. A
year ago, ECU knocked Ragone out of the game in the first half, but the Cards
nearly rallied in a 28-25 loss that went to the final play.
Offensive Player of the Year: Ragone completed 61 percent of his passes
with 27 TDs and only 11 interceptions in his first season as a college
starter. In fact, he had been a starter in high school for only one year
before that. Louisville coaches truly expect to experience his upside this
season. The 6-4, 250-pound lefty has improved his arm strength and accuracy,
maintained his mobility and figures to read defenses better than a year ago.
Defensive Player of the Year: ECU LB Pernell Griffin is a Lombardi Award
candidate who made a team-leading 87 tackles last season despite missing
three games. The 6-3, 240-pound senior has the kind of speed and nose for the
football that have coaches thinking he could provide an All-American-type
season.
Eric Crawford covers Conference USA for the Louisville Courier-Journal.
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