Youthful Cardinals Take Flight
by Mike Rutherford on Nov 10, 2011 11:45 AM EST
in Football
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PrintBy Andrew Phelps
"It ain't over until it's over." A phrase that has defined sports for decades, but for some reason fans must always be reminded of its truth. Our baby birds took the field on a Friday night in October, possessing a 2-4 record and on the brink of a disastrous and disappointing season. Three games changed everything. The end zone is open for business, the offense has been resurrected, and the baby birds appear ready to depart the nest. Coach Charlie Strong has proven he is the man for the job and has the Cardinals taking flight once more.
The University of Louisville has not won in Morgantown in almost two decades. Strong played 17 freshman and 14 sophomores last weekend and successfully disappointed 55,000 fans. Florida v. Georgia is known as the world's largest cocktail party, but West Virginia home games take the title of world's largest family reunion, sorry Lexington. The defense was tested by a real quarterback for the first time in 2011 and the statistics paint an ugly picture. However, plays were made when needed and thank God for Dexter Heyman, our linebackers and defensive line. 18 year old Teddy Bridgewater proved again he is worthy of the hype and this kid will be a Cardinal legend before his last walk off that field.
This win was enormous. Not only is West Virginia our biggest rival in the Big East, but they have always been the measuring stick for conference programs. Our youngins went toe to toe with their high powered offense and made the plays to win late in the 4th quarter. West Virginia tallied 533 yards of offense, the exact same number they amassed against world number one, LSU. Cardinal pride exploded after the victory, and the locker room video of Charlie Strong has me as ecstatic as I've been since January 2007.
Saturday brings the final home game of 2011 and public enemy number one, Pittsburgh. Pitt's backroom dealings, bold faced lies and servitude to ESPN's every wish has dismantled the Big East. The Cardinals are 2-0 so far on the revenge tour, and Pittsburgh is last on the hit list. The Panthers stand at 4-5 and are fighting for bowl eligibility in Todd Graham's inaugural season. (Graham coached with Klownthorpe, another reason we should hate Pitt). I am personally happy Pittsburg is moving on. They are an overrated program in a city where the Steelers are the only thing that matters. Second fiddle is something the Ville knows nothing about.
The Panthers boast one impressive victory, a 44-17 dismantling of South Florida and are coming off an impressive showing against Cincinnati. They are a very average football team and don't do anything particularly well. They rank 80th in total offense, 47th in total defense, 70th in points for and 49th in points against. Their greatest attribute is their running back Ray Graham, who did not play last week and is out for the season with a knee injury. Our stout defense should make a strong resurgence and will be key in ensuring a 4th straight victory.
Shawn Watson has given the UofL offense a new face and a new identity. Bridgewater is playing like a seasoned veteran and the offensive line has found cohesion, as they continue to eliminate the mistakes of their early season play. Watson has earned the coordinator position and his balanced play calling has been nothing but impressive. It appears each week the playbook adds another page and the attack mentality has almost fully returned. Credit goes to Coach Strong for making a difficult mid season decision in firing the incompetent Sanford.
Watching our offense is nothing short of excitement and anticipation of the future. On many scoring drives recently, the only players to touch the ball have been freshman. If Teddy can continue to manage the game Saturday and make the plays when timing is right, the Red and Black will send a loud message that the Cardinals have arrived and the future is now.
2011 could have been remembered as a disappointment and a setback for the University of Louisville football program. The Cardinals were 2-4, the Big East was crumbling around them and touchdowns were more scarce than a honest bone in Calipari's body. Three straight wins have turned 2011 into a season of possibilities and defining moments. The birds are back and Charlie Strong has this program, university and this city believing again. Youth is being embraced and talent is taking flight. Go Cards!
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Our new found reliance on the pass (58+%) through 3 quarters in last two wins has been the difference`
Huge improvement allowing us to maximize our strengths and minimize our weaknesses.
by Carolina Cardinal on Nov 10, 2011 12:07 PM EST reply actions
O-line improvement has apparently been noticeable too
We no longer look like the matadors and swiss cheese we did in the early stages of this season. Thanks O-line for getting healthier/happier/coming together/WHATEVER it was that has y’all playing so much better now!
Still much work to be done in that regard, but keep imrpoving and we might be in a BCS bowl at the end of this season and NOBODY would have thought that possible at 2-4 with losses to FIU and Marshall.
GO! CARDS!
BEAT!
PURDUE!
Teddy
The more he plays, the more comfortable he gets. Teddy Future could actually be Teddy Now. Hopefully these boys keep their heads down and keep trucking. Pitt, UConn, and USF are the only teams standing in the way of a possible BCS Bowl, if things go right. It’s scary what this young team is already capable of. Let’s show these guys how much we appreciate them on Saturday.
ALL HAIL
by Cardinal_Pride on Nov 10, 2011 12:19 PM EST reply actions
Yeah, they might object by not losing - or maybe even losing one just to tease us...
GO! CARDS!
BEAT!
PURDUE!
WVU at home this week, at Rutgers next week, at Syracuse the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and then they close out their season at home versus UCONN.
I see 3 losable games for them, especially this week and next. I really hope they lose two and we win out.
by TheV!lle on Nov 10, 2011 1:16 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
WVU, Rutgers, Syracuse, UConn.
I know we need them to lose 2 of these last 4, which is why i said possible BCS Bowl, if things go right. I should have mentioned what thos things were.
ALL HAIL
by Cardinal_Pride on Nov 10, 2011 1:16 PM EST up reply actions
Another reason to hate Pitt
QB Tino Sunseri was committed to us his whole senior year until just before signing day when he dropped us.
But hey, maybe we shouldn’t hate him so much…we ended up with Matt Simms instead and he worked out real well for us Tennessee the sack and interception stats of SEC defenses
Watson is better but....
I do agree that Watson is much better than Sanford. The offense is much improved. But someone needs to tell him to quit calling 3 draw plays in a row and then forcing a punt because every 4 or 5 series he does that and we lose momentum. He did it against WVU after the fumble recovery. We should have had 7 points but we settled for 3. At least put Vic (lightning hiding in a #20 jersey) in, someone who can get up to speed immediately.
Go Cards! Smash PITT!
+1
All I heard after the game was how amazing our play calling was.
That drive right there made me realize how shitty it still can be.
Just because we won and put up the best points of the season doesn’t mean our problems in play calling are solved.
Got to love how many on here think they are a Bobby Petrino caliber Offensive Coordinators
If the OC calls a draw play and it goes for yeardage its a “good call”. If he calls a draw play and someone misses a blocking assignment, or the back does not hit the right hole, or the defense makes a good play its a “bad call”.
Along with quarterbacks, criticizing OCs is the easiest and most common thing you here ignorant fans do.
If you are all so smart go get an OC job and call only plays that work every time, and engineer drives that hit the end zone EVERYTIME.
Get a clue folks. You don’t know that the F you are talking about.
Over reaction much?
Having an opinion about something doesn’t make you ignorant. I didn’t call Watson an idiot or scream that he doesn’t know a football from a tennis ball. I simply said that I didn’t think his play calling was always the best. And I stand by that. The draw plays we have run this season, as an example, have failed the majority of the time. So if I can notice that as a fan from the stands or TV, then it should be very obvious to the people who make the decisions. I didn’t claim his job was easy, but that’s what he gets paid to do. Do I expect PERFECT play calling with TD’s everytime…absolutely not. But expecting adjustments to improve when something doesn’t work isn’t outlandish. And he has improved in some areas, you can see it in the offense. This was one area I think can be improved upon.
Great Post
This completely captures the general optimism i feel about this team, its future, and the players. They all care, they try, they play their balls off. I love seeing such positivity. The play calling could be better, but we still are a young team who may not always execute the plays the best either.
Love it. Go Cards. Pants off for the season
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