While playing NBA 2k12 "The Greatest" mode, I decided to check the mail and find that I recieved this weeks edition of Sports Illustrated featuring Tim Tebow(God's second son) as the cover model.

The magazine featured the 2011 bowl preview, not really giving a damn about the other bowls, i scroll down to the middle of the page that headed "BELK BOWL"

Side note: Am I the only one that gets excited when I see Louisville in a major magazine and seing what other people think about them? Yes, okay lets move on.

The section reads:

"The Cardinals, who struggled early and got hot during Big East play, nearly wound up in the Orange Bowl. They'll have to settle for playing what amounts to a road game against N.C. State, which closed the season by crushing Clemson, then rallying from 27 points down to beat Maryland. Wolfpack QB Mike Glennon had a 8-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio in those two games. Prediction: N.C. State 21, Louisville 19."

Not really sure how to feel about that one. I love how only ONE sentence was about Louisville and the other 3 were about N.C. State and descriptivelytelling us how they finished out the season. To slap us in the face they didn't even try to even it out with a Louisville player as the picture, it was N.C. State QB Mike Glennon.

Here is my take:

A 37-13 win over one of the nations hottest teams Clemson at the time was a really big statement. They only lost 1 non-conference game to Cincinnati and the other four of their losses were against ACC opponents.

Just like their opponent Louisville, the Wolfpack started slow with a record of 2-3 through the first five games. But the big red L on the Wolfpack schedule seemed scattered around and it looks like this team really never got a streak going.

The Wolfpack edged a 13 point victory over the North Carolina Tarheels mid-season, a Tarheels squad that the Cards couldn't beat.

Louisville was also 2-3 throughout the first five games of the season and looked to have lost grasp on a second straight bowl season after a 25-16 loss to rival Cincinnati and fell to a 2-4 record.

But after seeming like another bowl season for second year coach Charlie Strong was fading away, Freshman QB Teddy Bridgewater prevaled and hit the scene like a ton of bricks sending Louisville on a three game win streak wich included a 27-10 win over Syracuse, a team who thrashed ranked West Virginia at home and a 38-35 win over the #24 ranked Mountaineers themselves in Morgantown.

Who would of thunk? With a superior three game win streak like that, the Cardinals once again proved pre-season skeptics wrong and found themselves among top three teams in the Big East when predicted to be botton two pre season.

A 14 point win over UCONN solidified a second straight bowl season for the Cardinals and finished off the season defeating South Florida on the road to chinch a share at the Big East title.

With no help from UCONN or Syracuse in the final two games of the year Louisville finished third behind the National Media's precious baby West Virginia and Cincinnati, sending West Virginia to the BCS bowl.

Louisville comes into the game with the 14 best defense in the country and top defense in the Big East, and bring a poor, but improving offense led by Teddy Bridgewater.

The Wolfpack bring in a pretty bad defense as well coming into the game but a much more impressive offense that their opposition scoring 7 more points a game than the Cardinals. And Senior leadership by QB Mike Glennon and his 28 touchdown passes would be a plus as well facing off with this young Cardinal team.

This one can really be a good game, but with word that Louisville is favored to win the Big East next year and promises of a fantastic and overachieving underclassmen play this year, the only way is up for this Cardinal team led by Sophomore coach and Nation Coach of the Year candidate Charlie Strong I see them coming back home with a Bowl trophy.

My prediction:

Louisville 27

N.C. State 17

GO CARDS