Spread check: Louisville by 3.5.
Weather check: high of 55, low of 44, showers likely. Chance of rain is 50%. Because no one liked the weather we'd been having this entire week up until now.
Since Munchie Legaux brought it up, CBS takes a look at the question of whether or not he is, in fact, a better quarterback than Teddy Bridgewater.
Records: Bridgewater (7-0); Legaux (5-1)
Yards per game: Bridgewater (242); Legaux (239.2)
Yards per attempt: Bridgewater (9.01); Legaux (7.97)
Touchdowns: Legaux (15); Bridgewater (12)
Interceptions: Bridgewater (3); Legaux (5)
Completion percentage: Bridgewater (73.4); Legaux (53.3)
Rushing yards: Legaux (264); Bridgewater (82)
Rating: Bridgewater (165.2); Legaux (136.7)
I don't know how to count, but I see a lot of Bridgewaters in bold.
The Louisville players and coaches are very aware of Munchie's comments.
Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated has Cincinnati over Louisville as his upset special of the week.
*UPSET SPECIAL*
Friday, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2) Cincinnati (5-1) at No. 16 Louisville (7-0)
The Bearcats lost to Toledo in large part due to the Rockets' defensive and special teams touchdowns. While Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater continues to excel (73.4 completion percentage), the Cardinals' defense is a concern. It's allowing a 45.5 percent third-down conversion rate, ranked 103rd nationally. Cincy quarterback Munchie Legaux is ready to feast on that secondary.
How many times, Mandel? How many times you and me gonna do this?
One of the main targets the Louisville secondary has to be worried about tomorrow night is a refocused Alex Chisum.
The Defense Sign guy in the Crunch Zone gets a lot of love around these parts, but it's time to start showing his daughter - who has her own mini D and Fence signs - her proper level of respect.
Rage on, tiny champion.
Bill Connelly says Friday night's game marks the moment the rest of the country needs to start paying attention to the Big East. He also breaks down the contenders for the conference title, and isn't especially high on the Cards.
If you indeed think of this as a five-way title race, Louisville will have the most say in the battle, win or lose. The Cardinals have yet to actually face any of the other four teams involved here.
Louisville has actually pulled off an interesting feat so far in 2012: They have remained undefeated while looking as unimpressive as possible. Teddy Bridgewater has been as good as one could have hoped -- 73 percent completion rate, 11 touchdowns to three interceptions -- but the rest of the team has been average to above average at everything.
Despite beginning the season ranked 25th in the AP poll, seven wins have advanced UL just nine spots to 16th. That's what happens when you beat North Carolina, South Florida a disappointing FIU squad and an awful Southern Miss team by a combined 18 points. Yes, Louisville is undefeated, but with a rough stretch run and a trip to Rutgers on the horizon, it is difficult to give Charlie Strong and company TOO strong a chance to win the conference.
Andrea Adelson is talking Battle for the Keg of Nails (video).
UC fans have definitely been bringing it today.
@cardchronicle fuuuuuuuuuk wit us #NastyNatti
— dig bick (@babyn1ps04) October 25, 2012
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed by dig bick's lack of eloquence. I expected - and still expect - much more from dig bick.
So this late-breaking White Out news has left me in a sartorial dilemma of epic proportions. A few weeks ago I bought a white zip-up jacket from U of L. The thing dwarfs me. Adidas clothing tends to run big. I knew this, and I still made the mistake. No point in looking back.
Anyway, I've been meaning to send away for an exchange, but obviously there's no time for that now. I went to Dick's Sporting Goods stores that carry the jacket and neither had it in anything smaller than an extra large. The two Cardinal Authority stores also carry the jacket, but my guess is their inventory status is similar.
So here's the major dilemma: my only other white option is going white U of L polo over a long-sleeve shirt. The only problem there is this is the same polo I wore to the FIU game last season and vowed to neve bring around another Cards game for as long as I live. Obviously, I'd prefer to wear the red zip-up that got the job done last week, but I don't think I can go against a university-sponsored theme that I'm aware of. It's like Catholics and eating meat on Fridays during lent: if you have knowledge and full consent of the will, it's a sin.
And I don't even want to think about how Red Louisville Football shirt is going to feel about all this. All the dude has done is win and now he's being forced into collusion with unfamiliar partners? More than a little scary.
I'm not sleeping tonight.
Kevin Shively is in the proper holiday spirit.
White out + stadium full of CC bird masks = an idea we can all get behind
I'm not sleeping tonight.
Kyle Bolin, James Quick and Reggie Bonnafon will be among the area recruits attending Friday night's game against Cincinnati. Trinity's Daylyn Dawkins and Travis Wright, neither of whom have offers from U of L, will be there as well.
Shocker: Cincinnati is worried about Teddy Bridgewater. Also, I see that headline, Enquirer. You know I don't like it.
Adam Lefkoe's video on the Louisville basketball team's nicknames is must-watch stuff.
Lefkoe's making some pretty big-time plays right now. Keep your eyes open for more.
Despite being out for the game, UC defensive end Walter Stewart is still trying to inspire his squad.
There were some reports floating around Wednesday night that Louisville had added a new basketball player. According to Jody Demling, that is not the case.
A really terrific story from The Sporting News about how Louisville's "cliques" have dissolved and the team has coe together as a result.
No one said a word. So Strong called on popular senior cornerback Anthony Conner: "AC, what's the issue here?"
"Coach, it's not that we don't trust you," Conner said. "We don't trust our teammates. We don't get along. We don't ever do anything together. These guys have their own agendas."
Senior receiver Josh Bellamy backed up Conner's claim. Bridgewater then stood and-in his second speech to the team-got pretty loud:
"We're not getting any leadership from the seniors!"
Redshirt freshman Michaelee Harris and true freshman Eli Rogers, wideouts who'd been teammates of Bridgewater's at Northwestern High School, echoed that charge.
The tension in the room was serious-just as Strong had planned. "I wanted the tension to rise," he says. "In order for us to move forward as a football team, we had to come together as a football team. I wanted to show them: It's not going to be your way or your way; it's going to be only one way, the Cardinal way.
"Did I want that tension? I wanted the place to explode."
The story goes on to quote Teddy as saying: "I live the most boring life there is to live. It's all football and school. My nose is either in the playbook or a school book."
I really hope each of my 22 sons grows up to be just like young Theodore.
The Sporting News continues its preseason college basketball countdown with Louisville at No. 2.
If you're debating a late-night snack right now, just look at it as starting to tailgate. There's nothing wrong with tailgating for a huge game. Don't let anybody, especially yourself, tell you any differently.
We get it, ESPN.
#16 Louisville has not beaten the Bearcats at home since a 23-17 win in 2006. #CINCYvsUL Friday 8ET @espn/@espn3 #KegofNails
— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) October 25, 2012
Examiner calls tomorrow's game one of college football's most compelling this weekend, and takes Louisville to win it, 32-25.
Michael Paoloni, AKA Elle Raiser, tells his story and represents U of L on ESPNU's Campus Connection.
The men's soccer team got a last minute goal from Dylan Mares to top UC Irvine 2-1 in their home finale Wednesday night at Cardinal Park. You can check out the video highlights right here.
ESPN says the top two things to watch in the Big East this weekend have to do with Friday night's game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
1. Does Munchie put his money where his mouth is? Munchie Legaux took a step back in Cincinnati's loss at Toledo, but it hasn't hurt his confidence, as he said this week that he is better than Teddy Bridgewater. He gets the chance to quiet the critics and turn the Bearcats into a legitimate Big East title contender in Friday night's game at Louisville.
2. Louisville's defensive consistency. The Cardinals surrendered a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to USF, nearly blowing the game before Bridgewater saved them. They surrendered five touchdowns at Pitt one week earlier. Louisville is fourth in the Big East in both total and scoring defense, and it needs to do better against a Cincinnati team that likes to spread the field.
And finally, this is the biggest home game in six years. Get your sleep, spend the proper amount of time thinking about the game during work, leave work early, and then let's all get out to the stadium and bring the Keg home.
Beat Cincinnati.