This is Dexter, and it doesn't matter whether his last name is Heyman or Morgan, because either way he looks like a killer. OK, he doesn't look like a killer. He looks like Lassie. Of course there was that episode where Lassie killed a kid. Pretty gruesome, too. Definitely not Nick at Night appropriate. All right, first line stands.
Spread check: Louisville by 1.5.
Even though the Cardinals are technically favored, folks in Jersey are worried about the 5-1 Scarlet Knights overlooking Louisville.
Can Rutgers not overlook this game?
To put it nicely, Louisville is a bad football team. Like Rutgers, the Cardinals rely on their defense, but the unit’s not as good as the Scarlet Knights. Also like Rutgers, they’re offense hasn’t been anything special. But Rutgers offensive struggles pale to comparison to Louisville’s. This game should be a win for Rutgers as long as they’re not looking ahead to their nationally televised match up with West Virginia the following Saturday. Times like this are when the whole "one game season" that head coach Greg Schiano preaches comes in handy.
Eric Crawford has a must-read blog post centered around spending and college basketball. According to his findings, Louisville has the 7th highest spending percentage dedicated to basketball of any athletic program in the country.
The whole thing is worth checking out.
CBS has released its rankings of the top 30 point guards in the country, and the hoops writers over there (Where's that prize, Goodman?) continue to shaft Peyton Siva. This time it's ranking Siva at No. 15 behind guys like Scoop Jardine, Maalik Wayns and Shabazz Napier.
15. Peyton Siva (Louisville) Siva put up 5.2 assists per game, but he's also an adept defender. He'll go for the swipe frequently (which should be no surprise, given his coach), and rounds out a list of Big East point guards on this list that should help make the league, again, the toughest in the country.
If only more Big East games were on TV, then we wouldn't have problems like this.
Teddy Bridgewater's going to be really good, and everybody knows it. Adam Lefkoe's back with a second teaser for his "The Rivarly" documentary. These things get me pretty excited for what's to come.
Pretty sure I've narrowed my Halloween costume down to three possibilities:
1) Fugitive trying to live a normal life in a small town even though he knows one day he'll kill again.
2) Guy whose sour facial expression indicates he's extremely unimpressed by your costume.
3) Cowboy.
ESPN will again be broadcasting each and every game of the Big East Tournament, but this year they'll be doing it...IN 3D. So if you've ever dreamed of seeing DePaul basketball in the third dimension, this is your (one) chance.
Louisville may be ranked 8th in the preseason coaches poll, but Vegas still has the Cards as their fourth choice to win the national championship. Always put more stock in the people whose livelihood depends on their work. There's a reason the lights are still on in Sin City.
Two years ago Mohamed Sanu tore up Louisville at PJCS to the tune of 148 yards and two scores on 18 carries. Now he's one of the nation's top receivers and still a huge key for the Cardinal defense.
Key matchup
Rutgers wideout Mohamed Sanu vs. Louisville’s secondary: The last time Mohamed Sanu played a game at Louisville, he rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns on 18 wildcat carries. Now, he’s exclusively playing wide receiver and the junior has proven to be one of the nation’s elite pass-catchers this fall. The 6-2, 215-pounder is tied for fourth nationally in receptions per game (9.2) and 32nd nationally in receiving yards per game (92.5), and three times in six games has posted double-digit catches, including a 10-reception, 100-yard performance in last week’s win over Navy. Sanu has a chance to make a strong impression on the national stage against a Louisville secondary that ranks third-worst in the Big East in pass-efficiency defense. Last season, Louisville limited Sanu to one touch for six yards after yielding 151 all-purpose yards on 21 touches the year before.
Defense and a pair of talented freshman quarterbacks will be the main attraction on ESPN2 tomorrow night.
6. Freshman QBs. Louisville and Rutgers will feature a battle between true freshman quarterbacks as the Cardinals are expected to start Teddy Bridgewater against Gary Nova. Both were highly touted coming into school, and both took over their teams after the season began. Both have shown flashes, but you can bet that the No. 1 goal of these aggressive defenses will be to rattle the young quarterback.
7. Dee-fense. Not much scoring is expected between Louisville and Rutgers, that is for sure. Rutgers ranks No. 1 in the Big East in scoring defense, giving up an average of 16 points a game. That is about what Louisville averages on offense. Meanwhile, the Cards rank No. 3 in the Big East in scoring defense, giving up an average of 17.7 points a game. No team has scored more than 25 points on them this season.
Clear Shear.
If you're looking to brush up on your Big East basketball but don't have a lot of time, the Star Ledger has a nice rundown of the league with a one paragraph summary of each squad.
16. DePaul (7-24, 1-17)
Head coach: Oliver Purnell (second season, 401-303)
What you need to know: Sophomore forward Cleveland Melvin, a preseason honorable mention, will be the lone bright spot in what should be another dark season for the Blue Demons.
We're in talks to land Rihanna to help out with the upcoming Card Chronicle single, "Cheers to the Freakin' DePaul Day." Fingers crossed.
Greg Schiano says the dismissal of Mike Sanford has made Louisville more difficult to prepare for.
Big realignment rumor this afternoon is that if Missouri goes to the SEC, West Virginia has leapfrogged Louisville as the Big 12's top choice to replace them. Maybe they really wanted that keg of nails.
And finally, the Louisville's women's basketball team has also been picked to finish third in the Big East. Monique Reid and Shoni Schimmel each earned preseason all-conference nods.