Empire State Building To Be Lit Red In Honor Of Rutgers Tonight

The 2006 season was a special one for both the Louisville and Rutgers football programs.

The Cardinals started 8-0 and rose to as high as No. 3 in the BCS standings before eventually winning a share of the Big East title and defeating Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl. They have not been back to the BCS since

U of L's national title hopes that year were smashed by Rutgers, which defeated the Cards on a last second field goal in what is still considered the biggest win in the history of Scarlet Knight football. One of the most iconic images of that Thursday night upset was the Empire State Building being lit red in honor of the RU football team.

The folks in the Big Apple haven't paid tribute to Rutgers football since...until tonight.

The world-famous Empire State Building (ESB) will be lit red Thursday night in support of Rutgers' BIG EAST Championship football game vs. Louisville at High Point Solutions Stadium. It marks the second time the Empire State Building has been lit red for Rutgers Football. The other occasion was Rutgers' 28-25 victory over Louisville in 2006 in a matchup of undefeated teams.

Everywhere we've looked this week - websites, newspapers, SportsCenter - there have been references to that 2006 game. And now there's this.

As if winning the Big East title and a spot in the BCS weren't motivation enough, there's an opportunity to exorcise an awful lot of demons tonight.