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Wednesday Morning Cardinal News And Notes

Donovan Sims took the 2014 CC Summer Road Trip to Austin, where he did what needed to be done.

By Mike Rutherford

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I_medium The importance of winning its season-opener in Louisville on Sept. 1 is one of the biggest preseason storylines for the Miami Hurricanes.

I_medium College Football News' Louisville preview is out, and also highlights the importance of the Labor Day evening season-opener.

The season will be a success if ... the Cardinals win eight games. Starting a season with a new coach and a new quarterback is never easy. But Louisville is better than most people think. There's a lot of quality players still left on campus, and it's not as if Petrino is a stranger to starting from scratch. This program could be a pleasant surprise in its ACC debut, as long as the quarterback situation isn't a year-long problem. A visit from Florida State and road games at Clemson and at Notre Dame will keep the Cards from climbing much higher. 

Key game: Sept. 1 vs. Miami. Just how far has Louisville slipped from last year's 12-1 campaign? The opener will provide some poignant answers. The Cards whacked the Canes, 36-9, in last year's Russell Athletic Bowl, a game played in the state of Florida. In this meeting, Louisville gets to host at Papa John's, with a chance to go back-to-back against one of the ACC's name brand programs. There'll be storylines galore on Labor Day, from Petrino's return to the starting debuts of both schools' quarterbacks.

I_medium Three-star tight end Chris Cunningham from Jacksonville has announced that he'll pick between Louisville, Virginia Tech and Central Florida on Friday.

I_medium Seeing this picture and thinking about the Cards running onto that field in four months gives me all the happy feels.

I_medium Florida State is really good at football and really bad at rapping.

I_medium NFL.com says Louisville has the best running back tandem in the ACC.

ACC

Louisville: Dominique Brown and Michael Dyer.
Brown (6-foot-2, 233 pounds), a senior, is a physical, downhill runner who led the Cardinals with 825 rushing yards last season. He also is an effective receiver who could thrive in that role in new coach Bobby Petrino's offense. Dyer (5-9, 213), another senior, might be the most talented running back in the entire ACC. He began his career at Auburn and was a key component on Auburn's 2010 national title team. But he has had off-field issues, and his character and maturity have been questioned. At his best, he has great explosiveness and power. The question: Is he going to be fully invested this season? If so, he has a chance to be the starter and to rush for 1,000 yards. In that scenario, he also would re-invigorate his pro hopes.
Last time an ACC running back duo was selected in the same draft: Well, technically, it's Clemson (first-rounder Terrence Flagler to San Francisco and second-rounder Kenny Flowers to Atlanta), in 1987. But current ACC member Pittsburgh had two backs taken in the 2009 draft (second-rounder LeSean McCoy and seventh-rounder LaRod Stephens-Howling), when Pitt was in the Big East.

I_medium Watching this video of DMX riding a slingshot ride at an amusement park is the best use of your time this Wednesday morning.

I_medium This is cool and all, but they could have easily saved some money and got DJ Matz to handle this free of charge.

I_medium Louisville's 31-24 win at Kentucky in 2005 is the latest Petrino classic(?) to make its way onto YouTube in full. The game will always be remembered for the Cards' lackluster second half performance and my equally lackluster, alcohol-fueled decision to sit in the UK student section wearing a "Got Pitino?" shirt.

College.

I_medium Bobby Petrino is not overly fond of private quarterback coaches.

Arizona's Rich Rodriguez said he wouldn't prohibit it but prefers his quarterbacks working with the coaches on campus until they graduate. Louisville's Bobby Petrino acknowledged that specialists can be helpful for kids or high school students but said he would not give his blessing to a quarterback in his program who wanted to work with a guru.

"We have our own philosophy on how we want them to do things, and we're going to work on our own techniques and fundamentals," Petrino said. "The guys that play for us, we feel like we're going to do the coaching with them. (Offensive coordinator) Garrick McGee and myself have been at it for a long time with quarterbacks, so we like to have our own touch on them."

I_medium Three-star OL Evan Mallory picked Cincinnati over Louisville on Tuesday afternoon.

I_medium U of L golfer J.D. Lehman has qualified for the 2014 United States Amateur Championship, which will take place Aug. 11-17 at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga.

I_medium DON'T STEP TO US, NORTH DAKOTA. DON'T YOU EVER STEP TO US.

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I don't know why we keep doing this, but I really enjoy it.

I_medium The FIU website says that the Panthers' Sept. 20 home game against Louisville will be televised by either Fox Sports Net or Fox Sports 1. So, yes, the dream of an Anastasia Saunders return special appears to be officially buried.

I_medium This kid is unreal.

Good Lord.

I_medium Your weekly update on how the Louisville baseball players are faring this summer.

I_medium Adam Zagoria has more on Donovan Mitchell and his tentatively scheduled visit to Louisville.

The Louisville visit is still being sorted out but is tentatively set for Aug. 7-8.

The Cardinals have made Mitchell a top priority in 2015.

"They just told me that I have the opportunity to play and play a lot, which would be perfect for me, just being able to come into a high level and showcase my talent," he said. "And the way I carry myself, they really appreciate."

Louisville coach Rick Pitino has coached his share of New York-area guards and Mitchell is originally from Elmsford, N.Y.

"It's kind of surreal growing up, you hear about him a bunch and know to have an opportunity to play for him is kind of crazy," he said.

I_medium ESPN's Matt Fortuna says DeVante Parker enters his senior season looking to make a name for himself as one of the ACC's elite.

I_medium Mustard gon' Mustard.

I_medium Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek has spent his summer watching tapes of Louisville and other teams known for creating havoc on defense.

I_medium Remember a couple of weeks ago when Kentucky fans misfired on an attempt to make fun of Louisville by not realizing that "Never Graduate" is an ESPNU slogan and not a U of L one? Well, yeah...

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"Never Leave the County You Were Born In."

I_medium The Syracuse Post-Standard is the first media outlet I've seen this offseason to rank Louisville in its preseason top 25.

23. LOUISVILLE

There are so many prisms through which to view this Louisville season, and all of them seem a bit trite.

The Cardinals have the new conference angle (again), entering the ACC just a decade after wrapping up their time in Conference USA. They're poised to do quite well in their new nest, though a repeat of last year's 12-1 record is probably asking too much.

There's the well-worn Bobby Petrino storyline, which could very well work out in all the ways good and bad that Petrino's last stop in Louisville did. For now, it means the Cardinals aren't going to lose to many (if any) teams they are more talented than. Petrino's programs rarely do.

There's the who-will-replace-Teddy-Bridgewater subplot, and that answer is sophomore Will Gardner. He has enough toys to toss or hand off to and a sharp offensive coach in Petrino to be in good shape to succeed.

So what narrative isn't being looked at enough? The defense, which was brilliantly constructed under former coach Charlie Strong but loses a bunch of talent and shifts to a 3-4. It can regress and the Cardinals will still be fine. But if it somehow stays in the top 20 nationally, Louisville's ceiling will go up as well.

Louisville in haiku:

Bored at times last year
Should not be an issue now
Big challenge awaits

Good on ya, SPS.

I_medium Jeff Walz is America.

I_medium In addition to be being discussed as a potential NBA expansion city for the 95th summer in a row, Louisville is also now being mentioned as a possible home for a D-League team.

I_medium A group of preseason All-ACC selections with zero Cardinals on the first team.

John Wallace is going to viciously head smack every person who has done this before the end of the season.

I_medium And finally, DePaul.

Depaul_medium

I would end every single news and notes with one of these if I had enough submissions.

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