Spread check: Florida State by 7.
We'll start today with six very worthwhile responses to the Sports Illustrated "dangerous culture" piece.
--From former SI employee Billy Reed
--From current U of L student Dallas Knierman
--From former U of L student Paige Sherrard
--From national football writer Chadd Scott
--From former U of L student Daryl Foust
Luke, your final thoughts....
@rosenberg_mike that is one of the worst articles I have ever seen. I cannot believe SI allowed u to publish that. https://t.co/c0Y0EF7D5x
— Luke Hancock (@lukeskywalka11) October 12, 2015
Word.
And if you missed it, Luke expressed a very similar sentiment yesterday on R&R.
In positive Sports Illustrated news, the great Haley O'Shaughnessy did a terrific job explaining the legend of the CCBM for SI Campus Rush.
@CardChronicle Reppin' the CCBM at Oktoberfest. pic.twitter.com/0BiDWjacRX
— Cliff (@cliffysmalls) October 7, 2015
Dalvin Cook, the top test for the Louisville defense this weekend, is the ACC Offensive Back of the Week.
If you're interested in winning a VIP tailgating experience package for the Syracuse game or a FRIGGIN' HOUSE FULL OF FREE WINDOWS, check out Window World of Louisville for information on how to enter a contest to win both. You haven't lived until you've seen Mark Ennis work his pregame magic with your own eyes.
Rick Bozich talks with Ralph Willard about both his medical leave of absence and the current situation with Louisville basketball.
"I've seen (Pitino) be in situations where there were people surrounding a top recruit or people who have asked for something," Willard said. "He's not only told them that we don't do that, he immediately nixed that kid off of our list."
...
"Once you give a kid an extra benefit, it's impossible to have them do the things that (Pitino) consistently asks them to do," Willard said. "The way he's successful is to recruit kids who are good kids and who understand they want to get better and reach their goals."
Willard's goal today is simple: Find the cause of what has created his heart to race as well as his sleep to suffer. The medical cause, not simply the emotional cause stirred by the recent headlines.
David Padgett will take Willard's spot as one of Pitino's three U of L assistant coaches on the court until Willard gets healthy.
Willard has already beaten prostate cancer. He suffered heart arrhythmia in 2011. A medical procedure called ablation fixed the heart issue - until about a month ago when Willard was told about the stories that are the framework of the book, "Breaking Cardinal Rules," Katina Powell's story about sex that she says her escort service provided to U of L recruits and players.
"That's one of the things that's really bothering me, whether (Pitino) knew or not," Willard said. "There's no way he knew about this. It's impossible.
"I'm not sleeping at all. I'm going to bed early. I wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning and I can't go back to sleep because my mind is just racing with these crazy thoughts ... I can't be waking up at 3:00 in the morning knowing that I have to be here at 6. That doesn't work.
"You can't focus. You can't do anything. I don't want this thing to progress ... It's like (your heart) is going to fly out of your chest. It beats 165, 170 times a minute."
Eric Crawford gives his first broad overview of Louisville-Florida State.
Louisville checks in at No. 6 in this week's ACC Digital Network power poll.
Steve Jones agrees with that ranking.
I enjoy this tweet from Lamar Jackson.
Flash&Dash⚡️ @RegSoSpiffy1 pic.twitter.com/T6YdYy3SdF
— Lamar Jackson (@Lj_era8) October 13, 2015
ESPN's David Hale looks at week 6 in the ACC by the numbers.
Arizona is the No. 16 team in SB Nation's top 25 countdown.
It was a big Friday from U of L commit Jawon Pass.
WATCH Louisville QB Commit Jawon Pass (@Puma_Blessed2) 292 Yds & 4 TDs Passing, 119 Yds & 2 TDs Rushing On Saturday pic.twitter.com/DiAQChRywP
— Louisville Fan Base (@UofLFanBASE) October 12, 2015
The Indianapolis Business Journal's PR firm says the of the bound edition of "Breaking Cardinal Rules" has been pushed back to next Monday. They also say that there will be no difference in the content between the bound book and the online edition. That's certainly not bad news for U of L.
Damion Lee is the lone Cardinal on the CBS list of the best 100 players in college basketball for 2015-16.
The Cards also don't make an appearance in the CBS preseason top 25 (and 1), and check in at No. 50 in the network's ranking of all 351 Division-I teams.
87% of Josh Appleby's punts are being fair caught or are inside the 20.
— Keith Wynne (@Keith_Wynne) October 12, 2015
The Louisville volleyball team is now 6-0 in ACC play and ranked 25th in the country. The Cards have an RPI of 17 this week and are ranked No. 1 in the Northeast Region.
More good volleyball news, as Cardinal freshman Aniah Philo has been named the ACC Freshman of the Week.
Andrea Adelson says that once again the perception of the ACC is working against its top teams.
A final score like Wake Forest 3, Boston College 0 is a problem. Why? Clemson and Florida State play both. The Seminoles struggled to pull away from both, and that is a way bigger reason why the Seminoles are sitting outside the top 10 than some conspiracy theory that says every single voter in America is out to get them.
A Week 7 game like Virginia Tech-Miami being relegated to the dustbin of "games that used to matter" is a problem. Why? Because the ACC needs both to be good again.
Even that nasty word Dabo Swinney went crazy over on Saturday is a problem. Why? Because it indicates the outside world expects Clemson to win every single game without a problem, a ridiculous standard a program with only a handful of 10-win seasons must uphold for farcical reasons.
Boston College and its No. 1 defense come to town next. If Clemson finds itself in a struggle, just wait on the antiquated notion it can't put away teams it should, with a blatant disregard for the actual opponent. Fact: The Eagles have given up 14 total points on offense in their three ACC games.
The overall play across the ACC has not been what many hoped it would be, but there is ... hope. There are no elite conferences this year. There are no elite teams. The ACC might be No. 5 among the Power 5, but the margin between the top and bottom is as close as it has been in years.
Though the ACC is battling perception problems (again), the league is in position to get a team into the playoff. If Clemson or Florida State wins out, the ACC should feel good about its chances to land a team in the CFP. It would be nearly impossible for the selection committee to overlook an unbeaten conference champion, even with a schedule that features only a few ranked opponents.
It would be nice if the rest of the league helped the flag bearers out just a little more. But it's not as if this is uncharted territory for both Florida State and Clemson. They've been carrying the ACC banner for years now. So in that respect, 2015 really is no different. Two playoff contenders won't do much to fix the league's reputation. It has to be a group effort.
The University of Louisville swimming and diving team overpowered Xavier in their season opener on Friday evening at Ralph Wright Natatorium. The men defeated the Musketeers 179-78 while the women won 173-83. Arthur Albiero for Heisman.
U of L has three players in the top 17 of D1Baseball.com's list of the top 50 MLB prospects in college baseball ... which is ridiculous.
I've never felt more like Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc....and I've felt like Mike Wazowski a lot.
Cool, @wave3news pic.twitter.com/rPbXeLaiIg
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) October 13, 2015
Despite the news of the last week and-a-half, De'Aaron Fox says Louisville is still in the running to land his services.
I actually made the remark yesterday that it was nice to see high-profile jobs open up and not see your head coach as a candidate for any of them .... I spoke too soon.
1. Bobby Petrino
You want the hire who'd freak the freak out of the rest of the SEC East?
A $10 million buyout is pocket change at this point for the right head coach.
He's only 54 and is well past the issues of four years ago that booted him out of Arkansas, and while he said he's finally at the right spot, he's destined for something bigger. Louisville is a nice gig, and the last thing he wants to do is generate more negativity considering his name is a punchline in the NFL after bailing on the Atlanta Falcons, but the ACC isn't the SEC, and South Carolina is a step up.
Steve Spurrier is a legend among college football coaching legends, and there's no denying what he brought to the game as an offensive mind, but let's be honest - his offenses didn't get the job done over the last few years. Petrino would ramp up the attack, and more than anything else, he'd step in and punch his weight with all the other top head coaches in the recruiting wars as well as on Saturdays.
Not happening.
T.J. Leaf has cut Louisville from his final list, which is comprised of three West Coast schools.
The Louisville men's soccer team is back in action tonight at Lynn Stadium against Connecticut. The game is set to begin at 7 p.m. Here's your preview.
The advanced stats from Florida State-Miami really drive home how important Dalvin Cook is to the Seminoles.
Some more positive news related to U of L athletics.
Louisville student-athletes have UofL on top of NCAA Team Works competition for community service. #giveback #L1C4 pic.twitter.com/ckAHRI81Jp
— Kellie Young (@KYlacrosse) October 9, 2015
The Louisville women's soccer team battled Duke to a scoreless draw on Sunday.
And finally, we will have video and reaction from this afternoon's U of L Basketball Tip-Off Luncheon on the site shortly. We'll also have Rick Pitino audio on Ramsey & Rutherford this afternoon from 3-6 on 93.9 The Ville.