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Wednesday Afternoon Cardinal News and Notes

Congratulations to Harrison White, who impressively managed to convince Sara to still marry him even after this happened during their photo session.

By Mike Rutherford

I_medium I think someone needs to make a "Bolifonderson" jersey for the Auburn game. If you do it and I see it, I can guarantee that I'm buying you a beverage and a min-pizza at the Georgia Dome.

I_medium Your lack of faith has been duly noted.

I_medium Garrick McGee was very complimentary of all four quarterbacks Tuesday night, but still wasn't tipping his hand as to which one will take the opening snap in 11 days.

I_medium Former U of L hoops walk-on Trent Gilbert is headed to Georgetown College.

I_medium Auburn has wrapped up its camp and now, like Louisville, is fully devoted to focusing on its week one opponent.

Auburn's practice on Wednesday was the first time the Tigers honed in on week one opponent Louisville.

"We really started to get into game plan specifics," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said.

Those specifics include facing off against Cardinals defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins, and preparing for multiple possible starters at quarterback with distinct playing styles.

Rankins, a 6-foot-2, 303-pound defensive end, is the anchor of Louisville's 3-4 defense. The NFL prospect had eight sacks last season, with 13.5 tackles for loss.

"He's really good," Malzahn. "There's no doubt about that."

But Malzahn sees plenty to worry about beyond Rankins. The Cardinals have experience at linebacker with James Burgess leading the way. The senior has 30 starts under his belt, and is on the Dick Butkus award watch list.

Louisville also brings back its second leading tackler from last season in linebacker Keith Kelsey, and nose tackle DeAngelo Brown.

"They were one of the best teams in the country in stopping the run last year," Malzahn said. "Turnovers and sacks. They're a really good defense. I feel very good about our guys and I feel very good about our guys up front but it takes a while to start gelling and the way that you gel is through games. It's a good challenge."

I_medium Congratulations to Richard Pitino, who has received a contract extension that will (theoretically) keep him at Minnesota through the 2020-21 season.

I_medium Louisville commit V.J. King is up to No. 21 in the latest Scout 100.

I_medium Jamari Staples is fully on board with not announcing a quarterback until game day.

Petrino said Friday he was "not close to a decision at all", then joked Saturday - the two-week point before the first game - that he liked a reporter's suggestion that there's no reason for U of L not to just keep Auburn guessing until game day.

It sounds like a sound strategy to Staples.

"I agree with (Petrino)," said Staples, a UAB transfer. "I like it. They're expecting one person to be the quarterback, but you know, it may be somebody completely different. So I like the idea of that."

Staples said all the quarterbacks are practicing well.

"Everybody is getting better every day, so it's still a battle up until Sept. 5," he said.

I_medium The Associated Press chimes in with its preseason preview of Louisville.

I_medium Most important news of the day.

I_medium Class of 2017 left-handed pitcher Reid Detmers has committed to Louisville over Vanderbilt and virtually every other major college baseball program in the country.

I_medium Don't blow this once in a lifetime opportunity.

I_medium U of L's student newspaper is back in business and takes a look at everything that happened in the sports world over the summer.

I_medium I'd say she's a keeper.

I_medium If you like what 93.9 The Ville is doing with its Louisville-centric programming, give the station a nod in LEO Weekly's Reader's Choice voting. Also vote Terry Rozier for Best Chef.

I_medium Rick Pitino's Puerto Rican National Team moved to 2-0 in the Marchand Cup with an impressive win over rival Dominican Republic on Tuesday, but Edgar Sosa and Francisco Garcia were still winners because they got to have dinner with Rick Pitino.

That picture makes me very happy.

I_medium Scout shines its spotlight on U of L running back commit Malik Staples.

I_medium Big ups (BIG UPS) to Louisville City on their first win over an MLS opponent last night, when they took down Orlando 3-1 in front of a record crowd at Slugger Field.

I_medium ESPN's ACC blog has Louisville at No. 9 in its power poll according to quarterbacks.

9. Louisville Cardinals

Reggie Bonnafon hasn't locked up the starting job, but there's still so much optimism about Bonnafon's future at Louisville that it's hard to imagine him not contributing in a big way this year. Even if he doesn't, Louisville proved it has plenty of depth with Will Gardner and Kyle Bolin both having starting experience, too.

I_medium SB Nation's official preseason bowl predictions have Louisville going to the Belk Bow--nooooooo forget I said anything.

I_medium Are we going to see black unis unveiled tomorrow? It's kind of looking like it.

I_medium AL.com takes a crack at what they think the Auburn depth chart looks like right now.

I_medium Louisville will play in two of the top 10 ACC games for 2015, and they're the two that you could probably predict.

5. Clemson at Louisville, Sept. 17

Everyone is focused on the game the Tigers have against Florida State in November, but this one cannot be overlooked, especially because it is on a Thursday night in a tough venue. Not only that, Clemson won't exactly be tested in its first two games (Wofford, Appalachian State), while Louisville will (Auburn, Houston). This one could end up having implications in the Atlantic just three weeks into the season.

6. Louisville at Florida State, Oct. 17

The Cards came oh-so-close to upsetting Florida State a year ago, blowing a 21-0 second-quarter lead at home before losing. But if there is a year in which there appears to be an opening to win the Atlantic, this is it. For Louisville to be the team to do that, it will have to pull off the upset. This game comes amid three tough contests for Florida State, but Louisville enters off a bye.

I_medium And finally, it's been kind of a sh*t day to think about anything serious, so I feel especially fortunate to be talking about sports on the radio for three hours. You can listen live here, or, as always, the podcast of the show will be up on the site later.

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