Friday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Bye Week Spread Check: Cards by 6.5.

—Ashton Gillotte has been named to the midseason watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which is presented to the outstanding defensive player in college football.

—Five-star class of 2024 hoops recruit Karter Knox says he’s down to four options: Louisville, Kentucky, South Florida and the G-Leagye. UK and the G-League are widely believed to be the front-runners.

—This investigative piece into the rift between the NCAA and the IARP confirms that Louisville wound up paying the biggest price for the FBI’s sham of an investigation.

During the Louisville hearing, the five panelists sat isolated at the front of the ballroom.

Also in the hearing, amidst the fake trees of the Sheraton Grand Hotel, one lawyer represented Pitino, a small legal team assembled for Louisville, and at least 20 NCAA employees, CCU investigators, and IARP staff members participated with another handful on Zoom.

The panel was outnumbered.

“It was a whole army, a platoon of these people,” said one source. “This was people [at the NCAA] wanting to control the outcome with maximum influence.”

The results of the hearings mattered deeply to the schools and the NCAA, but it didn’t get the people who were fired years earlier their jobs back. The initial NCAA allegations, many of which were ruled to be unproven and unfounded, completely altered the accused’s lives.

Arizona fired its head coach Sean Miller. Louisville fired Pitino. Both coaches were absolved of any wrongdoing by the panel years later. In a press conference, the lead panelist said there was “grossly underwhelming” information that Louisville knew Adidas was paying players.

“They screwed over Pitino.” one source said. “He had a dream job. The university had a dream coach, and it all got fucked up over nothing.”

Pitino’s lawyer, Steven F. Stapleton, sent a damning statement on the case exclusively to KUHearings:

“Coach Pitino remains appreciative of the time and effort put into his case by the independent panel members. It is troubling that the NCAA and the CCU pursued proceedings against him without any factual basis. It is also troubling that the NCAA terminated the IARP, which consisted of panels of truly independent decision-makers. We have documented every detail of his case over the past five years and have the option to address it at the appropriate time.”

After the Pitino hearing and its problems, Benz got news of his removal from the Arizona case. He resigned from the panel shortly after. A top sports mind the IARP powers didn’t want around.

—Pat Forde and Richard Johnson pick the best games of the college football weekend ahead.

—The CJ’s Brooks Holton writes that issues that plagued Louisville basketball last season resurfaced in Wednesday’s exhibition opener against Simmons.

—I love the designs, I think the idea of different position groups wearing different helmets is odd.

—The fifth-ranked Louisville volleyball team will face Wake Forest and Virginia Tech on the road this weekend.

—In its final weekend of home games, the 8th-ranked Louisville field hockey team will host No. 13 Syracuse and Appalachian State.

—The Kenny Payne Radio Show begins tonight with the first of 16 shows throughout the men’s basketball season.

All shows, hosted by “Voice of the Cards” Paul Rogers, will air from 7-8 p.m. on 93.9 FM The Ville and 970 AM WGTK (when there are not conflicts).

Ten of the shows will originate from the Roosters-Springhurst location at 3601 Springhurst Blvd., Louisville, KY, 40241. Six additional shows, including the first two, will air at private locations.

The complete schedule with locations is included below.

2023-24 Kenny Payne Radio Show Schedule

Friday, October 20th - Private

Thursday, November 2nd – Private

Wednesday, November 8th - Roosters @ 3601 Springhurst Blvd.

Monday, November 13th - Roosters @ 3601 Springhurst Blvd.

Monday, November 27th - Private

Wednesday, December 6th - Roosters @ 3601 Springhurst Blvd.

Monday, December 11th - Roosters @ 3601 Springhurst Blvd.

Tuesday, December 19th - Roosters @ 3601 Springhurst Blvd.

Monday, January 8th - Roosters @ 3601 Springhurst Blvd.

Monday, January 15th - Roosters @ 3601 Springhurst Blvd.

Monday, January 22nd - Private

Thursday, February 15th - Roosters @ 3601 Springhurst Blvd.

Monday, February 19th - Roosters @ 3601 Springhurst Blvd.

Monday, February 26th - Private

Monday, March 4th - Roosters @ 3601 Springhurst Blvd.

Final Show TBD - Private

—The CJ projects the matchups for the upcoming KHSAA football playoffs.

—Lou City will begin its playoff run on the road Saturday against Memphis 901 FC.

—Louisville women’s basketball senior forward Olivia Cochran has been named to the watch list for the 2024 Katrina McClain Award.

—Friday Irrelevance:

—As more time goes on, it’s obvious that Oklahoma State and Mike Boynton got totally screwed by the NCAA. Now Boynton is speaking up about it.

—The Michigan sign stealing story is wild.

—The Athletic ranks the 20 best freshmen for the upcoming college hoops season.

—The U of L women’s soccer team dropped a 3-0 road decision to No. 8 Clemson on Thursday night.

—I don’t know how to feel about this.

—Former Trinity and Bellarmine standout Brandon Pfaadt is the first MLB pitcher to allow no runs and no walks in consecutive postseason games.

—The CJ has 11 tales of area schools that might be haunted.

—The Louisville swimming team is sending three athletes and a coach to the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

—The kids are all right.

—Standing room only tickets to Saturday’s volleyball showdown between No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Wisconsin are going for $284.

—Eric Crawford writes that Louisville’s win over Simmons on Wednesday wasn’t perfect, but it certainly beats a loss.

—It appears Jim Boeheim will be doing studio work for ESPN this season.

—Matt McGavic of Louisville Report hands out some midseason grades.

Running Back: A

It’s hard to ask much more from Louisville’s running backs up to this point. Not only is Jawhar Jordan regarded as one of the nation’s best at 661 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, but both Isaac Guerendo and Maurice Turner have had impacts in their roles as well (366 yards and four touchdowns combined). Plus they’ve all been proven to be weapons in the passing game, too. The only thing keeping them from an A+ has been this unit’s collective pass blocking, which has been very hit-or-miss.

—The U of L football staff has extended several new scholarship offers.

—The latest episode of the From the Pink Seats podcast is out.

—The CJ looks at five key players for Louisville in its upcoming matchup against Duke.

—And finally, Matt McGavic will join me in studio for this afternoon’s Mike Rutherford Show, 3-6 on The Big X. You Can stream it here.