Did Louisville Save Their Season?
September 18th, 2008 at 9:00 amBy Chris
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After running over the Kansas State Wildcats last night, did the Louisville Cardinals save their season, one that started so poorly against another team of Wildcats? While it’s a little too early in the schedule to make that declaration, it’s safe to say after scoring only two points against Kentucky, Louisville’s offense has certainly woken up.
In their last two games, the Cardinals have scored 89 points, 51 against Tennessee Tech and 38 last night against Ron Prince’s team. The game was being advertised as a showcase for K-State quarterback Josh Freeman. While Freeman played fairly well, he and the rest of his team was outdone by Louisville’s freshman running back, Victor Anderson.
Anderson rushed for three touchdowns and 176 yards on a number of nifty scampers that completely baffled the K-State players and their coaches.
For Louisville, the game gives them the confidence they need to attack a Big East conference that, save for South Florida, looks entirely up for grabs. If the Cardinals continue to score at this clip — something no one thought would be possible after watching them get eaten up by Kentucky’s defense — they should be able to challenge for any of the top three positions in the conference.
As for K-State, their offense looks like it can score on any of their Big 12 opponents (as long as Freeman is protected and/or healthy), but their defense, especially their run defense, looks like it will give them trouble when they face teams like Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. If the Cardinals are going to gash you up and down the field with a freshman running back, what are the big boys of the Big 12 going to do? Fortunately for both Louisville and K-State, there’s still time to improve.
Another thing Louisville’s win did last night, from a selfish perspective, was legitimize Kentucky’s win that much more. Before the game was played, just about every prognosticator in the business picked the Cardinals to win and when UK shut them down, these same voices said Louisville lost a lot more than they first thought, essentially downplaying UK’s domination. But after U of L’s performance last night — and the Tennessee Tech game — it looks like Kentucky’s defense is a little more stout than what was first thought, but I am certainly digressing.
Louisville deserves a ton of credit for righting their offensive ship after struggling to get out of the gate. An explosive Cardinals offense makes the Big East a little more interesting, especially when it was beginning to look like West Virgina, South Florida and perhaps Cincinnati were the only two legitimate teams in the conference. It looks like Steve Kragthorpe and his team still have something to say about that.
Stumble it!
