nov. 25, 2010 issue

VOLUME XV • NUMBER 15NOVEMBER 25, 2010

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LOUISVILLE SPORTSREPORT NOVEMBER 25, 2010

NOVEMBER 25, 2010 LOUISVILLE SPORTSREPORT PAGE 3

E D I T O R I A L S T A F F

GENERAL MANAGER - Jack Coffee

SENIOR WRITER AND EDITOR - Russ Brown

OPERATIONS MANAGER - Howie Lindsey

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES - Mickey Clark, Betty Olsen and Blanche Kitchen

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS - Dave Klotz, Shelley Feller, Gail Kamenish,

Howie Lindsey and Chuck Feist

CONTRIBUTING COLUMNISTS Matt Willinger, Jeff Wafford,

Jason Puckett and Rick Cushing

DESIGNER - Scott Stortz

COPY EDITOR - Rick Cushing

The Louisville SportsReport is printed in Kentucky and based in Louisville. It is published weekly in January, February and March, monthly in April, May, June and July and weekly mid-August through late December by Louisville Sports News, L.L.C., in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville Sports News, L.L.C.: Owner and General Manager - Jack Coffee. The SportsReport was founded in 1996. United States Postal Number: 015255

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VOLUME XV, NUMBER 15NOVEMBER 25, 2010

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7 BOWL HOPES ON HOLDSitting on fi ve wins for two weeks, Louisville had its bowl eligibility put on hold by West Virginia’s stingy and quirky

3-3-5 defense. The Cardinals mustered only one fi eld goal on offense and fell 17-10 in Saturday’s fi nal home

game of the season.

Senior captain Preston Knowles counseled freshman guard Elisha Justice during Saturday’s win over Jackson State. Knowles, from Winchester, and Justice, from Dorton, are both from Eastern Kentucky. - photo by Dave Klotz

W H A T ’ S I N S I D E

4 VOLLEYCARDS WIN THIRD STRAIGHT BIG EAST TOURNEY TITLE By Howie Lindsey5 CLOCK TICKING TOWARD MIDNIGHT FOR CARDS’ BOWL HOPES By Russ Brown6 GAME STATS - WVU; LOUISVILLE DEPTH CHART7 WEST VIRGINIA’S DEFENSE BLOCKS CARDS’ BOWL BID By Russ Brown8 NEWS, NOTES AND NONSENSE By Jack Coffee9 TOUGH, PHYSICAL OHIO STATE UP NEXT FOR NO. 1 CARDINALS By Howie Lindsey10 THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY By Howie Lindsey11 JUSTICE GIVES CARDS A ‘BULLET’ IN THEIR ARSENAL By Russ Brown12 KURIC TURNS UP HIS ENERGY, HELPS CARDS ROUT MOCS By Russ Brown15 CARDINAL FOOTBALL PHOTOS17 RECRUITING: PITINO HOSTS TOP-25 JUNIOR By Jeff Wafford

17 RECRUITING: FOOTBALL HOSTS LARGE GROUP OF RECRUITS By Jeff Wafford18 LOUISVILLE AND RUTGERS ROSTERS 19 GAMEDAY PREVIEW - RUTGERS By Rick Cushing20 CARDINAL STARS OF THE WEEK By Howie Lindsey20 CARDS WHIP THREE FOES IN A WEEK AFTER UT BATTLE By Howie Lindsey21 RECORD CROWD HELPS LIFT SOCCER TO SWEET 16 By Howie Lindsey23 CARDS COME BACK TO EARTH DURING 62-45 WIN OVER

JACKSON STATE By Howie Lindsey24,25 BIG EAST NOTEBOOK: SURVIVOR OF ‘BACKYARD BRAWL’ MAY

BE LEAGUE CHAMP By Russ Brown26 MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULES28 CARDINAL FOOTBALL SENIOR DAY PHOTO GALLERY By Howie Lindsey

FEATURES AND CONTENT:

20 CARDS WIN THREE STRAIGHTPrior to Tuesday night’s game at No. 5 Xavier,

Louisville won three straight games, all by big margins. The young Cardinals appear to be gaining confidence with every game as coach Jeff Walz has

emptied his bench during each blowout victory.

23 BACK DOWN TO EARTHSophomore shooter Mike Marra and the Cardinals

came back down to Earth during Saturday’s 62-45 win over Jackson State. “They came out and played

hard and we didn’t. That’s really all there was to it,” Marra said after the game.

By Howie LindseyThe University of Louisville didn’t just win

the 2010 Big East Volleyball Tournament in Pittsburgh, Pa., it dominated. The second-seeded Cardinals won 9 of 11 sets in their march to the title, including a 3-0 victory against top-seeded Cincinnati in the cham-pionship match last Sunday.

“We stayed in our game plan almost per-fectly, with no mental break,” coach Leonid Yelin said. “I am very proud of this young team, I could not ask any more from them. It was just a great match.”

Louisville (21-7) rolled 25-20, 25-20, 25-15 against Cincinnati for the fi rst sweep in a Big East Tournament title match since 2007. Cincinnati (28-5) had won 11 straight matches going into the fi nal. In fact, the last team to beat the Bearcats was Louisville on Oct. 16. And before that loss to Louisville, UC had won its previous 10 matches.

“It was a really big win for us,” UofL freshman outside hitter Emily Juhl said. “We beat them in the regular season, but we knew they are a very good team. They were the No. 1 seed and we were the No. 2 seed, so we were the underdogs. We came out and fought like crazy.”

Juhl, in particular, was fantastic. She had

13 kills in the title match and averaged 2.82 kills per set during Louisville’s three match-es in the tournament. She was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Lola Arslanbekova and Gwen Rucker.

The title capped a remarkable late-season run for the youthful Cardinals. They started the season 6-5 before winning 15 of their last 17. The title earned the Cardinals a bid to the NCAA Tournament, with the brack-ets to be released early next week.

“We just have to come back and prac-tice and work hard,” Juhl said of her team’s chances in the NCAA Tournament. “We have to shift our focus on to the next goal and start working to achieve it.”

LOUISVILLE’S RUNThe Cardinals beat No. 7 seed Seton Hall

3-1 in the fi rst round of the tournament on Friday. UofL was led by Arslanbekova’s 25 kills. She hit .315 in the match.

In the semifi nal match against No. 3 seed Marquette on Saturday, Louisville got 15 kills from Arslanbekova and 10 from Juhl to post a 3-1 victory.

PAGE 4 LOUISVILLE SPORTSREPORT NOVEMBER 25, 2010

RECRUITING NOTEBOOK10 AMAZING AND MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF THE 2009-2010 SEASONLOUISVILLE VOLLEYBALL

LOUISVILLE WINS THIRD STRAIGHT BIG EAST TOURNAMENT TITLELouisville volleyball beat Cincinnati in the BIg East championship game Sunday in Pittsburgh. - photo by Shelley Feller

The Cardinals earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA

Tournament for the third straight season. - photo by Dave Klotz

By Russ BrownAfter three months and 11 games, it all

boils down to a one-game season for the University of Louisville’s football team. The future is now.

Or, as Larry the Cable Guy says, it’s time to “Git ‘er done.”

That’s the challenge the Cardinals (5-6, 2-4) will face when they travel to Rutgers (4-6, 1-4) for their regular-season fi nale at 11 a.m. Friday in Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, N.J.

A victory would make the Cards bowl eligible and would have them on their way to their fi rst postseason trip in four years. A loss could sen-tence them to their third straight last-place fi nish in the Big East.

“It’s a one-game play-off,” UofL defensive end

Rodney Gnat said following UofL’s 17-10 loss to West Virginia last Saturday. “It’s do-or-die. If guys really want to go to a bowl like they say they do, they’ll come out this week and work instead of having their heads down and we’ll just get it done.”

Said offensive lineman Josh Byrom: “We’ve got one game left, and if we want to get where we want to go, we’ve got to get it. We’re a good football team, and the seniors are going to rally this team together and we’re going to go out there and get that ‘W’.”

UofL is coming off back-to-back losses to South Florida and WVU and has dropped three of its last four games, but even though there’s no tomorrow coach Charlie Strong said he doesn’t want his players to feel pres-sure.

“At least we get it to one game,” he said. “We’ve been talking about two games, three games, now it’s to one game. We have to go win this football game if we want to reach our goal of getting to a bowl game. Our players have to play well, (but) I don’t want them to feel there’s any pressure on them.

“As a coaching staff what we have to do is prepare our guys, and if we prepare them the right way they will feel no pressure be-cause preparation allows you to overcome all pressure. I tell them, just relax and go play the way you’ve been playing, and if you play your best we’ll see what happens at the end of the game.”

Quarterback Justin Burke, who is expect-ed to start for the fourth straight game in place of the injured Adam Froman, said this week’s game really isn’t any different than the previous 11 despite the high stakes.

“Obviously, the pressure would be a little easier if we already knew we’re going to a bowl,” Burke said. “But every week in the Big East there’s pressure to win the game, no matter what’s on the line. So the pressure’s there all the time. No matter what, you want to win -- that’s the competitive drive all these guys have.”

Strong said a bowl appearance would be a major step toward getting the program headed back in the right direction and noted

that the extra practice sessions it would af-ford would be valuable for the team’s young players, especially because the Cards lose 25 seniors for 2011.

In a brief evaluation of the season, Strong said he believes the program has made prog-ress.

“This program is taking steps, and that’s what you wanted to see happen this sea-son,” he said. “A bowl game would be very big for us, but you just wanted to see us go out and compete. I said all along I didn’t know how many games we’re going to win, when we’re going to get it turned. You hope more sooner than later, but you see us taking steps and you see it happening within this program. You give people hope, and that’s what we’ve done, we’ve put some hope back in this program.”

At the moment, hope might be in short supply at Rutgers, which has suffered through the most disappointing season of any Big East team and hit rock bottom with a humiliating 69-38 drubbing last Saturday at Cincinnati. The Scarlet Knights have lost four in a row and must win their two remaining games to keep their streak of fi ve straight bowl trips alive.

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano insists his team didn’t quit on him against the Bearcats and said he’s confi dent the Knights will bounce back against UofL.

“It’s one of 12 games,” Schiano said. “I’m not going to make any one game be the season. They all count the same. Every-body goes through tough stretches, but not everybody fi ghts through them and comes out the other end better.

“We will come out the other end better. It’s not easy (dealing with such a big loss),

that’s for sure. It’s tough. We just have to keep fi ghting and we’ll come through this thing.”

Offensively against Cincinnati Rutgers had its best game of the season, with true freshman Chas Dodd completing 19 of 29 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns and sophomore wide receiver Mark Harri-son catching 10 passes for 240 yards and a school-record-tying four TDs.

But Cincinnati receivers ran free all eve-ning as Zach Collaros threw for 366 yards and four TDs, while Isaiah Pead rushed for 213 yards and four touchdowns and also caught a 34-yard TD pass. In all, the Bearcats rolled up 661 yards.

Rutgers’ defense would appear to be just the right cure for a sickly UofL offense that has struggled in Big East play. The Cards have failed to score an offensive touchdown in two of their last four games and have managed just two fourth-quarter TDs in six conference outings.

But if Burke, his receivers and running backs Bilal Powell and Jeremy Wright are licking their chops at the prospect of getting a shot at the Knights’ generous defense, they’re doing so in private. Publicly, they’re not saying they expect a big day.

“Cincinnati obviously is a high-powered offense, and we don’t really compare our-selves with any other team,” Burke said. “We kind of do what we want to do. Look-ing at that, it shows where they have some weaknesses, but they did some good things in that game, too. We take a lot from each fi lm of the last 5-6 games they’ve played, not just one. But it’s nice to see.”

It also will be nice for Louisville’s offense to see a more traditional defense than West

Virginia’s 3-3-5 alignment that held theCards to 26 yards rushing and 171 total.Burke called WVU’s defense “quirky, moreof a curveball.”

Rutgers uses various blitzes on almost every play, but Burke said practicing againstUofL’s defense every day should be helpfulin contending with the Knights because theytake a somewhat similar approach.

“We go against our defense and they blitz a lot, too, so it’s not like we’re not ac-customed to seeing a lot of different typesof blitzes come from different areas -- thesecondary, linebackers or defensive ends,”Burke said. “We’ve seen it before, so it’s justa matter of seeing what they scheme up andus adjusting to it. It’s a matter of us gettingthe job done.”

UofL didn’t come close to getting the job done on its last trip to Rutgers in 2008. TheCards trailed 49-0 en route to a 63-14 shel-lacking. Many of the players on that Lou-isville team are still around and would likenothing better than a daily-double payoff-- bowl eligibility and payback.

Said Byrom: “It was cold and rainy and they gave us a pretty good whuppin’. Wecouldn’t get anything going. I’m sure thatwill give us even more motivation.”

Normally, Strong gives the Cards some-thing at the beginning of each week to serveas motivation, but this time his players beathim to the punch. Not that they needed any-thing but the bowl carrot this time.

“I didn’t have to bring it up, our guys told me about that yesterday,” Strong said of the‘08 rout. “...But I tell them it’s not about thepast anymore, it’s not about the future, it isnow. We have to be able to live in the pres-ent and get things done right now.”


RECRUITING NOTEBOOK10 AMAZING AND MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF THE 2009-2010 SEASONCARDINAL FOOTBALL

RUSS BROWNRUSS BROWN

Right tackle Greg Tomczyk pointed to a West Virginia linebacker in order to alert the Cards to the Mountaineers’ defensive alignment

on this play. Unfortunately for the Cards, they were unable to solve WVU’s “quirky” defensive schemes. - photo by Dave Klotz

U O F L F A C E S R E E L I N G R U T G E R S I N ‘ O N E - G A M E P L A Y O F F ’

CLOCK TICKING TOWARD MIDNIGHT FOR CARDS’ BOWL HOPES


OFFENSEQUARTERBACK9 ADAM FROMAN (INJ.) 6-4 218 SR.13 JUSTIN BURKE 6-3 226 SR.RUNNING BACK15 BILAL POWELL 6-0 204 SR.20 VICTOR ANDERSON 5-10 186 JR.28 JEREMY WRIGHT 5-11 193 R-FR.X-WIDE RECEIVER1 JOSH BELLAMY 6-0 205 JR.11 JOSH CHICHESTER 6-9 240 JR.H-WIDE RECEIVER27 DOUG BEAUMONT 5-9 186 SR.89 SCOTT RADCLIFF 5-9 180 SO.Z-WIDE RECEIVER14 ANDRELL SMITH 6-4 212 SO.88 JARRETT DAVIS 5-10 164 FR.TIGHT END83 CAMERON GRAHAM 6-4 242 SR.82 PETE NOCHTA 6-6 245 SR.85 NATE NORD 6-5 233 SO.LEFT TACKLE78 BYRON STINGILY 6-5 300 SR.73 HECTOR HERNANDEZ 6-5 279 JR.LEFT GUARD79 MARK WETTERER (INJ.) 6-5 398 SR.70 CONRAD THOMAS 6-6 325 SR.68 KAMRAN JOYER 6-3 301 R-FR.CENTER55 MARIO BENAVIDES 6-4 295 SO.66 ALEX KUPPER 6-3 289 SO.RIGHT GUARD65 JOSH BYROM 6-5 305 SR.69 JOHN CLARK 6-2 292 JR.RIGHT TACKLE76 GREG TOMCZYK 6-6 287 SR.74 JEFF ADAMS 6-8 295 SR.

DEFENSEFOX END91 WILLIAM SAVOY 6-1 245 JR.44 B.J. BUTLER 6-2 264 FR. 47 MALCOLM MITCHELL 6-2 235 R-FR.DEFENSIVE TACKLE6 GREG SCRUGGS 6-4 273 JR.92 BRANDON DUNN 6-3 282 FR.NOSE TACKLE97 TIM HIGH 6-2 298 SR.93 ROY PHILON 6-3 277 R-FR.95 RANDY SALMON 6-3 291 SODEFENSIVE END58 RODNEY GNAT 6-3 255 SR. 90 MALCOLM TATUM 6-3 260 SR.SAM LINEBACKER24 DANIEL BROWN 6-1 215 SO. 39 JACOB GEFFRAD 6-3 201 R-FR.MIKE LINEBACKER46 DEXTER HEYMAN 6-3 238 JR. 2 PRESTON BROWN 6-2 249 FR.52 ANTWONE CANADY 6-0 244 SR.WEAKSIDE LINEBACKER5 BRANDON HEATH 6-1 220 SR.41 EUGENE SOWELL 6-0 208 SR.CORNERBACK42 BOBBY BURNS 5-11 180 SR.8 DARIUS ASHLEY 5-8 186 SO.STRONG SAFETY29 HAKEEM SMITH 6-1 175 R-FR. 23 TERENCE SIMIEN 6-3 207 JR.FREE SAFETY36 SHENARD HOLTON 6-1 190 SO. 33 MIKE EVANS 5-10 180 JR.CORNERBACK19 JOHNNY PATRICK 6-0 186 SR.31 CHAMP LEE 6-0 198 R-FR.26 ZED EVANS 5-11 173 R-FR.

SPECIAL TEAMSPUNTER 12 CHRIS PHILPOTT 6-0, 191, JR., 2V 40 JOSH BLESER 6-1, 201, JR., TR 35 ANDREW FLETCHER 5-8, 162, FR., HSKICKER12 CHRIS PHILPOTT 6-0, 191, JR., 2V35 ANDREW FLETCHER 5-8, 162, FR., HS

DEPTH CHARTUofL VS. WEST VIRGINIA GAME STATS

GAME STATSWVU (7-3,3-2) vs. Louisville Cardinals (5-6,2-4)

Date: Nov 20, 2010 Site: Louisville, KY

Stadium: Papa John’s Cardinal • Attendance: 51,772

SCORE BY QUARTERS 1 2 3 4 SCORE

WVU 7 7 3 0 17

Louisville Cardinals 3 7 0 0 10

SCORING SUMMARY:1ST 09:59 LOU - PHILPOTT, CHRIS 43 YD FIELD GOAL 8 PLAYS,

43 YARDS, TOP 3:35, WVU 0 - LOU 3

05:34 WVU - DEVINE, NOEL 2 YD RUN (BITANCURT, TYLER

KICK) 10 PLAYS, 78 YARDS, TOP 4:25, WVU 7 - LOU 3

2ND 10:26 LOU - BROWN, DANIEL 0 YD FUMBLE RECOVERY

(PHILPOTT, CHRIS KICK) WVU 7 - LOU 10

06:16 WVU - CLARKE, RYAN 2 YD RUN (BITANCURT, TYLER

KICK) 8 PLAYS, 82 YARDS, TOP 4:10, WVU 14 - LOU 10

3RD 09:30 WVU - BITANCURT, TYLER 43 YD FIELD GOAL 10

PLAYS, 31 YARDS, TOP 4:37, WVU 17 - LOU 10

KICKOFF TIME: 12:09PM END OF GAME: 3:09PM

TOTAL ELAPSED TIME: 3:00

OFFICIALS: REFEREE: T. TOMCZYK; UMPIRE: R. KUMIEGA;

LINESMAN: T. COMSIDINE; LINE JUDGE: J. CASEY; BACK JUDGE:

P. VARGO; FIELD JUDGE: G. CROWTHER; SIDE JUDGE: J. BREN-

NAN; TEMPERATURE: 55 WIND: SE-7MPH WEATHER: CLOUDY

TEAM STATS WVU LOU

FIRST DOWNS................... 15 9

Rushing..................... 9 2

Passing..................... 5 6

Penalty..................... 1 1

NET YARDS RUSHING............. 128 26

Rushing Attempts............ 47 30

Average Per Rush............ 2.7 0.9

Rushing Touchdowns.......... 2 0

Yards Gained Rushing........ 181 74

Yards Lost Rushing.......... 53 48

NET YARDS PASSING............. 133 145

Completions-Attempts-Int.... 9-20-0 12-24-1

Average Per Attempt......... 6.7 6.0

Average Per Completion...... 14.8 12.1

Passing Touchdowns.......... 0 0

TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS........... 261 171

Total offense plays......... 67 54

Average Gain Per Play....... 3.9 3.2

Fumbles: Number-Lost.......... 1-1 0-0

Penalties: Number-Yards....... 4-28 7-70

PUNTS-YARDS................... 7-314 8-367

Average Yards Per Punt...... 44.9 45.9

Net Yards Per Punt.......... 44.9 43.1

Inside 20................... 2 4

50+ Yards................... 0 3

Touchbacks.................. 0 0

Fair catch.................. 5 2

KICKOFFS-YARDS................ 4-254 3-209

Average Yards Per Kickoff... 63.5 69.7

Net Yards Per Kickoff....... 43.5 51.0

Touchbacks.................. 2 0

Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD. 3-22-0 1-0-0

Average Per Return.......... 7.3 0.0

Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD 3-56-0 2-40-0

Average Per Return.......... 18.7 20.0

Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD.. 1-11-0 0-0-0

Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD. 0-0-0 0-0-1

Miscellaneous Yards........... 0 0

Possession Time............... 31:57 28:03

1st Quarter................. 8:02 6:58

2nd Quarter................. 7:19 7:41

3rd Quarter................. 7:54 7:06

4th Quarter................. 8:42 6:18

Third-Down Conversions........ 6 of 16 2 of 13

Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 0 1 of 2

Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 3-3 0-0

Touchdowns.................. 2-3 0-0

Field goals................. 1-3 0-0

Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 4-34 4-32

PAT Kicks..................... 2-2 1-1

Field Goals................... 1-2 1-1

INDIVIDUAL STATSRushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg

Philpott, Chris 1 21 0 21 0 21 21.0

Wright, Jeremy 13 24 4 20 0 6 1.5

Powell, Bilal 4 3 3 0 0 2 0.0

ANDERSON, Vic 3 0 7 -7 0 0 -2.3

Burke, Justin 9 26 34 -8 0 8 -0.9

Totals... 30 74 48 26 0 21 0.9

Passing Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Long Sack

Burke, Justin 12-24-1 145 0 26 4

Totals... 12-24-1 145 0 26 4

Receiving No. Yds TD Long

Graham, Cameron 6 95 0 26

Nochta, Pete 1 17 0 17

Smith, Andrell 1 15 0 15

Beaumont, Doug 1 5 0 5

Bellamy, Josh 1 5 0 5

CHICHESTER, J. 1 4 0 4

COPELAND, D. 1 4 0 4

Totals... 12 145 0 26

Punting No. Yds Avg Long In20 TB

Philpott, Chris 8 367 45.9 73 4 0

Totals... 8 367 45.9 73 4 0

Punts Kickoffs Intercept

All Returns No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg

Beaumont, Doug 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BROWN, D. 0 0 0 1 12 12 0 0 0

Wright, Jeremy 0 0 0 1 28 28 0 0 0

Totals... 1 0 0 2 40 28 0 0 0

DEFENSIVE STATSNo. Player Solo Ast Tot 24 Brown, Daniel 6 2 8 5 Heath, Brandon 4 3 7 29 Smith, Hakeem 4 1 5 58 Gnat, Rodney 4 1 5 33 Evans, Mike 3 2 5 90 Tatum, Malcolm 3 2 5 46 Heyman, Dexter 4 . 4 44 Butler, B.J. 3 1 4 36 Holton, Shenard 3 . 3 19 Patrick, Johnny 2 1 3 1 Bellamy, Josh 2 . 2 42 Burns, Bobby 1 . 1 32 Perry, Senorise 1 . 1 23 SIMIEN, Terence 1 . 1 83 Graham, Cameron 1 . 1 93 Philon, Roy 1 . 1 92 Dunn, Brandon 1 . 1 12 Philpott, Chris 1 . 1 6 Scruggs, Greg 1 . 1 2 Brown, Preston . 1 1

The game was over when: UofL quarterback Jus-tin Burke’s pass was picked off by West Virginia cornerback Keith Tandy at Louisville’s 49-yard line and returned 11 yards to the 38 with 2:22 left. “He (Tandy) made a good play on it,” Burke said. “I probably forced it; you should get a positive play on the fi rst play of a 2-minute drill. We run that all the time, and it was disappointing.”

Turning point: After the Cards had taken a 10-7 lead in the second quarter, WVU running back Noel Devine looped out of the backfi eld and found himself wide open on the right side of the fi eld. His 48-yard reception on a pass from QB Geno Smith put the ball on the UofL 2, and Ryan Clarke scored on the next play for a 14-10 lead. The way the Mountaineers’ defense was dominating, that 4-point defi cit seemed more like 14.

UofL Offensive Player of the Game: As a team UofL’s offense was missing in action (171 yards), but tight end Cameron Graham had a very good day with six catches for 95 yards. That represents 56 percent of UofL’s total offense!

UofL Defensive Player of the Game: (tie) Sopho-more linebacker Daniel Brown recovered a fumble in the end zone and led UofL tacklers with eight. Senior end Rodney Gnat had two tackles for loss and forced the fumble by Smith that Brown re-covered.

Who’s Hot: Junior kicker Chris Philpott should carry some confi dence into Friday’s regular-sea-son fi nale at Rutgers after a sterling performance against the Mountaineers. Philpott uncorked punts of 73 and 61 yards and fi nished with a 45.9-yard average on eight punts. The 73-yarder in the second quarter tied for the fourth-longest in school history. The UofL record is an 89-yarder by Cookie Brinkman against Tulsa in 1968.

Who’s Not: Almost everyone on UofL’s offfensive unit, which has failed to produce a touchdown in two of the last four games (Pitt, a 20-3 loss on Oct. 30, and WVU). After a fast start against inferior non-conference opponents, the Cards’ of-fensive production has dwindled in Big East play. They’re fi fth in the league in both total offense (296 ypg) and scoring (19.2 ppg).

On the Rise: UofL’s special teams bounced back nicely after an awful performance in a 24-21 loss in overtime to South Florida the previous week. Besides Philpott’s punting, kickoff coverage im-proved dramatically, with the Mountaineers aver-aging only 18.7 yards on three returns.

On the Decline: UofL’s ability to convert third downs. The Cards succeeded on only 2 of 13 against WVU.Quotable: “It was a chess match back and forth. Today wasn’t checkers, it was chess.... We have to fi nd the blitz. They disguised it real well and where they were bringing it from. They would show it from one side and then bring it from the other side. They were twisting the blitzes, like they were bringing lightning. It was just very hard to pick up for the most part.” -- - West Virginia coach Bill Stewart on UofL’s defense.

RUSS BROWN’S RUNDOWNWest Virginia 17, UOFL 10


10 AMAZING AND MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF THE 2009-2010 SEASON10 AMAZING AND MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF THE 2009-2010 SEASONCARDINAL FOOTBALL

By Russ BrownWhen your punter is your leading rusher,

you know you’re in trouble. Deep trouble.And that’s exactly where Louisville’s im-

potent offense found itself against West Vir-ginia’s immovable defense last Saturday in a 17-10 loss that spoiled the Cardinals’ Senior Day and home fi nale in front of 51,772 fans in Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.

UofL (5-6, 2-4 Big East) entered the game hoping to become bowl eligible for the fi rst time since 2007 and send its 25 seniors out on a posi-tive note. Instead, if the Cardinals are to become bowl-bound they’ll have to do it by beating Rutgers (4-6, 1-4) Friday morning (11 a.m. kickoff) in Rut-

gers Stadium in Piscataway, N.J.The loss, UofL’s third in the last four games,

wrapped up the Cards’ fi rst losing season at home (3-4) since a 1-5 record under Ron Coo-per in 1997 at old Cardinal Stadium.

The good news is that help could be on the way for UofL’s offense in the form of Rut-gers’ generous defense. The Scarlet Knights absorbed a record-setting 69-38 hammering at Cincinnati last Saturday night, surrendering 661 yards of total offense in the process.

Like Louisville, Rutgers is scrambling to become bowl eligible. To do so, the Knights must beat the Cards and then win at West Virginia on Dec. 4.

Meanwhile, with its fourth straight win over Louisville, West Virginia (7-3, 3-2) set up a showdown with league-leading Pittsburgh (6-4, 4-1) in the Backyard Brawl at Heinz Field Friday in a game that should decide the Big East championship.

UofL played well enough in two phases to defeat West Virginia, but its offense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain, unable to solve the Mountaineers’ rarely seen 3-3-5 defense predicated on movement, confusion and stacking the line of scrimmage to stop the run.

If you like offensive fi reworks, PJCS wasn’t the place to be Saturday afternoon because this was a defensive battle all the way, with the teams combining for 15 punts and only 432 yards of total offense. In the end, WVU’s defense prevailed.

Punter Chris Philpott was UofL’s leading rusher by virtue of his 21-yard scramble for a fi rst down on a fake punt on the second play of the second quarter. The Cards wound up with a mere 26 yards rushing and 171 total yards against a WVU defense that ranked in the top fi ve in the nation in most major cat-egories.

Leading rusher Bilal Powell, who was fi fth in the FBS at 134.1 yards per game, was ill and carried only four times, all in the fi rst quarter. UofL coach Charlie Strong said Powell had been ailing for a few days and was fatigued, but it’s hard to see how his presence would

have made much difference because there was no daylight at the line of scrimmage.

Other than Philpott’s run, Louisville’s lon-gest rushing gain was an 8-yard scramble by quarterback Justin Burke. Jeremy Wright averaged 1.5 yards on 13 carries, his longest run 6 yards as the Cards were shut out of the end zone for the second time in the last four games, their only touchdown coming courtesy of the defense.

“Very disappointing,” Strong said. “Just no execution on offense. They are a very good defense, and their defense played well today. We were never able to get in a rhythm. They’re the No. 4 defense in the na-tion, and they played like it today.”

“What a fi ne football game that was,” WVU coach Bill Stewart said. “For the offen-sive enthusiasts, it wasn’t what you came to see. For that, I’m sorry. But for people who are old-school like me, that was a tough football game. We threw everything at them and hoped we could match up, and most of the time we did. It’s an 80-slug fi ght out there, and you can’t win every single slug.”

On UofL’s fi rst possession, with Burke com-pleting passes of 17 and 24 yards to tight end Cameron Graham, the Cards moved 43 yards in eight plays and Philpott kicked a 43-yard fi eld goal for a 3-0 lead.

After that, the offense ground to a halt. The rest of the way UofL managed only sev-en fi rst downs, 128 yards, converted just 2 of 12 third downs and crossed midfi eld -- barely -- only twice, never getting past the WVU 46-yard line.

“We take pride in running the football

and we usually run the ball really good, so it was hard not to get frustrated,” offensive guard Josh Byrom said. “But we didn’t get away from our game plan. We wanted to run the ball and we kept trying to run the ball, but we just couldn’t get hats on hats.

“West Virginia stacked the box, and what they want to do is confuse you and try to move the (offensive) line back as well. So with them moving the linebackers around and bringing the safeties down, it’s hard to get your matchups and understand who you’re blocking.”

The Cards tried running left, right, off tackle, up the middle, wide, it didn’t matter. A horde of Mountaineers was always there to stuff them, and the visitors also were able to stifl e UofL’s deep threats. The wideouts caught fi ve passes for 33 yards. What little success UofL had involved getting the ball to Graham, who accounted for 95 yards on six receptions.

Burke, starting his third straight game at QB in place of injured regular Adam Froman, completed 12 of 24 passes for 145 yards, with one interception. He was sacked four times.

“We didn’t play well enough to win that game,” Burke said. “Our special teams played real well and our defense played spectacular, but offensively we couldn’t get anything going. They’re a good defense, we knew that coming in. It was a challenge for us, and we’ve got to step up to that type of challenge. We had some moments when we did, but we weren’t consistent all day.

“It’s not like the line wasn’t playing hard or our backs weren’t running hard. You’ve

got to give it to West Virginia; their lineback-ers played well, and up front they were tre-mendous. It takes you off schedule becauseyou don’t get a rhythm going.”

After Philpott’s early fi eld goal, the Moun-taineers quickly retaliated, with Noel Devinescoring on a 2-yard run to cap a 10-play, 78-yard drive and give his team a 7-3 lead.

UofL briefl y regained the upper hand when defensive end Rodney Gnat slammedinto WVU quarterback Geno Smith andforced a fumble as Smith set up to pass in-side his own 10-yard line. Linebacker DanielBrown recovered the ball in the end zone fora touchdown to give the Cards a 10-7 leadwith 10:26 left in the second quarter.

“Coach Bedford called a little bit of pres-sure,” Gnat said, referring to defensive coor-dinator Vance Bedford. “I had a one-on-oneagainst a tackle, and I saw an opening andtook a shot off the edge. I saw the quarter-back and took a swipe at the ball, I got luckyand it popped out.”

Said Brown: “We wanted to get in there and try to do something to get the crowdback into it and get our sideline hyped.(Greg) Scruggs tried to pick it up and fum-bled around with it, then the ball went intothe end zone and Dexter (Heyman) knockedit around and all of us started piling on it.”

The euphoria was shortlived, however. On its ensuing possession, West Virginiagrabbed the lead for good with an eight-play, 82-yard drive, taking advantage of acontroversial call and one of Louisville’s fewdefensive breakdowns of the afternoon.

Just as WVU center Joe Madsen snapped the ball on second down at midfi eld, Smithturned to call a timeout as the ball rolledaround at his feet. But the offi cials huddledand awarded the timeout. When play re-sumed, Smith found Devine wide open onthe right sideline for a 48-yard pass to theUofL 2, and Ryan Clarke scored on the nextplay for a 14-10 halftime lead.

“It was man coverage and just a miscom-munication,” Brown said of Devine’s catch.“We can’t have that in the future.”

The Mountaineers made it 17-10 on Tyler Bitancurt’s 43-yard fi eld goal with 9:30 leftin the third quarter and had a chance to icethe game when they lined up for a 41-yardfi eld goal with 2:33 remaining.

But the kick was partially defl ected by 6-9 Josh Chichester, giving the Cards one lastchance from their own 24. But on the verynext play Burke’s pass was tipped, slippedthrough Graham’s hands and was intercept-ed by cornerback Keith Tandy to wrap up thevictory.

“What they have to realize is if they want to get to a bowl game they have one moregame, so let’s go win the next one,” Strongsaid. “We had our chances here at homewith two games, and we just didn’t get itdone. I don’t think there’s a lot of pressure ifthey want to win. Just go win.”


Tight end Cameron Graham made one of his six catches against West Virginia. Graham’s receptions accounted for 95 yards, which was 56 percent of UofL’s total offense! - photo by Dave Klotz

O N E C H A N C E L E F T F O R U O F L A F T E R 1 7 - 1 0 L O S S

WEST VIRGINIA’S DEFENSE BLOCKS CARDS’ BOWL BID


Only President’s Award Winner in Greater Louisville 10 out of 11 years!

448-2802www.bobmontgomery.com

Top 10 Certified Used Car Dealer in the Nation

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5340 Wide Wide Dixie Highway

BOB MONTGOM E RY HAS BE E N S E RVI NG TH E COM M U N IT Y S I NCE 1960 .

First thing, let me admit how bone-headed I was about the potential problems with parkingand traffi c when the arena was proposed downtown. I had a doomsday vision of the situationafter games were over and even before games as thousands of cars entered the light-at-every-intersection streets of downtown Louisville. How wrong I and many others were about thecatastrophe that didn’t happen and seems unlikely to occur in the future. Of course, we haven’thad a game early enough to cross paths with the workers leaving by the thousands around 5p.m. (except for the lawyers who leave at noon to play golf -- just kidding, and my friends whoare lawyers, don’t call me, I know it’s too cold for golf). But we can worry about that when andif the time comes. I guess after dealing with the 600,000 Thunder Over Louisville viewers the22,000 Cardinal fans seem like a drop in the KFC bucket. The Louisville Metro police have donea wonderful job. Are those the same guys working PJCS after a football game?

Speaking of the arena: I know there are some who have legitimate complaints about the arena or their particular situation, but let me encourage you to take in the entire arena experi-ence and not let your seat placement, the blowers (that can be fi xed) or the lack of a stat boardin the upper areas ruin your enjoyment of the game. I sit on the top row and can see just fi ne.I know that some don’t enjoy that experience, but I hope after a few games you can settle inand have a good time watching this hustling and exciting Cardinals team.

Last arena related point: How about putting Jim Host in charge of the bridge project?

Someone counted and told me there are 30 women and one gutsy man on the danceteam and another 30 or so cheerleaders. These people are good, as indicated by their manyawards. I can’t imagine the hard work that goes into the precision that they display in their rou-tines. I hear director Todd Sharp is a real tough guy and demands a lot from the Spirit Groups.It shows.

Guess which team gets the next new facility at the University of Louisville? How about soccer? Actually, men’s and women’s soccer are the only sports at UofL without a new orrelatively new home facility. At present the soccer teams share a venue with the track and fi eldteams, using the fi eld inside the 400-meter track. How much would you care to bet that thatchanges? When you have one of the best teams in the country, you deserve new digs. SorryTom, with your Midas touch there’s no way this doesn’t happen.

Speaking of soccer: I’m actually enjoying watching the men’s soccer team as it works its way to a national championship. I have become a real fan of Colin Rolfe, J.T Murray, Dylan Maresand the boys. Ken Lolla has to be the best soccer coach in America. After taking Akron to thetop of the collegiate soccer world, he’s done the same thing here. Guess which team is right atthe top with Louisville? Akron. I still don’t enjoy watching soccer unless it’s the Cards, however.Too long, too scoreless and too inconsistent. I have some suggestions to make it more interest-ing. No offsides - why penalize someone for being faster and smarter. Make the goal wider - thegame needs something to increase scoring. Reduce the size of teams by two - too many ondefense makes it impossible to score. Use two offi cials - too much goes uncalled.

I don’t know if you’ve seen the women’s basketball team play yet, but this group issomething special. Write this down: Tia Gibbs and Shoni Schimmel will be one of the bestguard tandems in the country by the end of next season. Gibbs, the Vandy transfer from ButlerHigh, and Schimmel, an American Indian from Oregon, are special. Coach Jeff Walz has some-thing really noteworthy going with his team.

As usual, fi eld hockey was one of the top-25 teams in America, but also as usual it wasunable to win the Big East Tournament, falling to third-seeded UConn. Louisville was the No. 2seed. Unfortunately for the Cards, their best player was red-carded and kicked out of the game,leaving UofL one player short for most of the second half. It just so happens that the playerdismissed by the offi cial was Big East Player of the Year Nicole Youman. I wasn’t there and don’teven know what warrants a red card, but it would be like ejecting Michael Jordan from the NBAfi nals in the third quarter.

Last weekend I almost had Cardinal fatigue set in, as fans had four straight days to watch, cheer-on and support the Cards. On Thursday men’s basketball played Kentucky Wes-leyan. On Friday women’s basketball played Tennessee, after which I rushed home and watchedthe recording of the men’s soccer semifi nal game of the Big East Tournament. On Saturday thefootball team played South Florida, and on Sunday the men’s soccer team played in the titlegame of the Big East Tournament. Whew! Oh yeah, on Tuesday the men’s basketball teamupset No. 16 Butler. Things were even more tiring this weekend as Card fans enjoyed men’sbasketball, soccer, football and women’s volleyball on national television.

I haven’t been to the circus in years, but in a public spectacle that would make Bar-num & Bailey proud, U.S. Justice Watch swept into town a couple of months ago to defendKaren Sypher in the person of a lawyer who couldn’t practice law because he wasn’t “in goodstanding with the Bar.” David Nolan, who doesn’t have a computer and admitted he hadn’tread the transcript of the trial, claimed that Sypher was a victim of a “runaway federal justicesystem,” was “judicially raped” and “horribly victimized,” although he “doesn’t have fi rst-handknowledge of all the allegations.” In spite of that, he means to change a system “intent on pro-tecting University of Louisville and corporate investments in the new KFC Yum! Center arena.”All of this makes you want to hug a lawyer.

NEWS, NOTES AND NONSENSE

COMMENTARY BY JACK COFFEE [email protected]

Cornerback Johnny Patrick (19) and a teammate combined to stop WVU’s Noel Devine last Saturday. - photo by Dave Klotz


CARDINAL FOOTBALLLOUISVILLE BASKETBALLMEN’S SOCCER

By Howie LindseyAfter advancing to the Sweet 16 in the

NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament for the fi rst time in school history with a 3-1 victory over College of Charleston Sunday night, the University of Louisville is now faced with a rematch of one of its toughest matches of the season. The Cardinals will square off against Big Ten power Ohio State Sunday at

7 p.m. at Cardinal Park.“Ohio State is another

really good team,” UofL coach Ken Lolla said. “I told the guys that we are playing at a point now where we are playing the best teams in the country. There is no easy draw,

and every team is going to be a good op-ponent. We are looking forward to having them at home.”

The Buckeyes eliminated Big East runner-up Providence 2-1 Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. As the No. 16 national seed, they had received a fi rst-round bye. Ohio State (11-5-3) was one of three teams to tie the undefeated Cardinals (17-0-3) this season -- 0-0 on Sept. 22 in a frustrating double-overtime match.

“It has been a long time since we have played them, but it helps that we have an understanding of their style of play,” Lolla said. “Early this week we will have a better idea, breaking it down a little bit more. We’ll have our guys ready for Sunday.”

Although it’s been a couple of months since the teams met, Lolla and the Cardinals still have the previous meeting fresh in their minds.

“It should be a good matchup,” UofL ju-nior All-American forward Colin Rolfe said. “The last time we played them they were extremely physical, so we are going to ex-pect them to come in and try to do the same

thing.”Lolla said he expects the Buckeyes to try

to tighten down on defense and use their size and strength to muscle the Cardinals around. In addition to being one of three teams to tie the Cardinals, the Buckeyes also played No. 2 Akron to a 2-2 tie just a week after facing the Cardinals.

“They are a good team,” Lolla said. “They are very physical. They are a strong team. They like to move the ball, and they don’t give up a ton. They are defensively sound.”

Lolla said the previous game might not be a valid indicator of Louisville’s chances this Sunday.

“We played them at a time when we weren’t quite hitting our stride as well,” Lol-la said. “I think that they are probably differ-ent now, and I know that we are defi nitely different than we were then.”

And what is different about the Cardinals this time around?

“Maturity, growth and, I think, rhythm of play - all of that,” Lolla said. “When we played them the fi rst time we had just changed our shape a little bit. We were fi nd-ing our rhythm then. In that game we had chances, but we just didn’t fi nish well.”

Louisville was forced to make changes when starting senior forward Mark Knight went down for the season. Since then UofL has discovered Big East Rookie of the Year Dylan Mares, who currently leads the team in goals.

“Last year we played a little different, but what happened early on (this year) was Mark Knight got injured,” Lolla said. “Last year, Mark and Colin (Rolfe) played a lot to-gether. With Mark out we had to play more with just Colin until we adjusted.”

Tickets for Sunday’s game are already go-ing quickly but can be obtained by calling 502, 852-5151 or by logging on to uofl -sports.com.

Louisville junior All-American Colin Rolfe winced as he headed a ball during the Cardinals’ 3-1 win over College of Charleston Sunday night at Cardinal Park. Rolfe scored the game-winning

goal late in the second half. - photo by Shelley Feller

TOUGH, PHYSICAL OHIO STATE UP NEXT FOR NO. 1 CARDINALS

HOWIE LINDSEYHOWIE LINDSEY


SELECTED FALL SPORTS SCHEDULES

We heard a lot of fans wonder aloud whether Louisville’s offense was that BAD or West Virginia’s defense was just that GOOD Saturday. We’re betting West Virginia’s defense was just that

good. The Mountaineers came into the game ranked No. 4 in the nation in total defense and did nothing to hurt their standing while bruising the Cardinals’ offensive line all game long. WVU seemed to bring pressure from every direction. They had a nose tackle (Chris Nield) who plugged up the interior running lanes, and their linebackers and defensive backs sealed the outside. Actually, the biggest mystery after Saturday’s game was how in the world WVU lost to Connecticut last month. The team we all saw Saturday had no business losing to a team that was rocked by Louisville to the tune of 26-0.

Louisville continued an UGLY streak Saturday that most fans don’t realize is happening. Dating to 2007, the Cardinals have now lost their last seven games when attempting to become bowl

eligible. In 2008 the Cards were 5-2 before they lost the fi nal fi ve games of the season, all while sitting just one win away from bowl eligibility. And now this season, sitting at 5-4, Louisville lost to USF and West Virginia, extending one of the more frustrating streaks in program history. Can the Cardinals get it done Friday in Piscataway, N.J., against Rutgers? We think so. It’s high time that streak was snapped, and we think this is the game it happens. The Scarlet Knights have lost four straight games and are 4-6. One thing working against Louisville, though, is that the Scarlet Knights’ backs are against the wall. If they lose one more time, their fi ve-year bowl streak is snapped.

The Big East has six bowl tie-ins, including a BCS slot. There are currently fi ve bowl-eligible teams in the league, and the other three still mathematically are alive to get to the needed six wins.

Here is Rivals.com’s quick breakdown of the situation: One of those three currently non-eligible teams will drop out of the running Friday, when Louisville (5-6) plays at Rutgers (4-6). It’s Louisville’s fi nal regular-season game, and the Cardinals obviously have to win to become eligible. Rutgers must beat Louisville and follow that up with a win at West Virginia on Dec. 4. Cincinnati (4-6) is the other team in the hunt. The Bearcats have to win out over Connecticut and Pittsburgh to get to the needed six wins. The most likely scenario is that Louisville beats Rutgers and goes bowling while Cincinnati and Rutgers fall short of eligibility this season. That would satisfy all of the Big East’s bowl slots. If Cincinnati and Louisville both end up 6-6, that could be a problem for the Cards, however.

Speaking of UGLY streaks, no streak in the nation is as UGLY as Kentucky’s famous losing streak to Tennessee. The Wildcats haven’t beaten the Vols since 1984. It’s the longest active losing

streak in major college football. Earlier this week the Wildcats started sporting shirts that had the number 517 on them. The explanation given is that was the number of points by which the Volunteers have outscored them during the streak. Seems like a really odd apparel choice. The fact is: If the Wildcats can’t break the streak against this year’s bad Tennessee team, they may never break it.

Rick Pitino said last week that redshirting forward Jared Swopshire was “not an option.” Pitino explained that redshirting him would not be in the best interest of the program because the

junior class is already so thin. “That’s not an option, so whenever he comes (back), he comes back,” Pitino said. “That’s the way that I feel now — I don’t know if I’ll feel differently at another point in time.” Swopshire is Louisville’s leading returning scorer (7.5 ppg) and rebounder (6.1 rpg) from last season. Earlier this month Pitino said Swopshire wouldn’t be returning “any time soon.” Here’s hoping he can fi nd the court again by the start of conference play.

GOOD - We have to give our boss, Jack Coffee, credit for calling this shot. He told anyone who would listen that this UofL basketball team would be better than most people predicted because of its coachability and attitude. While the jury is still out on just how

good this team will become this year, what is clear is that this year’s squad has taken on a hard-working, workmanlike personality. The Cards shocked most people by running Butler out of the gym in the fi rst half, and they improved to 3-0 with an impressive 106-65 victory over Chattanooga Monday night. These guys appear to have put their egos aside for the betterment of the team. Monday night, they had 15 assists on their fi rst 20 buckets. That’s an encouraging stat. Louisville will have three major tests in its out-of-conference season: Dec. 11 against UNLV, Dec. 22 at Western Kentucky and, of course, Dec. 31 vs. Kentucky.

We’ve been continually amazed at the noise level in the new KFC Yum! Center. The crowds are so much louder at courtside than they were at Freedom Hall that it has to make the Cardinals’

normally large home-court advantage even more potent. Last week we saw Louisville clobber 2010 NCAA runner-up Butler 88-73 in a game where Butler appeared shaken by the large crowd and the big-time atmosphere. That’s remarkable, especially considering the Bulldogs were in the Final Four last season and played on college basketball’s biggest stage.

Bob Valvano was the color analyst on the ESPN3.com broadcast of the Louisville-Chattanooga game Monday night. He was extremely complimentary of the new arena and of

Louisville’s hard-working team. Valvano also had this gem in describing sophomore shooter Mike Marra: “It’s like we’re watching a flower bloom right here in front of us. It’s like someone took Marra’s face and put it on the body of a different player compared to last season.” Valvano raved about Marra’s potential and even compared the Rhode Island native to NBA veteran Vinnie DelNegro. “He really reminds me of Vinnie in the way he really turned it on in between his freshman and sophomore seasons (in college). Vinnie played for my brother (Jim, at North Carolina State). Marra even looks a little like Vinnie did.”

Congrats are in order again for UofL volleyball coach Leonid Yelin. The VolleyCards knocked off top-seeded Cincinnati 3-0 last Sunday to win their third straight Big East Tournament

title. Yelin, who trotted out one of the youngest teams in the league this season, has his team playing great volleyball right now. The Cards started the season 6-5 but have since gone 15-2, including a romp through the league tournament that saw Louisville lose just two of 11 sets. The Cards will take on Austin Peay Saturday at Cardinal Arena, and they’ll start play in the NCAA Tournament next week.

We would like to see the attendance rankings compiled for the non-revenue sports. Our bet is that Louisville fans would rank among the best in the nation in nearly every sport. That belief

of ours was reinforced Sunday night when 5,197 fans (not counting another 600-800 out on the berm) packed Cardinal Park to watch Louisville’s top-ranked men’s soccer team take down College of Charleston 3-1 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The game was a lot of fun to watch, and we’re betting quite a few of those fans will be back this Sunday when the Cardinals take on No. 16 Ohio State.

We didn’t like seeing Georgia cancel its two-game football series with Louisville. The Bulldogs were offered a spot in an ESPN season-opening game against Boise State, and they jumped at

the chance. That left Louisville looking for an opponent for its season opener. Luckily - and to give ESPN credit, it had some hand in helping this deal along - the Cardinals picked up a televised series (ESPN) with North Carolina instead. The deal, a home and home just like the Georgia deal, will start next season with Louisville traveling to North Carolina to start the season. Tom Jurich, Louisville’s Vice President for Athletics, called the Georgia cancellation “disappointing” but noted that North Carolina “is a great series, too, and to get on national TV with both games is even better.”

UGLY

BAD

GOOD

GOOD

UGLY

GOOD

GOOD

GOOD

GOOD

BAD

GOOD


LOUISVILLE BASKETBALL

CARDINAL FOOTBALL

By Russ BrownWhen Elisha Justice was starring for

little Shelby Valley High School in Pikev-ille, Ky., the most common nickname he heard was simply “E.” But now, and prob-ably forever more, he’ll be known as “The Bullet,” thanks to University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino.

Certainly, that’s what he will answer to for the next four years as a point guard for UofL.

The way Pitino tells the story about how the moniker originated, he and Ralph Willard, then the associate head coach, were watching Justice’s team play last

winter when Willard observed that Shelby Valley was the slowest team he had ever seen.

“I said, ‘Slow?’” Pitino recalled. “Elisha Justice is going by all of them, he’s faster than a speeding bullet. I’m telling you, that’s ‘The Bullet.’”

And later when Justice visited UofL, Pi-tino introduced him to the team as The Bullet.

“That’s the fi rst I’d heard about it,” Justice said. “Now everybody on the team calls me that. I like it and my family all think it’s pretty cool, too.”

Cool could also describe Justice’s de-meanor in his impressive debut as a Cardi-nal in the 88-73 upset of No. 16/18 Butler last week in the KFC Yum! Center with a crowd of more than 22,000 -- about four times the population of Pikeville -- and a national TV audience looking on.

Filling in for starter Peyton Siva, who was saddled with foul problems, Justice turned in a solid 21-minute performance that was undoubtedly a surprise to every-one but his coaches and probably relieved any anxiety among fans about his ability to provide a reliable backup to Siva.

The 5-10 former walk-on scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds and was nearly fl awless running Louisville’s of-fense, committing only one turnover.

“He gave us a big lift,” Pitino said. “He made some spectacular plays. The one thing that startled me is that at crunch time, down the stretch, playing major minutes, he wanted the ball. He said, ‘Give it to me, I’m going to make the right play or get fouled.’ That really impressed me.”

Did Justice’s play also ease Pitino’s mind about the depth at point guard, which was considered suspect with freshman Russ Smith sidelined with a broken foot?

“I was eased after the fi rst week of practice,” Pitino said. “I didn’t expect him to play as many minutes in (the Butler) game, but I knew he could play. It was you all (the media) who doubted, not me. He’s going to be a very steady guard for four years, somebody who’ll be very de-pendable, somebody you can trust at the end of games.”

Justice said he was well aware that there were those, both in the media and in the stands, who were skeptical about his ability to contribute at the major col-lege level despite his being named Ken-tucky’s Mr. Basketball after leading Shelby Valley to the 2010 state championship.

“That always motivates me just to prove them wrong and show them I can play,” he said. “That was a big game, and Peyton was in foul trouble. I felt a little bit of pressure being a freshman and every-thing, but coach had confi dence to put me in a game like that, so I just tried to do the best I could.”

Justice, who followed his Butler perfor-mance by playing 11 minutes (four points, one assist) in Saturday’s 62-45 win over Jackson State, said he was buoyed by the knowledge that Pitino had faith in him.

“When I would hear him talk about me it seemed like he really thought I could play and expected me to do good,” Justice said. “And that helps to give me confi dence know-ing he’s going to put me in the game and expect me to play well. So now I feel confi dent in myself when I get in the game.”

Pitino refers to Justice as “an old-school point guard,” explaining that he’s unspoiled and an extremely hard worker who has no ego.

“I guess he means not be-ing worried about scor-ing, just trying t o

run the show for my team,” Justice said. “Get them set up in the offense, run the offense and stay under control.”

During his senior season at Shelby Val-ley Justice had only one scholarship offer -- from Eastern Kentucky -- about a week before Pitino offered him preferred walk-on status and told him if a scholarship be-came available later, he would get it. That was enough for Justice.

“I was excited,” he said. “I never thought about getting a chance to play up here for Coach Pitino, and I thought that would be a great experience for me. I really liked that.”

After he committed, Justice’s high school coach got a few calls from other major colleges, including Kentucky, in-quiring about Justice’s interest in going elsewhere, but he held fi rm on UofL.

“Once we made our decision, we were set,” Justice said. “I was coming here.”

Said Pitino: “I would not have had a prob-lem if he told me he would like to take a scholarship some-where. I couldn’t blame him one bit. I

would have said to him, ‘We wish you the best of luck.’ But when he got cer-tain phone calls, he said, ‘Look, I gave my word to Louisville that I’m going to walk on with them, and I’m going to do that.’ That kind of loyalty is pretty unusual.”

Pitino kept his word, too, giving Justice a scholarship when Samardo Samuels un-expectedly left after his sophomore sea-son for the NBA.

Justice said his decision to attend UofL initially didn’t sit well with many residents of Pikeville, a hotbed of Big Blue support-ers near the Appalachian Mountains in Eastern Kentucky.

“Pretty much back home it’s all UK,” Justice said. “People, they’re crazy back there. Everyone was saying, ‘You should go to UK’ and stuff, but it didn’t affect me at all.”

And Justice thinks that, little by little, he may be convincing some to come over to the dark side and become Cardinals

fans.“A lot of people back home tell me

they’re rooting for Louisville now,” hesaid.

The true test, of course, will come when UofL and UK tangle on New

Year’s Eve in the KFC Yum! Center.

SMITH DUE TO RETURNUofL’s depth in the backcourt should

improve soon because Russ Smith began practice over the week-

end, and Pitino said the fresh-man from Brooklyn, N.Y., couldbe ready to play against Mar-shall Saturday afternoon.

Smith has been sidelined with a broken foot sincelate September.

“I would say by the Mar-shall game he’ll be all out,

so that’s good news,” Pitinosaid.

Pitino said he hasn’t decided yet how he would use Smith in

the rotation, adding, “We’re stilltwo or three weeks from that.”Justice said Smith will be a valuable

asset.“He’s really good, really quick, too,

Justice said. “He plays hard, he canshoot and handle the ball, so I

think he’ll be a good addition to the team.”

JUSTICE GIVES CARDS A ‘BULLET’ IN THEIR ARSENAL


R O O K I E A R E L I A B L E , ‘ O L D S C H O O L’ G U A R D


LOUISVILLE BASKETBALL

By Russ BrownIn a game that was strictly no contest,

the most signifi cant thing about Louisville’s 106-65 rout of Chattanooga Monday night may have been the emergence of Kyle Ku-ric, who had been in hiding during the Car-dinals’ fi rst two games this season.

Since arriving on campus, Kuric has al-ways been known as quiet and unemotion-

al, even when he was blitzing No. 1 Syracuse for 22 points in last year’s regular-season fi nale and Freedom Hall farewell.

But UofL coach Rick Pitino thought the 6-4 junior swingman had been a little too reserved in Louisville’s wins over

Butler and Jackson State to start this sea-son. Considered one of the team’s best out-side shooters, he had taken just three shots in 39 minutes of action.

So Pitino talked to him before the Chat-tanooga game and urged him to come out of his shell.

Kuric obliged by turning in a solid all-around performance off the bench, contrib-uting 13 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists as UofL easily boosted its record to 3-0 in front of 21,191 fans in the KFC Yum! Center.

“Coach talked to me about bringing more effort onto the court in the rest of the games, and I took that to heart,” said Kuric, who hit 5 of 9 shots, including 3 of 6 treys. “He wanted me to bring more emotion, more energy, and not be so emotionless. Start having fun out there, and that’s what I tried to do.”

Kuric entered the game for the fi rst time just under the nine-minute mark of the fi rst half, and it took him only 40 seconds to launch his fi rst three-point shot. He missed, but hit his next one and went on to score 10 of his points in the second half.

“It was great to see Kyle Kuric get his confi dence back,” point guard Peyton Siva said. “He showed what he can do when he has his confi dence.”

Afterward, Pitino reminded the media that Kuric, from Evansville (Ind.) Memorial High School, had come to UofL as a walk-on before being awarded a grant-in-aid just before the start of his freshman season.

“So let’s not read too much into it when he doesn’t have a great scoring night,” Pitino said. “He’s a good athlete, a good player. I think he’s exceeded that (walk-on status) by leaps and bounds and given a lot to this program.”

Let’s also not read too much into a lop-sided victory over an outmanned team that

offered little resistance and basically waved the white fl ag a few minutes into the sec-ond half after being buried by a 21-3 UofL run. The Mocassins were willing to try and keep pace with the Cards’ up-tempo style even though they were ill-suited to do so.

The 106 points were the most by the Cards since a 107-62 victory over Southern Mississippi on Jan. 11, 2005.

“I wouldn’t overrate us,” Pitino said. “I wouldn’t get too carried away. We were at home, and we won on style.”

Pitino emptied his bench, with 12 play-ers seeing 10 or more minutes of action. All 12 scored, seven of them in double fi g-ures, led by Preston Knowles’ 14 points, all in the fi rst half. Siva and Chris Smith each had fi ve assists, and 11 players had at least one steal.

The Cards’ 19 steals were their most since they had 20 at Tulane on Jan. 29, 2005, and the 29 assists were their best since getting 31 in a 111-85 victory over Akron on Dec. 10, 2005.

UofL hit 15 of 37 three-point shots, with

seven players getting into the long-range act.

“It was very fun,” Siva said. “It’s great to hear Coach P yelling, ‘Shoot it, shoot it.’ Even for George (Goode) to shoot a three. Everybody scored except (injured) Russ Smith, and he was on the bench. Everybody contributed, and that’s what this team is all about this year.”

The Cards got off to a slow start, com-mitting four turnovers and missing three shots on their fi rst six possessions, but re-covered and built a 51-37 halftime lead. But UofL had no such trouble in the second half, quickly putting the game out of reach.

Leading 58-42, the Cards exploded on a 14-0 run in 5:11 to expand the margin to 72-42. They went on to lead by as many as 42 points twice.

“We were up by 10, we got a couple of steals, made some shots, and I looked up and we were up by 20 already and we just kept going and going,” Siva said.

Said Kuric: “We came out in the second half and picked it up, executed, turned up

the defensive intensity, and that led to moresteals and breakouts. At one point we hadfour steals in a row, and all of a suddenit seemed like we went from up 20 to up40.”

“Our guys did a terrifi c job tonight,” Pi-tino said. “As I’ve said, we’re taking babysteps every single day in practice, but thebest part about coaching these guys is theirattitude. They’re a lot of fun to coach.”

Chattanooga coach John Shulman said he thought he was watching a replay ofLouisville’s effi cient victory over Butler inthe season-opener. Shulman also thoughtthe Mocassins’ recent schedule -- they wereplaying their fi fth game in 10 days, four ofthem on the road -- took its toll.

“They guarded and made life pretty un-comfortable for us offensively,” Shulmansaid. “We can’t simulate that kind of pres-sure in practice, and I think we are a littlefatigued. Louisville doesn’t leave the stateof Kentucky until January 9th. Enough said.We are not Louisville.”

Not that Shulman needed to point that out to anyone.

NO PLANS TO REDSHIRT SWOPSHIRERIGHT NOW

For the time being at least, Pitino said he has no plans to redshirt injured junior for-ward Jared Swopshire, although Swopshireprobably won’t get back on the court untilJanuary.

“That’s not going to be an option, so whenever he comes (back), he comes,” Pi-tino said. “That’s the way that I feel now —I don’t know if I’ll feel differently at anotherpoint in time.”

Swopshire hasn’t practiced this season while recovering from a groin abductor in-jury suffered at the end of summer. The fi rstprognosis had him returning for the seasonopener, but he has been slow to heal.

Pitino indicated that the toughest thing for Swopshire, who started more gameslast season (20) than any other returningplayer, will be the competition for playingtime when he is healthy enough to play.Sophomore Rakeem Buckles has shownmajor improvement from last season, as hasclassmate Stephan Van Treese.

“To be honest, it’s going to be diffi cult at that point for him to get on the court ifVan Treese keeps improving and Rakeem,”Pitino said. “In all fairness to those guys,they’ve been through all of September, allof October, (and) games in November andDecember. If Swopshire is just starting out,it’s going to be very diffi cult for him. Thatbeing said, that’s the nature of competitionin any situation.”


Kyle Kuric scored 13 points and had four rebounds, four steals and two assists against Chattanooga Monday night. - photo by Dave Klotz

C A R D S T U R N G A M E I N T O N O C O N T E S T I N A H U R R Y

KURIC TURNS UP HIS ENERGY, HELPS CARDS ROUT MOCS


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LOUISVILLE VS. UCONN PHOTO GALLERY


CARDINAL FOOTBALL PHOTOS

Gnat and coach Charlie Strong celebrated the big play with a leaping hip bump on the sideline.- photo by Shelley Feller

Defensive end Rodney Gnat clobbered West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith, forcing a fumble that would lead to Louisville’s only touchdown. - photo by Shelley Feller

JULY 25, 2007 LOUISVILLE SPORTSREPORT PAGE 3

2007 CARDINAL CARAVAN

D

10 AMAZING AND MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF THE 2009-2010 SEASON10 AMAZING AND MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF THE 2009-2010 SEASONRECRUITING NOTEBOOK

By Jeff WaffordUniversity of Louisville basketball coach

Rick Pitino used the season-opening game at the KFC Yum! Center last Tuesday to showcase his program for several potential recruits, including one of the top-25 play-ers in the junior class.

Class of 2012 shooting guard Gary Har-ris (6-4), who is rated as the No. 5 player at his position and the No. 24 overall player in his class, was on hand to watch the Cardi-nals defeat No. 16 Butler 88-73.

The product of Ham-ilton Southeastern H.S. (Fishers, Ind.) is familiar with UofL, having visited the school previously. But this experience took place in a much bigger atmosphere.

“I think they did re-ally well,” Harris said. “It was good to see them get a win in the opening game. That was my fi rst time being there (at the new arena). It was amazing.”

What did Harris say was the highlight of the visit? “Just getting to the arena and let-ting them show me how good it was,” he answered. “I have never been in a college arena like that. It was like an NBA arena.”

Following the game, Harris said he went into the locker room and had a chat with Pitino, who talked to him about the Cards’ interest. Soon after, Harris returned home. He indicated that Pitino reiterated Louis-ville’s scholarship offer.

“He was telling me he appreciated me coming down and fi nally getting to see the place,” Harris said. “They see me being a playmaker in a fast-paced offense.”

Harris continues to have a long list of schools that includes Indiana, Illinois, Mi-ami, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ohio State and many others. “I really don’t have a list set in stone, but I did enjoy my visit,” he said.

Harris was one of several visitors at the Louisville-Butler game, including recent UofL signees Wayne Blackshear, Zach Price and Chane Behanan.

Over the weekend Rodney Purvis, an-other of the top players in the 2012 class, made an unoffi cial visit. A 6-3 shooting guard from Upper Room Christian Acad-emy (Raleigh, N.C.), Purvis is rated as a fi ve-star prospect and the No. 1 guard in his class.

Purvis made several comments via Twit-ter during his visit. “Having a blast at the Ville,” Purvis posted late Sunday night.

Earlier in the day, he posted: “Just toured Yum Arena. Tht (sic) place is amazing!”

Purvis also is considering Baylor, Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Kentucky and a host of other schools.

JEFF WAFFORDJEFF WAFFORD

2011 FOOTBALL COMMITMENTSPROSPECT POS HOMETOWN HIGH SCHOOL HT. WT. 40 RECRUITING NOTE Jamon Brown DT Louisville Fern Creek 6-3 305 - Kentucky Top 10, city’s top linemanChris Dukes DB Cincinnati Colerain 5-10 184 4.43 Fast and physical cornerbackAaron Epps OL Tucker, Ga. Tucker 6-6 238 4.9 Tall, lean TE could be an OL in collegeTerrell Floyd DB Port St. Lucie, Fla. Port St. Lucie 5-10 186 4.5 No. 63 ATH in the nation, No. 99 overall Fla.Charles Gaines WR Miami Miami Central 6-1 190 4.42 Offers from Florida State, Arkansas, S. CarolinaJalen Harrington SS/LB Louisville Fern Creek 6-3 215 4.7 Kentucky Top 15, top sleeper in the cityEddie Johnson LB Selma, Ala. Selma 6-2 218 4.6 Big linebacker just moved schoolsJacquese Kirk DB Jasper, Ala. Walker 5-11 160 4.4 Alabama Top 25, elite recruitRyan Mack OL Memphis, Tn. Wooddale 6-4 310 -- Tennessee Top 10, elite recruitJohn Miller OL/DL Miami, Fla. Miami Central 6-2 295 -- Short but productive linemanJerrell Moore RB Louisville Fern Creek 5-11 175 4.4 Kentucky Top 10Deiontrez Mount DE Ft. Walton Beach, Fla. FWB High 6-6 202 4.7 No. 26 Weakside defensive end in the nationDeVante Parker WR Louisville Ballard 6-2 180 4.49 Kentucky Top 5, top WR in KentuckyCalvin Pryor DB Port St. Joe, Fla. Port St. Joe 6-1 190 4.5 No. 28 safety in America, No. 62 in Fla.Eric Robinson-Berry DB Indianapolis Warren Central 6-1 175 4.45 Fast DB with great football IQMike Romano OL Pt. St. Lucie, Fla. Treasure Coast 6-4 269 5.1 Solid-bodied OLZay Sharp RB Griffi n, Ga. Spalding 6-2 200 4.5 Great speed, sizeDaMarcus Smith QB Louisville Seneca 6-1 180 4.5 Elite 11 QB, top QB in KentuckyRobert Terrell LB Russellvile, Ala. Russellville 6-1 249 4.6 Alabama Top 40John Wallace K Cecilia, Ky. Central Hardin 6-1 175 -- Ky.’s top kicker

FOOTBALL HOSTS LARGE GROUP OF RECRUITSBy Jeff WaffordThe UofL football program hosted a big

group of visitors last weekend, including a pair of players who are currently commit-ted to SEC schools.

Included in the group was four-star tight end A.C. Leonard (6-2, 232), a product of University Christian School (Jacksonville, Fla.). An elite recruit, Leonard is rated as the No. 5 tight end in the nation, the No. 49 overall player nationally and the No. 12 player in Florida.

He committed to Florida earlier this year before then backing out of that commit-ment and committing again earlier this month. Now it appears he is at least willing to listen to other schools, as he was spot-ted enjoying himself on an offi cial visit to UofL during the Cards’ 17-10 loss to West Virginia.

Three-star wide receiver Justin Scott-Wesley (6-1, 210) from Mitchell County H.S. (Camilia, Ga.) was scheduled to visit UofL when the Cardinals played USF, but had to reschedule for last weekend. He committed to Georgia in May but has since softened on that commitment. He is rated the No. 14 receiver in his class and No. 153 player nationally.

The Cardinals also entertained several players who already have made verbal commitments to UofL. One of those play-ers was Ryan Mack (6-4, 310), an offensive lineman from Wooddale H.S. (Memphis) who is rated as the No. 61 offensive tackle in the nation and No. 11 player in Tennes-see.

Mack, who is a fi nalist for the Class AAA Lineman of the Year in Tennessee, has al-

lowed only two quarterback sacks in two years and had an astounding 85 pancake blocks this season.

“I think I can start on the offensive line (for Louisville) as a true freshman,” Mack said when asked how he thinks he could make an impact at UofL. “That would be good under a good offensive line coach.”

Among the highlights for Mack during his visit was a chat with offensive line coach Dave Borbely and seeing the fan support of the program.

“I talked to Coach Borbely for like 15 or 20 minutes, and he was saying he has to start true freshmen next, and that I could do that if I keep my head on straight,” Mack said. “And the fans - there were good fans there. It was a good crowd, and they had good support.”

While Mack maintains that his commit-ment to UofL is fi rm, he also admitted that he is considering visiting Memphis and Ten-nessee in the coming months.

Other committed players on the Car-dinals visit list last weekend included De-Vante Parker (6-3, 175, WR, Ballard H.S. – Louisville), Jamon Brown (6-5, 305, DT, Fern Creek H.S. – Louisville), Jalen Har-rington (6-3, 205, DB, Fern Creek H.S.), Jerrell Moore (5-11, 175, WR, Fern Creek H.S.), DaMarcus Smith (6-1, 190, QB, Sen-eca H.S. – Louisville) and Chris Dukes (5-10, 180, DB, Colerain H.S. – Cincinnati, Ohio).

It wasn’t only 2011 players on hand for visits. The Cardinals also hosted a group of 2012 visitors as they try to get a head start on the junior class. Included in the bunch was a pair of twin defenders from Walton H.S. (Marietta, Ga.) – Daron and Zack Blay-

lock.The Cardinals got in early on Daron (6-0,

218) and Zack (5-11, 185), becoming thefi rst school to extend a verbal scholarshipoffer three months ago.

“I loved it,” Daron said of the visit. “I like how nice everyone is over there, and I likethe whole tradition of CardMarch and ev-erything. And then I liked the coaches, hownice they were meeting with us.”

Daron, who is being recruited by UofL linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary, said hewas happy but shocked to pick up an of-fer from Louisville. He told about how thecoaches sent him a letter in the mail, buthe almost didn’t open it. Now the Cardi-nals have made it quite clear that they wantboth brothers to join their program in the2012 class.

Daron said he will likely play linebacker in college, while Zack appears destined toplay safety. “They like how athletic we areand how good we play and go after theball and play hard 24/7 and go 110 per-cent,” Daron said.

Daron named several highlights from his visit. “I liked how everyone enjoys the gameand how everyone on the team gets along,”he said. “And how everyone in town, theyall come to see the game, and how every-one in the town loves Louisville.”

The brothers also are hearing from South Carolina, Clemson and Florida, among oth-ers.

Other 2012 visitors included Anthony Wales (5-9, 170, RB, Central H.S. – Lou-isville) and Tyrone Pearson (6-3, 284, DT,Seneca H.S.).

PITINO HOSTS TOP-25 JUNIOR



LOUISVILLE ROSTER RUTGERS ROSTERNO NAME HT WT POS CL HOMETOWN (PREVIOUS SCHOOL) 1 Josh Bellamy 6-0 205 WR JR St. Petersburg, Fla. (Butte CC)2 Michaelee Harris 6-2 184 WR FR Miami, Fla. (Northwestern)2 Preston Brown 6-0 249 LB FR Cincinnati, Ohio (Northwest)3 Corvin Lamb 5-9 207 RB FR Miami, Fla. (Northwestern)4 Will Stein 5-10 185 QB SO Louisville, Ky. (Trinity)5 Kenneth Jaboin 6-1 203 DB JR Miami, Florida (NIACC)5 Brandon Heath 6-1 215 LB SR West Palm Beach, Fla. (Palm Beach Lakes)7 Damian Copeland 6-1 175 WR RS FR Bradenton, Fla. (Palmetto)8 Darius Ashley 5-8 186 CB SO Cincinnati, Ohio (St. Xavier)9 Adam Froman 6-4 220 QB SR Santa Rosa, Calif. (Santa Rosa JC)10 Dominique Brown 6-2 215 QB FR Cincinnati, Ohio (Winton Woods)11 Greg Scruggs 6-4 269 DT JR Cincinnati, Ohio (St. Xavier)11 Josh Chichester 6-8 240 TE JR West Chester, Ohio (Lakota West)12 Chris Philpott 6-0 191 K JR Atlanta, Ga. (Str. Pius X Catholic)13 Justin Burke 6-3 229 QB SR Lexington, Ky. (Lexington Catholic)13 Preston Pace 6-1 204 CB JR St. Petersburg, Fla. (Butte)14 Andrell Smith 6-3 210 WR SO Miami, Fla. (Palmetto)15 Bilal Powell 6-0 215 RB SR Lakeland, Fla. (Lake Gibson)17 DeMarcus Topp 5-10 180 WR SO Paducah, Ky. (Paducah-Tilghman)17 Marcus Smith 6-3 234 QB FR Columbus, Ga. (Hardaway)18 Titus Teague 5-11 170 CB RS FR Pomona, Calif. (Pomona)19 Jahmal Lawson 6-5 200 QB SO Louisville, Ky. (Valley)19 Johnny Patrick 6-0 190 CB SR Deland, Fla. (Deland)20 Victor Anderson 5-9 184 RB JR Louisville, Ky. (St. Xavier)21 Troy Pascley 6-2 203 WR SR Alliance, Ohio (Alliance)22 Jordon Paschal 5-8 171 CB FR Trotwood, Ohio (Trotwood-Madison)23 Mike Hayes 5-10 180 CB JR Louisville, Ky. (Male)23 Terence Simien 6-3 218 S JR Sacramento, Calif. (San Mateo)24 Daniel Brown 6-1 219 LB SO Atlanta, Ga. (Douglass)25 Malik Curtley 5-10 185 RB SO Paducah, Ky. (Paducah-Tilghman)26 Aaron Nance 6-3 197 WR FR Louisville, Ky. (Seneca)26 Zed Evans 5-11 173 CB RS FR Seagoville, Texas (Seagoville)27 Doug Beaumont 5-9 187 WR SR Louisville, Ky. (Male)28 Jeremy Wright 5-11 199 RB RS FR Clermont, Fla. (East Ridge)29 Hakeem Smith 6-1 175 S RS FR Jonesboro, Ga. (Riverdale)30 Kamal Hogan 6-0 206 RB FR Montvale, N.J. (St. Joseph’s Regional)31 Champ Lee 6-0 185 S RS FR Lakeland, Fla. (Lake Gibson)32 Senorise Perry 6-0 182 WR FR Summerville, Ga. (Chattooga)32 Marcus Bentley 6-1 195 DB SO Lexington, Ky. (Henry Clay)33 Mike Evans 5-10 180 CB JR Bellfl ower, Calif. (Nevada)33 Grant Donovan 6-1 192 LS FR Louisville, Ky. (Male)34 James Miller 5-9 182 RB SO Covington, Ky. (Holmes)34 George Durant 6-0 215 LB RS FR St. Petersburg, Fla. (Boca Ciega)35 Jon Payne 6-0 202 P SR Louisville, Ky. (St. Xavier)35 Andrew Fletcher 5-8 162 K FR Nashville, Tenn. (Montgomery Bell)35 Anthony Conner 5-11 190 CB SR Houston, Texas (Butte CC)36 Shenard Holton 6-1 190 S SO Bowling Green, Ky. (Warren East)37 Tyon Dixon 5-11 190 LB FR Cincinnati, Ohio (Colerain)37 Lincoln Carr 5-9 158 WR SO Crestwood, Ky. (South Oldham)38 Isaac Geffrad 6-3 188 S RS FR Oakland Park, Fla. (Northeast)39 Jacob Geffrad 6-3 204 LB RS FR Oakland Park, Fla. (Northeast)40 Agyei Williams 5-11 184 S SO Louisville, Ky. (Trinity)40 Josh Bleser 6-1 201 P JR Park Hills, Ky. (Covington Catholic)41 Eugene Sowell 6-0 208 LB SR Birmingham, Ala. (Shades Valley)42 Bobby Burns 5-11 180 CB SR Spanaway, Wash. (Butte)43 Deon Rogers 6-2 185 LB FR Port St. Lucie, Fla. (Treasure Coast)44 B.J. Butler 6-2 264 DE FR Kissimmee, Fla. (Osceola)44 Bo Eggers 6-0 218 LB RS FR Louisville, Ky. (Manual)45 Blayne Donnell 5-8 190 RB SR Louisville, Ky. (Trinity)46 Dexter Heyman 6-3 238 LB JR Louisville, Ky. (Male)47 Malcolm Mitchell 6-2 230 DE RS FR Stone Mountain, Ga. (Dunwoody)47 Chris White 6-4 215 TE RS FR Elizabethtown, Ky. (John Hardin)48 Lacy Coleman 6-4 230 DE FR Tyrone, Ga. (Sandy Creek)51 Mike Privott 6-0 227 LB RS FR Norfolk, Va. (Lake Taylor)52 Antwone Canady 6-0 244 LB SR Swainsboro, Ga. (Hutchinson)53 Jake Smith 6-4 313 OL FR Jacksonville, Ala. (Jacksonville)54 Reinhold Leicht 6-0 242 LB JR Louisville, Ky. (Air Force)55 Mario Benavides 6-4 304 C SO Los Fresnos, Texas (Los Fresnos)57 Nick Heuser 6-0 229 LB SO Louisville, Ky. (St. Xavier)58 Rodney Gnat 6-3 253 DE SR Jacksonville, Fla. (Wolfson)59 Zach Perkins 6-4 302 OL RS FR Shepherdsville, Ky. (North Bullitt)60 Daniel Weedman 5-11 243 LS SR Louisville, Ky. (Christian Academy)61 William Savoy 6-1 238 DE JR Elizabethtown, Ky. (John Hardin)62 John Clark 6-2 311 OL JR Louisville, Ky. (St. Xavier)63 Chris Johnson 6-2 290 DL RS FR Louisville, Ky. (Butler)64 Mohamed Kourouma 6-3 291 OL SR Somerset, N.J. (Franklin)65 Josh Byrom 6-5 305 G/C SR McKee’s Rock, Pa. (Montour)66 Alex Kupper 6-3 285 OL SO Louisville, Ky. (Trinity)67 Nick Egart 6-0 292 OL JR Louisville, Ky. (St. XAvier)68 Kamran Joyer 6-3 292 OL RS FR Tampa, Fla. (Wesley Chapel)69 Chris Walker 6-3 300 OL RS FR Louisville, Ky. (Ballard)70 Conrad Thomas 6-6 315 OL SR Douglasville, Ga. (Douglas County)71 Chris Acosta 6-3 262 OL FR Miami, Fla. (Hialeah)72 Hunter Stout 6-4 278 OL RS FR Tampa, Fla. (Wharton)73 Hector Hernandez 6-5 282 OL JR Naples, Fla. (Naples)74 Jeff Adams 6-8 298 OT SR Cadiz, Ky. (Trigg County)75 Ryan Kessling 6-5 314 OT JR Tallahassee, Fla. (Chiles)76 Greg Tomczyk 6-6 299 OT SR Long Valley, N.J. (The Hun School)77 Joe Evinger 6-6 320 OL SR Brazil, Ind. (College of the Canyons)78 Byron Stingily 6-5 300 OT SR Country Club Hills, Ill. (Joliet)79 Mark Wetterer 6-5 319 OG SR Cincinnati, Ohio (Anderson)80 Stephon Ball 6-4 223 TE SO Cincinnati, Ohio (St. Xavier)81 Rock Keys 6-5 248 TE SR Collins, Miss. (Jones County)82 Pete Nochta 6-5 246 TE SR Lexington, Ky. (Tates Creek)83 Cameron Graham 6-4 253 TE SR Inglewood, Calif. (El Camino)84 Stephan Robinson 6-0 165 WR FR Louisville, Ky. (Central)85 Nate Nord 6-5 230 TE SO Boca Raton, Fla. (West Boca Raton)86 Zach Meagher 6-4 239 FB JR Cincinnati, Ohio (Glen Estes)87 Kai Dominguez 6-0 172 WR FR Montvale, N.J. (St. Joseph’s Regional)88 Stephen Goodwin 6-0 190 WR RS FR Louisville, Ky. (St. Xavier)88 Jarrett Davis 5-9 165 WR FR Tyrone, Ga. (Sandy Creek)89 Scott Radcliff 5-10 183 WR SO Louisville, Ky. (Trinity)90 Malcolm Tatum 6-4 253 DE SR Moss Point, Miss. (Gulf Coast CC)92 Brandon Dunn 6-3 282 DT FR Louisville, Ky. (Pleasure Ridge Park)93 Roy Philon 6-3 276 DT RS FR Lexington, Ky. (Bryan Station)94 Joseph Townsend 6-4 287 DT SR San Jose, Calif. (Foothill)95 Randy Salmon 6-3 291 DT SO Atlanta, Ga. (Hutchinson CC)96 Patrick Grant 6-4 236 TE SO Sunrise, Fla. (Boyd Anderson)97 Tim High 6-2 298 DT SR Compton, Calif. (El Camino)98 Drew Davis 6-1 275 DT SO Fort Mitchell, Ky. (Beechwood)99 Zach Kiernan 6-6 284 DE JR Cold Springs, Ky. (Newport Central Catholic)

NO NAME POS YR EXP HT/WT HOMETOWN 1 San San Te K Jr. 2V 5-9/180 Hickory, NC (Hickory)2 Kyle Sullivan K Fr. RS 5-11/176 Hockessin, DE (St. Mark’s)2 Gareef Glashen DB Fr. HS 5-10/190 Miami, FL (Carol City)3 Darrell Givens CB Fr. RS 6-1/180 Fort Washington, MD (Lackey)4 David Rowe DB Jr. 2V 6-0/195 Cocoa, FL (Cocoa)5 Timothy Wright WR So. 1V 6-4/216 Wall, NJ (Wall Twp.)6 Mohamed Sanu WR So. 1V 6-2/218 South Brunswick, NJ (South Brunswick)7 Tom Savage QB So. 1V 6-5/226 Springfi eld, PA (Cardinal O’Hara)8 Kordell Young RB Sr. 3V 5-9/190 Westville, NJ (West Deptford)9 Aaron Hayward WR Fr. RS 6-0/193 Penns Grove, NJ (Carneys Point)10 D.C. Jefferson TE So. 1V 6-6/258 Winter Haven, FL (Winter Haven)11 Logan Ryan CB Fr. RS 6-0/186 Berlin, NJ (Eastern)12 Steve Shimko QB So. 1V 6-5/230 Ewing, NJ (Ewing)13 Al-Ghaffaar Lane LB Jr. 2V 6-3/220 East Orange, NJ (Paterson Catholic)13 Ka Lial Glaud OLB So. 1V 6-2/223 Winslow, NJ (Winslow Twp)14 Jason Friday QB Fr. HS 6-4/200 Falls Church, VA (Jeb Stuart)16 Tyler Bellia QB So. RS 6-4/215 New City, NY (Paramus Catholic)17 Brandon Coleman WR Fr. HS 6-6/215 Accokeek, MD (Bishop McNamara)18 Jeremy Deering WR Fr. HS 6-2/203 Tampa, FL (Leto)19 Chas Dodd QB Fr. HS 6-0/197 Lyman, SC (Bynes)20 Khaseem Greene DB So. 1V 6-1/215 Elizabeth, NJ (Elizabeth)21 Lorenzo Waters DB Fr. HS 6-0/195 Accokeek, MD (DeMatha)22 Rashad Knight DB Fr. HS 5-11/190 Jacksonville, FL (Trinity Christian Academy)22 Colin McEvoy DB Sr. 3V 6-1/215 Hillsdale, NJ (Pascack Valley)22 Tyrone Putman RB Jr. 2V 5-10/195 Ft. Washington, MD (Gonzaga)23 Brandon Bing DB Sr. 3V 5-11/180 Wyncote, PA (Cheltenham)24 Mason Robinson RB Jr. 3V 5-10/190 Somerville, NJ (Somerville)25 Brandon Jones CB So. 1V 6-1/187 Winslow, NJ (Winslow Twp)26 Joe Lefeged DB Sr. 3V 6-1/205 Germantown, MD (Northwest)27 Wayne Warren DB So. 1V 6-1/204 Salisbury, MD (Wicomico)28 Quron Pratt WR Fr. RS 6-0/175 Palmyra, NJ (Palmyra)29 Jordan Thomas WR Fr. HS 6-1/205 Endicott, NY (Union-Endicott)30 Edmond Laryea FB Sr. 3V 6-1/223 Staten Island, NY (Tottenville)31 David Milewski LB Fr. HS 6-4/225 Sayreville, NJ (Sayreville)32 Duron Harmon S So. 1V 6-1/198 Magnolia, DE (Ceasar Rodney)33 Casey Turner RB Fr. HS 5-11/190 Jacksonville, FL (Ed White)33 Jawann Westerman DB Jr. 2V 5-11/180 Brampton, ON (Notre Dame)34 DeAntwan Williams RB So. 1V 5-8/195 Woodbridge, VA (Woodbridge HS)35 Shane Meisner LB Fr. HS 6-3/240 Greensburg, PA (Kiski Prep)37 Jamal Merrell WR Fr. RS 6-4/204 Bear, DE (Hodgson Vo-Tech)38 Joe Martinek RB Jr. 1V 6-0/215 Hopatcong, NJ (Hopatcong)39 Jawan Jamison RB Fr. HS 5-8/200 Stark, FL (Bolles)41 Robert Joseph FB Fr. RS 6-2/216 Jamaica, NY (Brooklyn Poly Prep)41 Rob Horrell LS Fr. HS 5-10/210 Rancho Cucamonga, CA (Rancho Cucamonga)42 Steve Beauharnais LB So. 1V 6-2/230 Saddle Brook, NJ (St. Joseph Reg.)43 Nick DePaola FB Fr. RS 6-0/196 Hereford, MD (Hereford)44 Sam Bergen LB Fr. HS 6-0/225 East Stroudsburg, PA (East Stroudsburg)45 Alex Silvestro DE Sr. 3V 6-4/260 Gibbstown, NJ (Paulsboro)46 Michael Burton RB Fr. HS 6-0/220 Long Valley, NJ (West Morris)47 Patrick Kivlehan DB Jr. 2V 6-2/211 West Nyack, NY (St.Joseph of Montvale)48 Marcus Thompson LB Fr. HS 6-2/225 Oakland Park, FL (Boyd Anderson)50 Antonio Lowery LB Sr. 3V 6-2/225 Miami, FL (Christopher Columbus)51 Manny Abreu LB Jr. 2V 6-3/245 Union City, NJ (Union Hill)52 Eric LeGrand DE Jr. 2V 6-2/275 Colonia, NJ (Colonia)53 Jim Dumont LB Sr. 3V 6-1/222 Newtown, NY (Council Rock North)53 Jamal Wilson OT Fr. RS 6-5/307 Brooklyn, NY (South Shore)54 Juniow Solice DE Fr. RS 6-3/240 Hackensack, NJ (Hackensack)54 Justin Mills LB Fr. HS 6-1/225 Sayreville, NJ (Camden Military Academy)55 Betim Bujari OG Fr. HS 6-4/295 Secaucus, NJ (Secaucus)56 Marvin Booker LB So. 1V 6-2/220 Piscataway, NJ (Piscataway)57 Sorie Bayoh DE Sr. 3V 6-3/250 Miami, FL (Gulliver Prep)57 Frank Quartucci OL Fr. HS 6-4/295 Hamilton, NJ (Hamilton West)58 Fred Overstreet LB Fr. HS 6-1/220 Tampa, FL (Jefferson)59 David Osei C Fr. RS 6-4/266 Abington, PA (Abington)59 Joe Falato DL Fr. HS 6-3/225 Lodi, NJ (Lodi)60 Caleb Ruch OL Jr. 2V 6-4/290 Quakertown, PA (Quakertown)62 Chris Fonti OL Fr. HS 6-7/315 Wayne, NJ (Wayne Hills)63 Clem Udovich DL Sr. 3V 6-2/245 Annandale, NJ (North Huntersdon)64 Nicholas Libonati OL Jr. 2V 6-3/291 Howell, (Howell)67 Hugh Ahern OL Fr. HS 6-7/315 Maplewood, NJ (Peddie School)68 Matt McBride OL Fr. RS 6-6/280 Hicksville, NY (Holy Trinity)70 Desmond Wynn OL Jr. 2V 6-6/290 Bear, DE (St. Mark’s)71 Devon Watkis OL So. 1V 6-7/310 Brooklyn, NY (Longwood)72 Isaac Holmes DT Fr. RS 6-3/277 Hoboken, NJ (Hoboken)73 Desmond Stapleton OL Jr. 2V 6-5/285 Union, NJ (Union)74 Howard Barbieri OL Sr. 3V 6-5/304 Leonardo, NJ (Middletown South)75 Antwan Lowery OL Fr. RS 6-4/302 Miami, FL (Columbus)76 Mo Lange OL Sr. 3V 6-7/300 Hillsborough, NJ (Hillsborough)77 Art Forst OL Jr. 2V 6-8/311 Manasquan, NJ (Manasquan)78 Taj Alexander DT Fr. HS 6-4/295 Downington, PA (Downington East)79 Jorge Vicioso OL Fr. HS 6-6/300 Passaic, NJ (Passaic)80 Phil Lewis WR Fr. RS 6-2/182 Metuchen, NJ (Metuchen)81 Mark Harrison WR So. 1V 6-3/230 Stratford, CT (Bunnell)82 J.T. Tartacoff ATH Fr. HS 5-11/190 Skillman, NJ (Montgomery)83 Keith Stroud WR So. 1V 6-3/206 Brooklyn, NY (Fort Hamilton)83 Jawaun Wynn WR Fr. HS 6-3/190 Piscataway, NJ (Piscataway)84 Marcus Cooper WR So. 1V 6-2/185 Bloomfi eld, CT (Bloomfi eld)85 Robert Jones LS Fr. RS 6-0/208 West Caldwell, NJ (Caldwell)86 James Kim LB Fr. HS 6-3/235 Kinnelon, NJ (Kinnelon)86 Beau Bachety TE So. 1V 6-4/260 Babylon, NY (Babylon)87 Fabian Ruiz TE Jr. 2V 6-4/245 Miami, FL (Miami Sunset)88 Malcolm Bush TE Fr. RS 6-4/243 Englewood, NJ (Hackensack)89 Paul Carrezola TE Fr. RS 6-2/235 Neshaminy, PA (Neshaminy)90 Michael Larrow DE Fr. RS 6-4/252 Union, NJ (Union)91 Brian Leoni OL Fr. HS 6-6/225 Flemington, NJ (Hunterdon Central)91 Justin Francis DT Jr. 2V 6-4/262 Miramar, FL (Miramar)92 Jamil Merrell DE Fr. RS 6-4/250 Bear, DE (Hodgson Vo-Tech)93 Teddy Dellaganna P Sr. 2V 6-2/210 Templeton, CA (Templeton)94 Scott Vallone DT So. 1V 6-3/270 Central Islip, NY (St. Anthony’s)95 Nick DeLouisa K Fr. HS 6-3/215 Tewksbury, NJ (Immaculata)96 Charlie Noonan DT Sr. 3V 6-2/274 Philadelphia, PA (St. Josephs Prep)97 Andre Civil DL Fr. RS 6-3/256 Sheepshead Bay, NY (Sheepshead Bay)98 Evan Lampert DE Jr. 2V 6-3/250 Montvale, NJ (Pascack Hills)99 Jonathan Freeny DE Sr. 3V 6-3/250 Margate, FL (Coconut Creek)


BY RICK CUSHINGThere’s no other way to put it:

The Scarlet Knights have had a disastrous season. They are 4-6, 1-4 after four straight losses, including a 69-38 pounding at Cincinnati last Saturday. In order to make their sixth straight bowl game, the Knights now must win their fi nal two games – Friday

against UofL and the following week at West Virginia. It’s noteworthy that Rutgers is 0-15 all time at West Virginia.

It’s hard to pinpoint what went wrong this season because Rutgers has been awful in so many team cat-egories. Last in the Big East in total offense, scoring, fi rst downs, rushing, punting, sacks by, sacks against, red zone defense, next to last in pass effi ciency, pass effi ciency defense, red zone offense, kickoff coverage, fi eld goals. You get the picture.

The Knights were coming off a 9-4 season that in-cluded a 45-24 victory over Central Florida in the St. Petersburg Bowl. Two top offensive performers returned after promising freshman campaigns -- quarterback Tom Savage and all-purpose threat Mohamed Sanu – and leading rusher Joe Martinek, a junior, was back. The defense, which led the Big East last year, returned six starters, including three on the front line.

“I think it’s going to be fun,” Savage said before the season. “I mean, we’re talented. We’re young, but we’re talented.”

So how do you explain the season, much less the nightmare loss to Cincinnati? Rutgers scored on its fi rst offensive play to lead 7-0 and trailed just 20-17 early in the second quarter. But the Knights were un-able to slow the Bearcats, much less stop them. UC rolled up 661 total yards, including 295 yards rushing, while Rutgers was held to a minus-9 yards rushing, was intercepted twice and sacked seven times. UC’s Isaiah Pead ran 31 times for 213 yards and four TDs, while Zach Collaros was 23 of 39 for 366 yards and four TDs with an interception.

After the debacle, a subdued Rutgers coach Greg Schiano addressed the media: “We don’t have a lot of time,” he said. “We have fi ghters in that room and they’re embarrassed, just like I am. We were not a very good football team tonight, I can tell you that. We have to fi gure out how to get back on track.”

Said senior cornerback Brandon Bing: “It’s embar-rassing for the defense when you give up that many points…. It’s defi nitely embarrassing for Rutgers’ de-fense — a team built on defense.”

So an embarrassed and contrite Rutgers team will try to regroup against the Cardinals, whom the Knights have beaten two years in a row, including 63-14 at Rut-gers two years ago. It may be time for retribution.

RUTGERS QBS AN ENDANGERED SPECIESThe Knights are dead last (120th) in the country in

sacks allowed at 4.6 per game. They gave up seven sacks to Cincinnati. Three starters on the O-line were lost from last season, but Schiano expected their re-placements to work out just fi ne. That hasn’t been the case. As a result of the shoddy protection, Savage was injured in the fi fth game of the season. He has returned, but true freshman Chas Dodd has supplanted him as the starter.

O-LINE JUST NOT GETTING IT DONEIn addition to the number of sacks the Knights have

given up, they have been unable to run the ball. They rank 112th in the country with 999 rushing yards (99.9 a game), and they’re averaging just 2.69 yards per carry, which is tied for 117th.

DODD SHOWS PROMISESince taking over as the starter four games ago,

Dodd (6-0, 197) has played fairly well, although the team is 0-4. Against Cincinnati he was 19 of 29 for 335 yards and four TDs (career highs in yards and TDs) with two interceptions. For the season he’s 99 of 172 (57.6 percent) for 1,321 yards (146.8 a game) and nine TDs with fi ve interceptions. His longest completion of the season was a 66-yard TD pass to sophomore Mark

Harrison against Cincinnati.SAVAGE NOT GETTING THE JOB DONESavage (6-5, 230), a prep All-American, began the

season with lofty expectations after taking over in the third game last season and leading the Knights to sev-en victories in 10 games. But when he was replaced as the starter this season it was as much for poor perfor-mance as for injury. And since he came back, Schiano has stuck with Dodd, although Savage replaced him in the second half of a 13-10 loss to Syracuse two games ago. On the season Savage is 43 of 83 (51.8 percent) for 521 yards and two TDs with three interceptions.

SANU PRODUCTIVE BUT HAS HEALTH PROBLEMSSanu (6-2, 215) showed considerable promise as a

freshman, when he caught 51 passes for 639 yards and three TDs and ran out of the Wildcat offense 62 times for 346 yards and fi ve TDs. He torched UofL for 148 rushing yards and two TDs in a 34-14 Rutgers victory that was Steve Kragthorpe’s swan song. This year Sanu has been battling health problems, however. Against Cincinnati he was 2 of 3 passing for 65 yards and a TD (a 51-yarder on the game’s fi rst play), but he did not attempt a run and did not catch a pass. Still, he leads Rutgers with 309 rushing yards and four TDs on 59 car-ries (5.2 average per carry, 30.9 a game), and he leads with 41 receptions for 398 yards (9.7 per reception) and four TDs. He’s 6 for 9 passing for 160 yards and three TDs. It appears UofL can expect him to pass if he lines up in the Wildcat formation Friday.

HARRISON COMING OFF MONSTER GAMEThe 6-3, 230-pound Harrison had one of the top re-

ceiving games in Rutgers history against Cincinnati -- 10 catches for 240 yards and four TDs. The 240 yards was the second-best in school history (Tiquan Under-wood had 248 against Buffalo in 2007), and he became the second in school history to catch four TD passes in a game (Chris Brantley did it in 1992 against Virginia Tech). For the season Harrison is second on the team with 35 receptions and leads with 681 yards and eight TDs.

MARTINEK A DISAPPOINTMENT Martinek (6-0, 215) rushed for 967 yards (4.7 per

carry) and nine TDs last season, but this season he’s rushed for just 276 yards (3.2 per carry) and four TDs. Of course, it’s tough to run when you have an offensive line that’s been … well, offensive.

JEFFERSON THIS YEAR’S WILDCATWith Sanu limited by injury, sophomore D.C. Jefferson

(6-6, 258) has been taking direct snaps in the Wildcat formation and running the ball effectively. He’s second on the team with 281 rushing yards (5.0 per carry) and has one TD. The converted tight end is not much in the passing department, however. He’s 0 for 2.

POOR PUNTING DOESN’T HELPPunting doesn’t play as large a role as it used to

(and it’s a shame the coffi n-corner punt is a lost art), but even so a good punting game is a defi nite plus for your team. Rutgers lacks a good punting game. Senior Ted Dellaganna is averaging 41.7 yards a punt, but he must not be getting much height on his kicks because his net punting average is just 34.81 yards, which is 85th in the country and last in the Big East.

RU LEADS BIG EAST IN TURNOVER MARGINOne of the only positive statistics for the Knights is

turnover margin, in which they’re tied with Connecticut for the Big East lead and are tied for 21st in the country at .70. They’re even with the opposition in interceptions at eight but have recovered 11 fumbles while losing just four.

SAN-SAN-TE ACCURATE UP TO 40 YARDSPlace-kicker San-San-Te, a junior, has made 14 of

20 fi eld-goal attempts this season but is 12 for 13 in-side of 40 yards. Beyond that he’s 2 for 7, with a long of 43 yards. He has one game-winning kick this season, a 34-yarder against UConn to give RU a 27-24 victory.

NO KENTUCKIANS ON ROSTERRutgers has no one from Kentucky on its roster.ALL-TIME SERIESUofL and Rutgers have played nine times in a series

that dates to 1976, with RU holding a 7-2 advantage. The Knights triumphed 28-25 at home in 2006, UofL’s only loss in its Orange Bowl season.

HEAD COACHHEAD COACHGREG SCHIANOGREG SCHIANO

TOM SAVAGETOM SAVAGE

2010 SCHEDULEDATE OPPONNENT TIME/RESULTSept. 2, 2010 Norfolk St. W, 31-0

Sept. 11, 2010 at Florida Int’l W, 19-14

Sept. 25, 2010 North Carolina L, 17-13

Oct. 2, 2010 Tulane L, 17-14

Oct. 8, 2010 Connecticut W, 27-24

Oct. 16, 2010 Army W, 23-20

Oct. 23, 2010 at Pittsburgh L, 41-21

Nov. 3, 2010 at South Florida L, 28-27

Nov. 13, 2010 Syracuse L, 13-10

Nov. 20, 2010 at Cincinnati L, 69-38

Nov. 26, 2010 Louisville 11 amDec. 4, 2010 at West Virginia TBA

2009 RESULTSDATE OPPONNENT RESULT RECORD Sept. 7, 2009 Cincinnati L 47-15 0-1 (0-1) Sept. 12, 2009 Howard W 45-7 1-1 Sept. 19, 2009 Florida Int’l W 23-15 2-1 Sept. 26, 2009 at Maryland W 34-13 3-1 Oct. 10, 2009 Texas Southern W 42-0 4-1 Oct. 16, 2009 Pittsburgh L 24-17 4-2 (0-2) Oct. 23, 2009 at Army W 27-10 5-2 Oct. 31, 2009 at Connecticut W 28-24 6-2 (1-2) Nov. 12, 2009 South Florida W 31-0 7-2 (2-2) Nov. 21, 2009 at Syracuse L 31-13 7-3 (2-3) Nov. 27, 2009 at Louisville W 34-14 8-3 (3-3) Dec. 5, 2009 West Virginia L 24-21 8-4 (3-4) Dec. 19, 2009 UCF W 45-24 9-4

RU

TG

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S S

CA

RLE

T K

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FAST FACTS- RUTGERS IS 55-55 UNDER GREG SCHIANO.

THEY ARE JUST 4-16 VS. TEAMS IN THE TOP 25 DURING THAT STRETCH, WITH TWO OF THOSE

FOUR WINS AGAINST LOUISVILLE.

- RUTGERS HAS NEVER WON IN MORGANTOWN, W. VA. THEY ARE 0-15 ALL TIME.

TEAM BREAKDOWN

NOVEMBER 26, 2010

LOUISVILLEVS.

RUTGERSPISCATAWAY, NJ

11 AM


CARDINAL STARSNICOLE YOUMAN - FIELD HOCKEYThe senior forward from Black Mountain, Australia, was named to the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I All-American second team. She became the fi fth Cardinal player to earn All-America honors. Youman was the 2010 Big East Offensive Player of the Year after dominating the conference in every offensive category. The four-year starter and two-year captain registered 17 goals and dished out 19 assists. She is a four-time NFHCA All-West Region and All-Big East Conference selection, owns the school career and single-season assists marks and also tied a school record with fi ve goals in a 9-0 victory over Central Michigan this season. She also was selected to play in the 2010 NFHCA Division I Senior Game.

MICHAEL EATON - CROSS COUNTRYThe fi fth-year senior from Bowling Green, Ky., covered the 10,000-meter course in 30:51 at the NCAA Championships Monday in Terre Haute, Ind., to place 58th - and fi rst on the team - in a 246-man fi eld. Eaton completed his cross country career with four all-region honors and three trips to the national championships. He also earned three all-Big East honors (top-10 fi nish at the Big East Championships), registering his best fi nish at the league event this season with a runner-up placing. Eaton’s fi nish and a 68th-place fi nish by Matt Hughes helped the Cardinals fi nish 28th at the national championships. Oklahoma State won the team title.

EMILY JUHL - VOLLEYBALLThe freshman outside hitter from Louisville’s Sacred Heart Academy was named Big East Tournament MVP after she recorded 13 kills and hit .565 during the Big East Tournament title match Sunday against Cincinnati. Juhl, who also had three aces, led second-seeded Louisville to a 25-20, 25-20, 25-15 victory over top-seeded Cincinnati. It was Louisville’s third-straight Big East Tournament title. Juhl and teammates Gwen Rucker and Lola Arslanbekova were named to the All-Tournament team. Juhl is a hometown phenom who is one of the top recruits in UofL history. She was an AAU National All-American in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009.

KRISSIE BRANDENBURG - WOMEN’S SWIMMINGThe freshman from Edgewood, Ky., won the 200-backstroke at the Purdue Invitational Sunday in West Lafayette, Ind. Brandenburg’s time of 1:57.32 is an NCAA B-cut qualifi er and is the fastest 200-back in school history. A day earlier she won the 100-back in 54.04, which also was an NCAA B-cut qualifi er and a school record. Brandenburg, who has been on campus only for a semester, was a Junior Nationals qualifi er in the backstroke at Beechwood High School. She also was the Kentucky State Meet MVP and an eight-time All-American in high school. Brandenburg and the Cardinals fi nished second to Arkansas at the eight-team Purdue Invitational, beating out Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan, Cincinnati, Missouri State and Southern Illinois.

COLIN ROLFE - MEN’S SOCCERThe junior from Canton, Mich., scored the game-winning goal and also registered an assist to help Louisville beat College of Charleston 3-1 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at Cardinal Park. Rolfe played just 67 minutes, but he made the most of his time, registering four shots, including the one goal. For the season Rolfe leads the 17-0-3 Cardinals in points with 20. He’s second to Dylan Mares in goals (Rolfe has seven to eight by Mares) and second to Kenney Walker in assists (Walker has seven, Rolfe six).

ANDRE BOUDREAUX - MEN’S SOCCERThe junior goalkeeper from New Orleans registered a career-high seven saves Sunday night against the College of Charleston. Boudreaux, who played all 90 minutes, allowed one goal that bounced in off the cross bar on a header early in the game but was a brick wall the rest of the way. For the season Louisville has outscored opponents 40-12 in 20 games. Boudreaux has 49 saves this season with eight shutouts. He has not allowed a goal in overtime this season.

TRYSTAN MAGNUSON - BASEBALLThe former UofL star relief pitcher was traded to the Oakland A’s last week along with Daniel Farquhar for outfi elder Rajai Davis. Magnuson will likely be put on Oakland’s 40-man roster. He drew praise from Oakland general manager David Forst. “He’s got the pedigree,” Forst said. “I think it took him a while to sort of fi gure it out, but he just had a phenomenal year at Double-A. He’s 6-7 with a swing-and-miss slider.” Magnuson was taken in the supplemental fi rst round (No. 56 overall) in the 2007 First-Year Draft. He spent his fi rst season of pro ball in 2008 as a starter but has been in the bullpen the past two years (he worked exclusively out of the bullpen in college). In 145 innings during that span Magnuson posted a 2.48 ERA, allowing 130 hits and 38 walks while striking out 115.

YOUMANYOUMAN

EATONEATON

JUHLJUHL

BRANDENBURGBRANDENBURG

ROLFEROLFE

BOUDREAUXBOUDREAUX

MAGNUSONMAGNUSON

HOWIE LINDSEY’SHOWIE LINDSEY’S

OF THE WEEKOF THE WEEK

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

By Howie LindseyEditor’s Note: Louisville took on No. 5

Xavier Tuesday night after press time, but before this week’s Louisville SportsReport was delivered.

After battling toe-to-toe with No. 4 Tennes-see in a 63-50 season-opening loss, Louisville has been on a tear, clobbering its next three opponents. First, Louisville smashed Ohio 84-47. Then the Cardinals jumped to a 26-2 lead en route to a 100-34 victory over Houston Baptist. Then they clobbered Southeast Mis-souri State 94-38 last Friday night at the KFC Yum! Center.

“Of course I am pleased,” coach Jeff Walz said. “I think that the crowd can defi nitely see that we’re more talented this year, we have more players and there is more depth. I’m just really excited about having that opportunity.”

The Cardinals would have struggled to beat teams like Ohio and Southeast Missouri State last year when they were so riddled with injuries they often didn’t have fi ve healthy players to practice with. This year, however, Louisville has a full stable of players that in-cludes a six-woman freshman class that was rated among the nation’s top-fi ve recruiting classes by ESPN.com.

“I’m pleased with the way we are compet-ing,” Walz said. “I’m really excited about that. It’s more of the fact that we are competing possession by possession, we’re not so much concerned about the score. In order to be a great team, to get to that point, you have to learn to come out here and not worry about the score. We play so we can learn to improve every single day. That is really what I have learned so far.”

Because the last several games have been blowouts, Walz has had the opportunity to get crucial experience for his younger players. After four games every player on the roster was averaging 10 minutes or more playing time per game. That’s 13 players averaging be-tween 10.0 (Rachel Story and Shelby Harper) and 21.8 (Monique Reid) minutes per game.

Sophomore Tia Gibbs, a Vanderbilt transfer, believes the Cards are building momentum from the way they played against Tennessee.

“We gained a lot of confi dence,” she said. “I don’t want to say we doubted ourselves, but we didn’t really know the potential we had. Everyone said we had a top-fi ve recruit-ing class and we had a lot of potential. But I think that night proved to us how much po-tential we really had and how we could work really hard and get to that level.”

TOUGH ROAD TRIPIn addition to Tuesday night’s game against

No. 5 Xavier and their twin towers of Ta’Shia Phillips and Amber Harris, the Cardinals also will have their following two games on the road. UofL will play at Old Dominion Friday night and at IPFW Monday night.

“We have a very big week,” Walz said. “We are at Xavier and at Old Dominion, which is a very good team. They knocked off Georgia Tech last week, and we have a battle on our hands these next two road games.”

BEAT THE HUSKIESIt wasn’t the Huskies most people think of

when they hear women’s basketball, but it was still a win. UofL bashed the visiting Hous-ton Baptist Huskies (not UConn) 100-34 last Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.

Louisville leaped to an early 26-2 lead, blitzing the Huskies with intense defensive pressure and a strong start from Reid. Hous-ton Baptist scored the fi rst bucket, but the Cardinals scored the next 26.

The run started with a layup by Reid and in-cluded eight points from her, fi ve from Gibbs, four from Keshia Hines, three from Shoni Schimmel and a pair of threes by Antonita Slaughter.

Reid scored eight of Louisville’s fi rst 10 points and fi nished the fi rst half with 16 points. The Cardinals kept the pedal to the metal on offense but relaxed a bit on defense, pushing the lead to 57-26 by halftime.

Any hope the Huskies had of making a comeback was dashed when the Cardinals went on a 17-0 run to start the second half. The Huskies didn’t score until the 12:12 mark of the second half, and by that point they were down 74-28.

Walz told his team they’d run laps for every point Houston Baptist scored more than 38 for the game. That motivation proved enough as Louisville held the Huskies to just eight points in the second half, a school-record defensive performance.

Walz’s team also met its goals in forcing turnovers - he wanted 30 and they forced 33 - and limiting offensive rebounds - Walz wanted HBU to grab 12 or less and they had nine.

Louisville ended the 100-34 rout with only one player, center Sheronne Vails, registering more than 20 minutes. Vails and Reid led all scorers with 18 apiece, followed by Hines with 12, Schimmel with 11 and Gibbs with 10.

SEMO GETS MOWED DOWNFor the third game in a row the Cardinals

pushed to a monster early lead and pum-meled their opponents in a 40-point plus win. UofL improved to 3-1 with a 97-43 victory over Southeast Missouri State Friday night at the KFC Yum! Center in front of a crowd of 6,705.

The Cardinals led 16-0 before the Red-hawks scored. It wasn’t until the 14:47 mark when Miami’s Brittany Harriel hit a jumper. Louisville’s stifl ing defense and fast-paced of-fense had SEMO fl ustered from the opening tip. Walz had a full team of substitutes in the game as early as seven minutes into the fi rst half. He played all 12 available players in the fi rst half, and all but freshman Polly Harrington (seven) played more than 12 minutes.

Louisville’s lead was 32-7 with just over eight minutes to go in the fi rst half, and SEMO didn’t hit double fi gures until the 5:54 mark when Katie Norman hit a three from the wing to make it 36-10. UofL fi nished out the fi rst half with a buzzer-beater three by LaToya Johnson to increase its lead to 52-19.

SEMO scored the fi rst points of the second half, a three that cut the lead to 52-22, but the Redhawks didn’t score again until the 14:03 mark. They didn’t break 30 until just over six minutes remained, and they didn’t fi nish the game with a single double-fi gure scorer.

Louisville closed out the 97-43 win with fi ve players in double fi gures and four more with six or more points. Reid led all scorers with 16 points and four steals in 19 minutes. Hines had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Gibbs scored 13 points and Vails and Slaughter each had 10 points.

Louisville out-rebounded SEMO 48-25 and had a 46-8 advantage in points in the paint. Lou-isville’s low-post game will need to stay strong as the Cardinals face one of the tallest teams in America Tuesday night at No. 5 Xavier.

SCHIMMEL STRONGERSince her wild fi rst half against Tennessee

(no points, seven turnovers), freshman point guard Shoni Schimmel has been fantastic. In the second half against Tennessee she had nine points, two steals, two rebounds and an assist with just one turnover.

Against Ohio she had 12 points, seven as-sists and fi ve rebounds with only one turnover in just 20 minutes. Against Houston Baptist the phenom from Oregon had 11 points, four assists and three rebounds with zero turnovers in the fi rst half. And against SEMO Schimmel had six points, three assists, two steals, two rebounds and one turnover in 17 minutes.

CARDS WHIP THREE FOES IN A WEEK AFTER UT BATTLE


MEN’S SOCCER

By Howie LindseyTaking the fi eld for Sunday night’s sec-

ond-round NCAA Men’s Soccer Tourna-ment match at Cardinal Park, the No. 1 ranked Louisville Cardinals seemed to have an extra bounce in their step. Their home fi eld was bursting at the seams with 5,197 offi cially counted fans and another 600-800 fans sitting on the berm overlooking the fi eld outside the fence.

The crowd, some of whom were lined up three-deep all the way around the fi eld behind barricades along the track, cheered UofL’s entrance and every move through-out the game. And when the Cardinals scored the go-ahead and icing goals in the

second half of their 3-1 victory over College of Charleston, the crowd went wild.

“I’ve been to a couple of events here that have had a huge impact on me as a spectator and a coach - one was Syra-cuse last year in basket-

ball and the other was West Virginia (in football) a few years ago during the black-out,” Louisville men’s soccer coach Ken Lol-la said. “There is a will that comes with a crowd like that, when the spectators have so much to do with the outcome. Tonight was one of those games. For our players, I know the crowd and the amount of people that were out there had so much to do with the outcome of the game.”

And like the men’s basketball win over No. 1 Syracuse last year and the football win over West Virginia in 2006, the Cardi-nals came away with a win Sunday night.

“It was unbelievable,” junior All-Amer-ican Colin Rolfe said. “Not just when I scored, but the whole game the crowd was great. They kept us going even when our play wasn’t going as well as we liked. We are so fortunate to have a great crowd to support us.”

The Cards had the game’s fi rst scoring chance in the 17th minute when Andrew Farrell got pushed down in the box, result-ing in a free kick from 10 yards out. J.T. Murray took the shot, but it bounced off the College of Charleston wall and out of bounds. The Cards didn’t score on the en-suing corner kick, but they did score less than a minute later.

Louisville was still applying heavy pres-sure when Paolo DelPiccolo took a shot in-side the box in the 19th minute. The shot pinged off the crossbar at the top and back out, where junior Nick DeLeon chipped it into the goal to make it 1-0.

“It was a corner (kick) and there was a scramble in the box,” DeLeon said. “I fell down to the back post. Paolo had a strike across the goal, and I was there to tap it in. The crowd was unbelievable. It was an unbelievable atmosphere.”

College of Charleston tied the score in the 24th minute when Sean DeSilva’s cor-ner kick was just the right height for Sean Flatley to head off the crossbar and into

Louisville’s goal. Throughout the game, but especially early on, Charleston kept the pressure on the Cardinals with several shots on goal.

“They were mostly dangerous on the counter,” goalkeeper Andre Boudreaux said. “If their guys got the ball and they saw that we had four guys back, they would just decide to shoot from 25 or 30 yards out. Sometimes that just happens.”

After Charleston tied the score, both teams went nearly 60 minutes before the next goal was scored. Louisville appeared to have an advantage for most of the game, but each time the Cards had a chance it was diverted.

“It wasn’t so much us tightening up, but it was us struggling to fi nd our rhythm,” Lolla said. “That credit should go to Charleston. They are very competitive and very scrappy. They were a hard team to play against, but I thought we wore on them. They spent a lot of energy trying to wear on us, so as the game went on I think we had more and more chances.”

The Cardinals fi nally broke through in the 83rd minute when DeLeon found Rolfe sprinting down the fi eld. Rolfe held off the Charleston defender and rocketed a shot from 20 yards out that found the middle of the back of the net past Charleston keeper Kees Heemskerk.

“I got a great ball from Nick, and it was set up for me to shoot,” Rolfe said. “All I had to do was kick it into the back of the net. It was really a great ball from Nick.”

Lolla jumped in, explaining that Rolfe was being modest.

“They are a team that can get caught high at times in transition, and I think as

the game went on and they fatigued, they were a little slower in dropping back,” Lolla said. “We tried a number of times to catch them in transition, and the timing of that one was perfect. The ball was well waited, and the timing of Colin’s run was great. He did the hardest part. Getting there is one thing, and fi nishing is another. Colin has been great all year. It was a wonderful play.”

It wasn’t long until the crowd had more to celebrate. In the 88th minute Rolfe found Charlie Campbell on the right side of the goal for a quick scoring shot past Heemskerk to make it 3-1, ice the victory for the Cardinals and ignite joyful celebra-tion among the fans that ringed the fi eld.

“It was a transition fast break,” Camp-bell said. “Dylan (Mares) and Colin were coming up the left side. They had a center-back that had been staying in between me and Colin. Dylan and Colin played a quick 1-2 that drew the center-back away and left me wide open. Colin slotted it across and I just tried to hit it as hard as I could.”

The team high-fi ved fans and signed autographs after the game before retir-ing to the locker room. Lolla implied Sun-day night’s game may have shaken a little of the rust off the Cardinals, who hadn’t played since the previous Sunday’s Big East Tournament title game against Providence.

“I told our guys after the game that we so much needed that game,” Lolla said. “Charleston, I give them a lot of credit. They are a dangerous team - hard-working and very competitive. They are extremely dangerous on restarts. They stretched us and tested us and showed us that we are prepared for this run.”

PLEASE COME BACKSunday night’s crowd was offi cially the

largest crowd to see a college soccer game in the state of Kentucky. The 5,197 offi cial fans blew away the Cardinal Park record by nearly 2,000, and that didn’t count all the fans outside the gates. Lolla said he can only hope the fans liked what they saw and will come back Sunday night.

“I encourage the fans and ask them to come out again this week,” he said. “Let’s do it again!”

WALKER BACK?Louisville beat College of Charleston

without crucial midfi elder Kenney Walker, who was held out of action with a rela-tively minor injury. Lolla said he would have played Walker if necessary.

“If this was a fi nal then he probably would have played, but it wasn’t so it was a smart move,” Lolla said. “We expect he’ll be healthy for next week.”

BIG EAST FALLSLouisville was one of seven Big East

teams to make the 48-team NCAA Tourna-ment this season. That was a boost for the conference in terms of national perception. That boost didn’t last long, however, be-cause by Sunday night only Louisville was left in the Sweet 16.

Sunday’s NCAA tourney win was just the second in school history for UofL.

“It’s huge,” Boudreaux said. “We’re hoping it’s the second of many.”

Lolla said his team isn’t done yet. The Cardinals will host No. 16 seed Ohio State Sunday at 7 p.m. at Cardinal Park. Tickets are available at 502, 852-5151.

“What the second win means is now we need a third,” Lolla said.

Nick DeLeon and Charlie Campbell sprinted toward their teammates to celebrate one of Louisville’s goals. The Cardinals beat College of Charleston

Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. No. 1 UofL will face No. 16 Ohio State Sunday at 7 p.m. at Cardinal Park. - photo by Dave Klotz

RECORD CROWD HELPS LIFT CARDS TO SWEET 16



KFC Yum! Center OPENING PHOTO GALLERYSELECTED FALL SPORTS SCHEDULESCARDINAL FOOTBALL

D

MAKE YOUR PICKSLAST WEEK:

LAST WEEK:_____OVERALL:_______

KENT TAYLORWAVE TV

LAST WEEK: 7-3OVERALL: 78-42

TERRY MEINERSWHAS RADIO


GARRY GUPTONINSIGHT CH 2 TV


RUSS BROWNSPORTSREPORT


FRED COWGILLWLKY TV


TOM LANEWDRB FOX 41


MATT WILLINGERSPORTSREPORT


HOWIE LINDSEYSPORTSREPORT


DREW DEENERWHAS PLAY-BY-PLAY

WKRD RADIOLAST WEEK: 7-3OVERALL: 78-42

Each week members of our esteemed media panel will try to prove they are smarter than sportscaster Tom Lane. Longtime

Louisville SportsReport subscribers will remember that our media members used to test their football knowledge against a dog, but that proved to be far too challenging. The panel will battle it out by trying to pick the winners of 10 games per week during the college football season to earn the honor of top dog

in the LSR’s Top Tom contest.

ZACH McCRITE93.9 THE TICKET


LOUISVILLE AT RUTGERS LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLEWEST VIRGINIA AT PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGHBOSTON COLLEGE AT SYRACUSE SYRACUSE BOSTON COLLEGE SYRACUSECINCINNATI AT UCONN CINCINNATI CINCINNATI UCONNNOTRE DAME AT USC USC USC USCUSF AT MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMIOKLAHOMA AT OKLAHOMA STATE OSU OSU OSULSU AT ARKANSAS ARKANSAS ARKANSAS ARKANSASBOISE STATE AT NEVADA BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATEAUBURN AT ALABAMA AUBURN AUBURN ALABAMA

JACK COFFEESPORTSREPORT


U OF L PRESIDENTJAMES RAMSEY


JEFF WAFFORDSPORTSREPORT


LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLEPITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH WEST VIRGINIA WEST VIRGINIA PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH

BOSTON COLLEGE SYRACUSE BOSTON COLLEGE SYRACUSE BOSTON COLLEGE BOSTON COLLEGE SYRACUSE BOSTON COLLEGE SYRACUSE SYRACUSEUCONN UCONN UCONN UCONN CINCINNATI UCONN UCONN CINCINNATI UCONN UCONN

USC USC USC USC USC USC USC USC USC USCMIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMIOSU OKLAHOMA OSU OSU OSU OKLAHOMA OSU OKLAHOMA OKLAHOMA OKLAHOMALSU ARKANSAS LSU ARKANSAS LSU LSU ARKANSAS LSU ARKANSAS ARKANSAS

BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATEALABAMA ALABAMA ALABAMA ALABAMA ALABAMA ALABAMA ALABAMA ALABAMA AUBURN ALABAMA

DEB HARBSMEIERWHAS TV TEAM


WILL GRAVESASSOCIATED PRESS


TONY CRUISEWHAS RADIO


LACHLAN MCLEANWHAS RADIO


DAVE JENNINGSWHAS RADIO


PAUL ROGERSWHAS RADIO TEAM


TONY VANETTIAFTERNOON UNDERDOGS

WKRD RADIOLAST WEEK: 7-3OVERALL: 72-48

LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH WEST VIRGINIA PITTSBURGH SYRACUSE BOSTON COLLEGE SYRACUSE SYRACUSE BOSTON COLLEGE SYRACUSE BOSTON COLLEGE UCONN UCONN UCONN UCONN UCONN UCONN UCONN USC USC USC USC USC USC USC MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI OKLAHOMA OSU OSU OKLAHOMA OSU OKLAHOMA OSU LSU LSU ARKANSAS ARKANSAS LSU ARKANSAS LSU BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATE BOISE STATE ALABAMA ALABAMA ALABAMA ALABAMA ALABAMA AUBURN ALABAMA

S T I L L A N A N G E L

Team captain Preston Knowles has a lot of pressure on his Team captain Preston Knowles has a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Louisville coach Rick Pitino wants Knowles to shoulders. Louisville coach Rick Pitino wants Knowles to concentrate on defense and rebounding and let the offense concentrate on defense and rebounding and let the offense happen naturally. - photo by Dave Klotzhappen naturally. - photo by Dave Klotz

CAPTAIN P.K.

Former Louisville star Angel McCoughtry signed autographs Former Louisville star Angel McCoughtry signed autographs after her jersey was honored in the rafters at the KFC Yum! after her jersey was honored in the rafters at the KFC Yum! Center. - photo by Dave KlotzCenter. - photo by Dave Klotz


2007 CARDINAL CARAVAN10 AMAZING AND MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF THE 2009-2010 SEASONLOUISVILLE BASKETBALL

By Howie LindseyA slow start and a slow pace made for an

unhappy coach. University of Louisville basket-ball coach Rick Pitino certainly wasn’t pleased with his team’s sluggish and sloppy play in Saturday night’s 62-45 victory over winless Jackson State. He also wasn’t happy his fast-pace-focused Cardinals allowed the Tigers to dictate the tempo of the game.

“We did what we did the fi rst two exhi-bition games,” Pitino said. “We callously handled the basketball, and it affected us negatively. We had 19 turnovers because of it. We’ll go to work, we have a lot to improve on. I’m glad we got the victory, but we have a lot to improve on to beat Chattanooga (Louis-ville’s next opponent) Monday.”

The Cards won by 17 points, but walking into the locker room after the game you wouldn’t have known it. Players were speaking in hushed tones, taking extra long showers, and some left without say-ing a peep.

“We have to keep our identity,” sophomore

point guard Peyton Siva said when asked what Pitino’s message to the team was after the game. “Today we kind of reverted back to a slow pace. They slowed us down, and that’s not how we play and that is not how we practice.”

The game was a clear case of a letdown after a big, emotional victory earlier in the week. The Cardinals opened the new KFC Yum! Center Tuesday night with a rousing 88-73 victory over No. 16 Butler, last season’s NCAA runner-up. Louisville’s players - and the 22,000-plus fans at Saturday night’s game - seemed to be going through the motions, still thinking about Tuesday’s victory.

“It defi nitely was (a letdown),” Siva said. “We came off a big victory against Butler, and we felt like we were supposed to win that game. They are a great team, but we felt like we worked hard. In this game, it was one of those where you felt like you were still living off the memory. Luckily, we came out with the win. Hopefully, we learned our lesson from it.”

Said sophomore shooter Mike Marra: “We had a couple of tough practices between the Butler game and (Saturday), and we needed a reality check. We need to go out every day and improve every day. We need to work on that.”

Louisville started slowly with several turn-overs and missed shots in the fi rst few min-utes while falling behind 6-2. The Cardinals had three turnovers and a missed dunk on their fi rst four possessions, and eight turn-overs in the fi rst 13 minutes. They didn’t make eight fi eld goals until just over four minutes remained in the fi rst half.

“(Jackson State) took away all of our passes, which was completely opposite of what But-ler did,” Marra said. “Butler let us make the passes and let us run through the offense. We came out tonight and we didn’t really expect much. We knew they were going to pressure the ball more than Butler did, but they came out and played hard and we didn’t. That’s re-ally all there was to it.”

In addition to Louisville’s lackluster start,

the Jackson State defense was confounding the Cardinals early on.

“We played a zone, and that zone hurt them a little bit, but we got tired,” Jackson State coach Tevester Anderson said. “If you work hard in the zone, then you do well man-to-man, but you have to move from position to position. I felt like the zone hurt them a little bit, but they made the adjustment in the zone to give them another run.”

Despite the sloppy start, the Cardinals built a double-digit lead in the fi rst half. The Cards led 13-12 with 8:00 to go before halftime when they went on an 11-1 run that was capped by a three from Marra with 4:04 left before halftime. Louisville built the lead to 30-16 at the half, led by six points from Marra and fi ve apiece from sophomore power for-ward Rakeem Buckles and Siva.

“I told them, just don’t worry right now that you’re not playing great, just win the game,” Pitino said. “You’re going to have nights like this, just win the game. Pro coaching to col-

lege coaching, there’s nights that you won’t play well, but just win the game.”

The Cards came out of the intermission and pushed ahead 39-21 with 16:37 left, but Jackson State wasn’t ready to be put to bed yet. The Tigers closed within 39-30 with just under 13 minutes left, and then Tyrone Han-son hit a three with 12:20 to go. That prompt-ed Pitino to call a timeout to get his team back on track.

A layup by Jenniro Bush after a turnover by Preston Knowles cut Louisville’s lead to 39-35, capping a 14-0 Jackson State run. The run brought the Yum! Center crowd back into the game. Many who had checked out when Lou-isville went up by double fi gures began cheer-ing to encourage the Cards.

Louisville gathered itself and went on a run that iced the game for good over the next four minutes. Knowles hit a runner in the lane to increase the lead back to six. A three by Marra made it 44-35 with 10:12 left, a 1-of-2 trip to the free-throw line restored the lead to

double digits at 45-35, and a steal and layupby Siva pushed UofL’s lead to 12 with just overnine minutes remaining.

“We did a little better (in the second half),” Pitino said. “I thought Peyton gave us a big liftand played good basketball down the stretch.We had an off night, an off game, but youhave to give them credit for controlling thetempo.”

Jackson State cut the Cardinals’ lead to 47-39, but Knowles made a pair of free throwsand canned a runner two possessions later tomake it 51-39 with just under fi ve minutes re-maining. Jackson State briefl y cut the lead to10, but a three by Knowles and a steal andlayup by Siva made it 56-41. A dunk by Marraput the Cardinals up 17 with just under twominutes left.

“We’re going to see a lot of different styles this year, so we need to keep our composure,keep our intensity and play hard,” junior cen-ter Terrence Jennings said.

Louisville took its largest lead of the game at 62-43 at 00:47 before Jackson State cut themargin back to 17 a possession later to makethe fi nal score.

The Cardinals were led in scoring by Jen-nings with 14 points, Knowles with 12, andMarra and Siva with 11 apiece. Bush led Jack-son State with 16 points.

KNOWLES NOT HAPPYAfter the game, team captain Knowles was

one of the quickest out of the locker room.The senior shooting guard drew critical com-ments from Pitino in the post-game press con-ference for his performance.

“We have to get Preston to play a great all-around game -- great defense, great passing,great rebounding,” Pitino explained. “If youkeep looking to just shoot the ball, you’re go-ing to strike out. If you play a great all-aroundbasketball game, you’re going to score 20.”

Knowles made 4 of 10 shots and also had fi ve rebounds, four turnovers, three steals andtwo assists in 28 minutes.

LOUISVILLE TOP 25?Anderson, Jackson State’s coach, is one of

the voters in the coaches’ poll this season. Hesaid he believes the Cardinals are a top-25team.

“Well, naturally they have a good team,” he said. “They are probably a top-25 team.They didn’t shoot it as well as they usuallyshoot it, but they are a good shooting team....They will have my top-25 vote, and I’m prob-ably going to vote for them this week comeMonday.”

The Cardinals did not receive a vote in last week’s AP or coaches’ polls. This week theywere fourth in the others receiving votes cat-egory.

GOOD EARLY DEFENSELouisville held its fi rst two opponents to a

combined fi rst-half shooting percentage of.214 (12 for 56). Butler shot 23.3 percent (7for 30), Jackson State just 19.2 percent (5 for26).

The Tigers’ fi ve fi eld goals were the fewest by a UofL opponent in any half since March8, 2006, when Pittsburgh was 4 for 20 in thesecond half in a 61-56 victory over the Cardsin the Big East Tournament. Jackson State’sshooting percentage (.192) in the half was thelowest for a Cardinal foe in any half since Ionashot 18.8 percent (6 for 32) in the second halfon Dec. 29, 2007 (a 67-36 Louisville win).

Sophomore guard Peyton Siva leaped and extended the ball before trying a layup while

wincing in expectation of being fouled by a Jackson State player during Saturday night’s

62-45 victory. - photo by Dave Klotz

CARDS COME BACK TO EARTH DURING 62-45 WIN OVER JACKSON STATE



2007 CARDINAL CARAVAN10 AMAZING AND MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF THE 2009-2010 SEASONBIG EAST NOTEBOOK

By Russ BrownAlthough the possibility of a three-way tie

for the championship would still exist, the na-tionally televised “Backyard Brawl” between Pittsburgh (6-4, 4-1) and West Virginia (7-3, 3-2) at Heinz Field on Friday (noon, ABC) likely will decide the Big East’s representative in a BCS bowl.

After this weekend, Pitt will close its season at Cincinnati (4-6, 2-3), while WVU will host Rut-gers (4-6, 1-4).

“Pretty much everyone in the country thought it was going to come down to us and Pitt, so I think they knew that and we did, too,” said corner-

back Keith Tandy, whose late interception (his league-leading sixth INT) sealed the Moun-taineers’ 17-10 victory over UofL last Saturday. “Now it’s here.”

Said WVU safety Robert Sands: “We knew the Pitt game was going to be a critical game for us. It’s going to be the breaking point for us toward whether we have a great season or an OK season.”

A West Virginia loss would eliminate the Mountaineers from title contention. If Pitt wins it would control its own destiny and could claim its fi rst-ever outright Big East crown (the Panthers were involved in a four-way title tie in 2004) by beating UC.

However, if West Virginia prevails, the Mountaineers would still have to rely on Con-necticut (6-3, 3-2) losing one of its last two games against Cincinnati and at South Florida (6-4, 3-3) to earn a BCS berth because the Huskies hold the tie-breaker, having beaten WVU (16-13 in overtime on Oct. 29) and Pitt (30-28 on Nov. 11), both games in East Hart-ford.

A Pitt loss would mean the Panthers would have to hope for both West Virginia and UConn to lose another game.

UConn, which joined the Big East in foot-ball in 2004, got a piece of the league title in 2007 (with WVU) but has never been to a BCS bowl game. UConn lost the tiebreaker in 2007 because WVU beat the Huskies.

“West Virginia -- by far -- is playing the best of any team in the conference,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “A couple of miscues this week could be costly.”

There is ample reason for Wannstedt to worry about miscues. The Panthers are com-ing off a sloppy 17-10 victory over South Flor-ida in Tampa that was marred by fi ve pass-in-terference penalties, a botched blocked punt recovery and a largely unproductive passing game. Pitt was penalized for 116 yards, and quarterback Tino Sunseri couldn’t get the ball to his top playmaker, fl anker Jon Baldwin.

Dion Lewis saved Pitt by gaining 105 yards on 22 carries, including the game-winner on a spectacular 22-yard touchdown run on the fi rst play of the fourth quarter when he ap-peared to be wrapped up at the line of scrim-mage by two USF defenders, then broke two more tackles en route to the end zone.

“I don’t know if we could have challenged ourselves more emotionally than we did,” Wannstedt said. “Our defense played 86 plays because of the pass-interference penal-ties. We might have taken away 40 plays from our offense because of mishaps. The great thing is our guys never wavered. They just hung together and gave a little more to win the game.

“We needed to bounce back after the loss at Connecticut. The encouraging thing is at some point we’re going to put together a complete game, and we probably need to do it against West Virginia.”

LOSS TO CARDS SPURRED UCONNThings looked bleak for UConn after its

embarrassing 26-0 loss to Louisville in Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on Oct. 23, dropping the Huskies to 0-2 in the Big East. But they’ve bounced back with three straight wins, the latest 23-6 over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome last Saturday. It was UConn’s fi rst road victory

in fi ve tries this season. “I think what happened was we had to look

at ourselves hard after that Louisville game,” UConn coach Randy Edsall said. “There were a lot of guys who were upset with what took place, and they were tired of it and wanted to do something about it. Collectively, as coach-es and players, we’ve done something about it and now we’ve just got to keep going.

“When you get your back to the wall, you better come out swinging. Don’t let anybody count you out. You’ve just got to keep fi ghting to get through it. You’ve got to persevere and get it done. And while you’re doing all that, you have to stick together and do it as a team, and that’s what we’ve been able to do.”

The Huskies are bowl eligible for the fourth straight season, but even if they beat Cincinna-ti Saturday at home, they must defeat USF Dec. 4 in Tampa, where they’ve never won, to keep their BCS hopes alive (if Pitt loses to WVU).

“We told the kids we wanted to stay in the hunt, and we did that,” Edsall said. “We got bowl eligible, which to me is huge. We accom-plished the two goals we came to get, which was to stay in the hunt for the league title, and we got bowl eligible. Now what we’ve got to do is continue to work to better that.”

In the win at Syracuse, Jordan Todman

gained 130 yards on 27 carries to become thefi rst player in UConn history to rush for morethan 1,000 yards in two different seasons.Jordan scored touchdowns on runs of 1 and2 yards.

Despite missing a game with an elbow strain, the junior tailback has gained 1,306yards and scored 11 touchdowns and is mak-ing a strong push for Big East Offensive Playerof the Year.

The Huskies’ defense limited Syracuse to a season-low 235 total yards, with defensivetackle Kendall Reyes forcing a fumble, gettinga sack and intercepting a pass.

“We did it the way we do it,” Edsall said. “Jordan had a good night, but it was a tough,gritty, physical win for guys who were count-ed out not too long ago.”

BEARCATS STILL BOWL-HOPEFULTwo-time defending Big East champion

Cincinnati kept its faint bowl hopes alive withits eye-opening, record-setting 69-38 demol-ishing of reeling Rutgers Saturday in NippertStadium as running back Isaiah Pead scoredfi ve touchdowns while gaining a career-high213 yards on 31 carries.

It was the fi rst 200-yard rushing game for a UC player since Richard Hall gained 238 vs.Miami (Ohio) in 2004.


Louisville’s Hakeem Smith tackled West Virginia’s Noel Devine during Saturday’s 17-10 WVU win at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. West Virginia kept its league title hopes alive with the win. - photo by Dave KLotz

SURVIVOR OF ‘BACKYARD BRAWL’ MAY BE BIG EAST CHAMP

The Bearcats racked up 661 yards of total offense, and the point production was their biggest in 87 years. The 69 points were the

third-most in school history, matching UC’s total against Case-Western Reserve in 1923, and the 107 points produced by both teams made it the highest-scoring game in Big East history as UC ended a three-game losing streak.

Zach Collaros completed 23 of 39 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns, with one interception.

“It’s a great feeling,” Collaros said. “Be-ing frustrated for the past couple of weeks because we’ve been losing and coming out and playing the way we did, it’s kind of like lifting something off your shoulders.”

By halftime UC led 41-24 and had scored on six of its eight possessions. The 41 points matched the most Rutgers had allowed in an entire game all season.

Now UC must win at UConn Saturday and then beat Pittsburgh at home on Dec. 4 to earn its fi fth straight bowl trip. That might not seem such a big deal for a school that has played in back-to-back BCS bowl games, but for this UC team, it is.

“After all we’ve been through this sea-son, I think it would be a great accomplish-ment,” Collaros said.

Said senior wide receiver Armon Binns: “If we get to a bowl game this year, it would mean more than any year to me because this is the fi rst year we’ve really faced adversity. Things have gone really good the last three years, but this year we’ve really had a test of our character.”

Or, as junior defensive end Dan Giordano put it: “No football player wants to be home at Christmastime like a regular student. It doesn’t matter the size of the game, you want to get a bowl ring. You just want to play an-other football game with your teammates.”

SETON HALL LOSES HAZELLSeton Hall will be without its top scorer

for the next few weeks. The university an-nounced Saturday that Jeremy Hazell broke a bone in his left wrist during the Pirates’ 83-78 victory over Alabama last Friday night in the fi rst round of the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands.

Assistant athletic director Matt Sweeney said the 6-foot-5 senior is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Sweeney said Hazell was hurt in the second half when he fell and tried to brace himself.

Hazell averaged 24 points through the season’s fi rst three games and scored a game-high 27 in the win over Alabama. He could be back in time for the Hall’s Big East game against Louisville on Jan. 5 in the KFC Yum! Center.

PITT OFF TO GOOD STARTWith wins over Maryland (79-70) and Texas

(68-66) in the 2K Sports Classic in Madison Square Garden, preseason Big East favor-

ite and fi fth-ranked Pittsburgh avoided last week’s wave of top-25 upsets and could be poised to enter conference play with an umn-blemished record for the fourth time in coach Jamie Dixon’s eight seasons.

The only remaining game against a team from another power conference is against No. 23 Tennessee on Dec. 11 at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The next time the Pan-thers have to leave the city for a game is when they visit Providence on Jan. 4.

A number of other ranked teams have al-ready tasted defeat, including No. 8 North Carolina, No. 9 Florida, No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 13 Illinois, No. 16 Butler and No. 22 Virginia Tech.

“We have something to build on,” Dixon said. “And we’ll learn from these two wins.”

Dixon admitted that the wins over the Ter-rapins and Longhorns weren’t things of beau-ty as Pitt frittered away double-digit leads in the second half of both games, but he wasn’t after style points.

“It’s better than losing ugly, I guess, or los-ing pretty,” he said. “Offensively, we’re one of the most effi cient teams year in and year out. We outrebound people, and we don’t turn it over. To me, those are pretty good stats, im-portant things. We have good kids who play hard and believe in each other. That’s what helps you win.”

Dixon used 11 players in both games, and reserves accounted for more than one-third of the team’s scoring, producing 30 points against Maryland and 20 against Texas.

“I think we found out how deep we can be,” reserve guard Travon Woodall said. “We have a lot of guys who work hard and play well in practice, but we didn’t know in game situations who we were going out there with. But we know now we can go to war with 11 guys.”

‘CUSE FOOTBALL ASSISTANT GONEIn a bizarre development at Syracuse,

Doug Marrone announced that assistant head coach/tight ends/special teams coordinator Bob Casullo is no longer with the program.

School offi cials insisted it wasn’t a fi ring, but only Marrone and Casullo know that for sure.

Marrone revealed the move at his weekly Monday press conference but gave no reason why the change was made with one game left in the regular season.

Defensive backs coach John Anselmo will handle the special teams for Saturday’s game against Boston College, while quarterbacks coach Nathaniel Hackett will oversee tight ends.

Marrone knew Casullo from his playing days at Syracuse when Casullo was an assis-tant at the school. At the time of his hiring last year, Marrone played up Casullo’s experi-ence with the Orange and his knowledge of the program’s history and tradition.


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BIG EAST OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEKIsaiah Pead • Jr. • RB • Cincinnati • Columbus, Ohio

Pead was the catalyst in the highest-scoring game in BIG EAST history as he fi nished with fi ve touchdowns in Cincinnati’s 69-38 win against Rutgers. He rushed for a career-high 213 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries and had two

receptions for 36 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown reception. He led an offense that gained 661 yards and held a 31-16 advantage in fi rst downs.

BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEKBrandon Mills • So. • DL • Cincinnati • Cincinnati, Ohio

Though Cincinnati allowed 38 points in its record-setting win against Rutgers, Mills led a defensive line that limited the Scarlet Knights to -9 rushing yards and one rushing fi rst down. Mills had a game-high 10 tackles, including three sacks,

5.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

BIG EAST SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEKGregg Pugnetti • Sr. • P • West Virginia • Fairfax, W.Va.

Singled out by coach Bill Stewart as West Virginia’s player of the game, Pugnetti withstood a strong Louisville rush to average 44.9 yards on seven punts with a long kick of 47 yards in the Mountaineers’ 17-10 win against the Cardinals.

Pugnetti downed two punts inside the Cardinal 20-yard line and saw just one punt return attempt among his seven kicks.

WEEKLY HONOR ROLLD.J. Woods, WR, Cincinnati — Had 291 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns in a 69-38 win against Rutgers.

Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut — Rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-6 win at Syracuse

Kendall Reyes, DE, Connecticut — Had two turnovers that led to scores (one forced fumble, one interception) in a 23-6 win at Syracuse.

Mark Harrison, WR, Rutgers — Had 10 receptions for 240 yards and a BIG EAST record-tying four touchdowns in a 69-38 loss at Cincinnati.

Dom DeCicco, SS, Pittsburgh — Had a game-high 13 tackles, with nine solo stops, in a 17-10 win at USF.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS - NOV. 22



2010-11 WOMEN’S SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT SITE TIME RECORD OCTOBER 30 Indiana Wesleyan (Exh) KFC Yum! Center W, 67-42

NOVEMBER 12 TENNESSEE KFC Yum! Center L, 63-50 0-114 at Ohio University Athens, Ohio W, 84-47 1-117 HOUSTON BAPTIST KFC Yum! Center W, 100-34 2-1 19 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE KFC Yum! Center W, 97-43 3-123 at Xavier Cincinnati, Ohio 7 p.m. 26 at Old Dominion Norfolk, Va. 7 p.m. 29 at IPFW Fort Wayne, Ind. 7 p.m.

DECEMBER 2 MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE KFC Yum! Center 7 p.m. 5 KENTUCKY KFC Yum! Center 2 p.m.11 DAYTON KFC Yum! Center 4 p.m. 15 at Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio 7 p.m.18-20 Dual in the Desert Las Vegas, Nev. 18 vs. Marist Las Vegas, Nev. 4:30 p.m. 19 vs. Houston Las Vegas, Nev. 7:00 p.m. 20 vs. Nebraska Las Vegas, Nev. 9:30 p.m. 28 UT-MARTIN KFC Yum! Center 7:00 p.m.

JANUARY 4 ST. JOHN’S KFC Yum! Center 7 p.m. 9 PITTSBURGH KFC Yum! Center NOON 12 at Notre Dame South Bend, Ind. 7 p.m. 15 at Connecticut Hartford, Conn NOON22 CINCINNATI KFC Yum! Center 2 p.m. 26 at Marquette Milwaukee, Wis. 8 p.m. 29 RUTGERS KFC Yum! Center 6 p.m.

FEBRUARY 1 GEORGETOWN KFC Yum! Center 7 p.m.6 at Villanova Philadelphia, Pa. 2 p.m. 13 WEST VIRGINIA KFC Yum! Center 5 p.m. 16 at Syracuse Syracuse, NY 7 p.m. 19 at USF Tampa, Fla. 2 p.m.23 DEPAUL KFC Yum! Center 7 p.m. 26 SETON HALL KFC Yum! Center 2 p.m.28 at Providence Providence, RI 7 p.m.

MARCH

4-8 BIG EAST Tournament Hartford, Conn. TBA

2010-11 MEN’S SCHEDULE DATE OPPONENT (TELEVISION) SITE TIME/RES RECORDOCTOBER Sun. 31 NORTHERN KENTUCKY / exhibition KFC Yum! Center W, 83-66 --

NOVEMBER Thur. 11 KENTUCKY WESLEYAN / exhibition KFC Yum! Center W, 96-54 -- Tues. 16 BUTLER (ESPN) KFC Yum! Center W, 88-73 1-0 GLOBAL SPORTS SHOOTOUTSat. 20 JACKSON STATE KFC Yum! Center W, 62-45 2-0Mon. 22 CHATTANOOGA KFC Yum! Center W, 106-65 3-0Sat. 27 MARSHALL KFC Yum! Center 1 p.m. 24-10 CIT

DECEMBER Wed. 1 FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL KFC Yum! Center 7 p.m. 7-25 in GLOBAL SPORTS SHOOTOUT Sat. 4 SOUTH ALABAMA KFC Yum! Center 1 p.m. 17-15 Wed. 8 SAN FRANCISCO KFC Yum! Center 7 p.m. 12-18 Sat. 11 UNLV (ESPNU) KFC Yum! Center Noon 25-9 NCAA in BILLY MINARDI CLASSIC Tues. 14 DREXEL (ESPNU) KFC Yum! Center 9 p.m. 16-16 Sat. 18 GARDNER-WEBB KFC Yum! Center 3:30 p.m. 8-21 Wed. 22 at Western Kentucky Bowling Green, Ky. 8 p.m. 21-13 Mon. 27 MORGAN STATE KFC Yum! Center 8 p.m. 27-10 NCAA Fri. 31 KENTUCKY (CBS) KFC Yum! Center Noon 35-3 NCAA

JANUARY Wed. 5 SETON HALL (ESPNU) KFC Yum! Center 7 p.m. 19-13 NIT Sun. 9 at USF Tampa, Fla. Noon 20-13 NIT Wed. 12 at Villanova (ESPN/2) Philadelphia, Pa. 7 p.m. 25-8 NCAA Sat. 15 MARQUETTE (ESPN2) KFC Yum! Center 11 a.m. 22-12 NCAA Wed. 19 ST. JOHN’S KFC Yum! Center 7 p.m. 17-16 NIT Sat. 22 at Providence (ESPNU) Providence, R.I. 5 p.m. 12-19 Wed. 26 WEST VIRGINIA (ESPNU) KFC Yum! Center 7 p.m. 31-7 NCAA Sat. 29 at Connecticut Storrs, Conn. Noon 18-16 NIT Mon. 31 at Georgetown (ESPN) Washington, D.C. 7 p.m. 23-11 NCAA

FEBRUARY Sat. 5 DEPAUL KFC Yum! Center 8 p.m. 8-23 Wed. 9 at Notre Dame (ESPNU) South Bend, Ind. 7 p.m. 23-12 NCAA Sat. 12 SYRACUSE (ESPN/2) KFC Yum! Center Noon 30-5 NCAA Wed. 16 at Cincinnati (ESPN/2) Cincinnati, Ohio 7 p.m. 19-16 NIT Fri. 18 CONNECTICUT (ESPN) KFC Yum! Center 9 p.m. 18-16 NIT Tues. 22 at Rutgers (ESPNU) Piscataway, N.J. 9 p.m. 15-17 Sun. 27 PITTSBURGH (CBS) KFC Yum! Center 2 p.m. 25-9 NCAA

MARCH Wed. 2 PROVIDENCE KFC Yum! Center 7 p.m. 12-19 Sat. 5 at West Virginia (ESPN/2) Morgantown, W. Va. Noon 31-7 NCAA Tues. 8-Sat. 12 Big East Championship at Madison Square Garden New York City



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MARK WETTERER AND FAMILY

CONRAD THOMAS AND FAMILY

GREG TOMCZYK AND FAMILY

BYRON STINGILY AND FAMILY

BILAL POWELL AND FAMILY

nov. 25, 2010 issue

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