EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the 19th in a series of previews on West Virginia and Marshall football opponents.
Date with West Virginia: Saturday, Nov. 20, TBA
Site: Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (42,000, FieldTurf), Louisville
Coach: Charlie Strong (2nd year, 4-8)
Checking them out
Perhaps no team in all of college football fell so far, so fast as did the Cardinals under Steve Kragthorpe, who inherited a program that had won 11 or more games three times between 2001 and 2006 (68 total between 2000 and 2006) and won just 15 times in his three seasons. Just as incomprehensible is that a program known for its high-powered passing and scoring offenses last season ranked No. 111 (out of 120) in the country in scoring and 71st in passing.
Enter Charlie Strong, whose calling card is defense. The former Florida defensive coordinator will have a challenge there, too, as Louisville ranked seventh out of the eight Big East teams in total defense and last in rushing defense.
Strong figures to go for a defensive fix first, so it might actually be good that he has just four starters returning because he can right away begin throwing his own recruits into the mix. He has a little bit of talent to work with in the secondary, but who knows if it will be there when camp begins. Senior CB Johnny Patrick is the team's top returning tackler, but he's facing assault charges this week. And 5-star recruit Demar Dorsey could help if he's eligible. Dorsey was one of the highest-rated recruits in the Big Ten, but Michigan denied him admission and he is now at Louisville. The Cardinals will have another late addition that could help, too, at linebacker, where Southern Cal junior Jordan Campbell transferred and will be immediately eligible because of the NCAA sanctions placed on the Trojans.
On offense, Strong hired as coordinator former UNLV coach Mike Sanford, who was Urban Meyer's right-hand man at Utah. But in the short term the Cardinals will probably be more of a running team because of the return of RBs Victor Anderson and Bilal Powell and four starters on the line. Adam Froman appears to be the starting quarterback and he has little (5-foot-9) Doug Beaumont and 6-9 Josh Chichester as receivers.
All-conference candidates
Offense: RB Victor Anderson, WR Doug Beaumont
Defense: CB Johnny Patrick
Notes
At least the schedule is fairly kind to Strong in his debut season. Well, at least in some regards. This is a year for four Big East home games and the Cardinals get rival Kentucky at home in the opener, followed by Eastern Kentucky. But there is also a bizarre trip to Arkansas State, which not only got Louisville to agree to play in Jonesboro but decided to designate the game as its homecoming. Oh, and that Oct. 2 game begins a stretch of nine straight weeks the Cardinals play without an open date.
2010 Louisville schedule
Date Opponent 2009
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WVU Game 10: Louisville
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the 19th in a series of previews on West Virginia and Marshall football opponents.
Date with West Virginia: Saturday, Nov. 20, TBA
Site: Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (42,000, FieldTurf), Louisville
Coach: Charlie Strong (2nd year, 4-8)
Checking them out
Perhaps no team in all of college football fell so far, so fast as did the Cardinals under Steve Kragthorpe, who inherited a program that had won 11 or more games three times between 2001 and 2006 (68 total between 2000 and 2006) and won just 15 times in his three seasons. Just as incomprehensible is that a program known for its high-powered passing and scoring offenses last season ranked No. 111 (out of 120) in the country in scoring and 71st in passing.
Enter Charlie Strong, whose calling card is defense. The former Florida defensive coordinator will have a challenge there, too, as Louisville ranked seventh out of the eight Big East teams in total defense and last in rushing defense.
Strong figures to go for a defensive fix first, so it might actually be good that he has just four starters returning because he can right away begin throwing his own recruits into the mix. He has a little bit of talent to work with in the secondary, but who knows if it will be there when camp begins. Senior CB Johnny Patrick is the team's top returning tackler, but he's facing assault charges this week. And 5-star recruit Demar Dorsey could help if he's eligible. Dorsey was one of the highest-rated recruits in the Big Ten, but Michigan denied him admission and he is now at Louisville. The Cardinals will have another late addition that could help, too, at linebacker, where Southern Cal junior Jordan Campbell transferred and will be immediately eligible because of the NCAA sanctions placed on the Trojans.
On offense, Strong hired as coordinator former UNLV coach Mike Sanford, who was Urban Meyer's right-hand man at Utah. But in the short term the Cardinals will probably be more of a running team because of the return of RBs Victor Anderson and Bilal Powell and four starters on the line. Adam Froman appears to be the starting quarterback and he has little (5-foot-9) Doug Beaumont and 6-9 Josh Chichester as receivers.
All-conference candidates
Offense: RB Victor Anderson, WR Doug Beaumont
Defense: CB Johnny Patrick
Notes
At least the schedule is fairly kind to Strong in his debut season. Well, at least in some regards. This is a year for four Big East home games and the Cardinals get rival Kentucky at home in the opener, followed by Eastern Kentucky. But there is also a bizarre trip to Arkansas State, which not only got Louisville to agree to play in Jonesboro but decided to designate the game as its homecoming. Oh, and that Oct. 2 game begins a stretch of nine straight weeks the Cardinals play without an open date.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the 19th in a series of previews on West Virginia and Marshall football opponents.
Date with West Virginia: Saturday, Nov. 20, TBA
Site: Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (42,000, FieldTurf), Louisville
Coach: Charlie Strong (2nd year, 4-8)
Checking them out
Perhaps no team in all of college football fell so far, so fast as did the Cardinals under Steve Kragthorpe, who inherited a program that had won 11 or more games three times between 2001 and 2006 (68 total between 2000 and 2006) and won just 15 times in his three seasons. Just as incomprehensible is that a program known for its high-powered passing and scoring offenses last season ranked No. 111 (out of 120) in the country in scoring and 71st in passing.
Enter Charlie Strong, whose calling card is defense. The former Florida defensive coordinator will have a challenge there, too, as Louisville ranked seventh out of the eight Big East teams in total defense and last in rushing defense.
Strong figures to go for a defensive fix first, so it might actually be good that he has just four starters returning because he can right away begin throwing his own recruits into the mix. He has a little bit of talent to work with in the secondary, but who knows if it will be there when camp begins. Senior CB Johnny Patrick is the team's top returning tackler, but he's facing assault charges this week. And 5-star recruit Demar Dorsey could help if he's eligible. Dorsey was one of the highest-rated recruits in the Big Ten, but Michigan denied him admission and he is now at Louisville. The Cardinals will have another late addition that could help, too, at linebacker, where Southern Cal junior Jordan Campbell transferred and will be immediately eligible because of the NCAA sanctions placed on the Trojans.
On offense, Strong hired as coordinator former UNLV coach Mike Sanford, who was Urban Meyer's right-hand man at Utah. But in the short term the Cardinals will probably be more of a running team because of the return of RBs Victor Anderson and Bilal Powell and four starters on the line. Adam Froman appears to be the starting quarterback and he has little (5-foot-9) Doug Beaumont and 6-9 Josh Chichester as receivers.
All-conference candidates
Offense: RB Victor Anderson, WR Doug Beaumont
Defense: CB Johnny Patrick
Notes
At least the schedule is fairly kind to Strong in his debut season. Well, at least in some regards. This is a year for four Big East home games and the Cardinals get rival Kentucky at home in the opener, followed by Eastern Kentucky. But there is also a bizarre trip to Arkansas State, which not only got Louisville to agree to play in Jonesboro but decided to designate the game as its homecoming. Oh, and that Oct. 2 game begins a stretch of nine straight weeks the Cardinals play without an open date.
2010 Louisville schedule
Date Opponent 2009
Sept. 4 Kentucky L 27-31
Sept. 11 Eastern Kentucky DNP
Sept. 18 at Oregon State DNP
Oct. 2 at Arkansas State W 21-13
Oct. 9 Memphis DNP
Oct. 15 Cincinnati* (Fri.) L 10-41
Oct. 23 Connecticut* L 25-38
Oct. 30 at Pitt* L 10-35
Nov. 6 at Syracuse* W 10-9
Nov. 13 South Florida* L 22-34
Nov. 20 West Virginia* L 9-17
Nov. 26 at Rutgers* (Fri.) L 14-34
*Big East Conference games
2009 record: 4-8 overall, 1-6 Big East
Dropped: Indiana State (W 30-10), Utah (L 14-30), Southern Mississippi (W 25-23)
Article Preview
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
WVU Game 10: Louisville
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the 19th in a series of previews on West Virginia and Marshall football opponents.
Date with West Virginia: Saturday, Nov. 20, TBA
Site: Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (42,000, FieldTurf), Louisville
Coach: Charlie Strong (2nd year, 4-8)
Checking them out
Perhaps no team in all of college football fell so far, so fast as did the Cardinals under Steve Kragthorpe, who inherited a program that had won 11 or more games three times between 2001 and 2006 (68 total between 2000 and 2006) and won just 15 times in his three seasons. Just as incomprehensible is that a program known for its high-powered passing and scoring offenses last season ranked No. 111 (out of 120) in the country in scoring and 71st in passing.
Enter Charlie Strong, whose calling card is defense. The former Florida defensive coordinator will have a challenge there, too, as Louisville ranked seventh out of the eight Big East teams in total defense and last in rushing defense.
Strong figures to go for a defensive fix first, so it might actually be good that he has just four starters returning because he can right away begin throwing his own recruits into the mix. He has a little bit of talent to work with in the secondary, but who knows if it will be there when camp begins. Senior CB Johnny Patrick is the team's top returning tackler, but he's facing assault charges this week. And 5-star recruit Demar Dorsey could help if he's eligible. Dorsey was one of the highest-rated recruits in the Big Ten, but Michigan denied him admission and he is now at Louisville. The Cardinals will have another late addition that could help, too, at linebacker, where Southern Cal junior Jordan Campbell transferred and will be immediately eligible because of the NCAA sanctions placed on the Trojans.
On offense, Strong hired as coordinator former UNLV coach Mike Sanford, who was Urban Meyer's right-hand man at Utah. But in the short term the Cardinals will probably be more of a running team because of the return of RBs Victor Anderson and Bilal Powell and four starters on the line. Adam Froman appears to be the starting quarterback and he has little (5-foot-9) Doug Beaumont and 6-9 Josh Chichester as receivers.
All-conference candidates
Offense: RB Victor Anderson, WR Doug Beaumont
Defense: CB Johnny Patrick
Notes
At least the schedule is fairly kind to Strong in his debut season. Well, at least in some regards. This is a year for four Big East home games and the Cardinals get rival Kentucky at home in the opener, followed by Eastern Kentucky. But there is also a bizarre trip to Arkansas State, which not only got Louisville to agree to play in Jonesboro but decided to designate the game as its homecoming. Oh, and that Oct. 2 game begins a stretch of nine straight weeks the Cardinals play without an open date.
