Louisville
Cardinals
Preview 2009
By
Richard Cirminiello
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2009 CFN Louisville Preview
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2009 Louisville Offense
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2009 Louisville
Defense |
2009 Louisville
Depth Chart
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2008 UofL Preview
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2007 UofL Preview
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2006 UofL Preview
Head coach: Steve Kragthorpe
3rd year: 11-13
7th year overall: 40-35
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 24, Def. 21, ST 4
Lettermen Lost: 18 |
Ten Best Cardinal Players
1.
RB Victor Anderson, Soph.
2. LB Jon Dempsey, Sr.
3. WR
Scott Long, Sr.
4. WR Doug Beaumont, Jr.
5. DT L.T.
Walker, Sr.
6. OT Jeff Adams, Jr.
7. S Richard Raglin,
Sr.
8. DE Greg Scruggs, Soph.
9. S Daniel Covington, Sr.
10. OT Greg Tomczyk, Jr. |
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2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction:
5-7
2009 Record: 0-0
9/5 Indiana State
9/12 OPEN DATE
9/19 at Kentucky
9/26 at Utah
10/2 Pitt
10/10 Southern Miss
10/17 at Connecticut
10/24 at Cincinnati
10/31 Arkansas State
11/7 at West Virginia
11/14 Syracuse
11/21 at USF
11/28 Rutgers
12/5 OPEN DATE |
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2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction:
7-5
2008 Record: 5-7
8/30
Kentucky L 27-2
9/6 Tenn. Tech W
51-10
9/13 OPEN DATE
9/17 Kansas State W 38-29
9/27 Connecticut L
26-21
10/4 OPEN DATE
10/10 at Memphis W
35-28
10/18 Middle Tenn W
42-23
10/25 South Florida W
24-20
11/1 at Syracuse L 28-21
11/8 at Pitt L 41-7
11/14 Cincinnati L
28-20
11/22 West Virginia L 35-21
11/29 OPEN DATE
12/4 at Rutgers L 63-14 |
These are desperate times for the Louisville football program. And head
coach Steve Kragthorpe knows it.
It’s taken just two seasons for Kragthorpe to dismantle what Bobby
Petrino had accomplished when he was at the controls. Say what you will
about Petrino’s exit strategies, but he knew how to win games, going
41-9 in four seasons and basically spoiling the locals. Not only has
Kragthorpe failed to take the baton, but he’s completely botched the
handoff, winning just 11 games and failing to make the postseason both
years. Even worse, the Cardinals lost their final games of 2008 to share
the Big East cellar with Syracuse. Yup, the same Syracuse that’s been
the league’s doormat for much of the decade.
In response to the team’s collapse, Kragthorpe took a broom to his
coaching staff in the off-season, sweeping out offensive coordinator
Jeff Brohm and some of his assistants, and hiring Brent Guy to replace
the departed Ron English. English is the one coach Louisville didn’t
want to lose, but he’s now the head guy at Eastern Michigan. In another
sign that Kragthorpe wants greater control over his fate, he’ll be
coordinating the offense and calling the plays this fall. The big issue?
He doesn’t have an abundance of talent on either side of the ball. Both
lines have been damaged by graduation and there isn’t a proven
quarterback on the roster.
There’s a cold wind blowing through Louisville and a head coach broiling
on the hot seat. If the Cards are going to reverse their recent trend
and navigate a difficult schedule, they’ll need a bunch of surprises to
emerge between now and the Sept. 5 opener.
What to watch for on offense:
A quarterback derby that lasts until deep into August. Hunter Cantwell
has graduated, meaning Louisville will have a new starter behind center
for the third straight year. There are four contenders at this point,
none of whom has any significant experience at this level. Unless the
unlikely happens and one of those players builds serious separation,
Kragthorpe plans to let this play out until just before the opener.
What to watch for on defense:
More attacking. Guy favors a defense that can bring pressure and create
turnovers with speedy, undersized defenders. Considering the turnover
that’s taking place on the defensive line, he’ll have no choice but to
get creative in order to rattle the other quarterback. The Cardinals do
have decent athletes on the back seven, so Guy plans to turn them loose
as long as the cornerbacks will allow it.
The
team will be far better if… it improves
dramatically in turnover margin. A year ago, the Cardinals were sixth in
the Big East in takeaways and last in giveaways, resulting in one of the
nation’s worst programs in turnover margin. No matter what kind of
talent is on the field, that’s a sure-fire recipe for another deflating
season in Louisville.
The Schedule:
The rebuilding job for the Cardinals won't be made much
easier with a tough road schedule. Not only are there
back-to-back non-conference games against Kentucky and Utah, but
they kick off a stretch of four road games in six weeks and five
road games in seven. There are four Big East road games with
dates at West Virginia and South Florida while Pitt and Rutgers
have to come to Papa John's. The off weeks come in lousy times
with the first one coming after the season-opening layup against
a bad Indiana State team. There's a run of 11 games in 11 weeks
before the regular season ends with the Rutgers game on November
28th.
Best offensive player:
Sophomore RB Victor Anderson.
A blend of power and acceleration in a compact package, Anderson
gives the Cardinals their best running back since Michael Bush was at
the top of his game. After debuting with 1,047 yards rushing, Louisville
is eager to see what he can do for an encore.
Best
defensive player: Senior LB Jon Dempsey.
In just his first season out of the College of the Sequoias,
Dempsey was a revelation for the program, leading the team with 80
tackles and making eight stops behind the line. He reads and reacts
well, giving the Cards one of the Big East’s better run stoppers from
the middle of the field.
Key
player to a successful season: The new
quarterback. Whether it’s been Browning Nagle, Chris Redman, or Brian
Brohm, when Louisville has been successful, it’s always had a capable
quarterback. Now that Hunter Cantwell has graduated, the program is
auditioning four players—Tyler Wolfe, Justin Burke, Adam Froman, and
Zack Stoudt—who have yet to throw a touchdown pass at this level.
The season will be a success if
... Louisville wins seven games. Forget the Big East title, which
appears to be out of reach for a second straight year. These Cards need
to manufacture seven wins and get to any bowl game in order to halt the
current two-year slide. Three straight bowl-less postseasons on the back
of a 12-win season would be demoralizing for Kragthorpe and his staff.
Key game: Sept. 19 at
Kentucky. If the Cardinals are going to capture any momentum early in
the year, they’ve got to do it at the expense of their in-state rival.
Louisville has suffered bad losses to Kentucky in each of the last two
years. Three in-a-row would be the type of omen that the program does
not want to experience.
2008 Fun Stats:
- Louisville 1st quarter scoring: 41 - Louisville 2nd quarter
scoring: 108
- Field goals: Opponents 10-of-17 - Louisville 5-of-11
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Interceptions: Opponents 17 - Louisville 8
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2009 CFN Louisville Preview
|
2009 Louisville Offense
-
2009 Louisville
Defense |
2009 Louisville
Depth Chart
-
2008 UofL Preview
|
2007 UofL Preview
|
2006 UofL Preview
|