NCAA Football FanHouse

Louisville Could Use A Witch Doctor

John Radcliff — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:34:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Big East, Louisville

It wasn't too long ago that I was opining that Louisville might not be in as bad a shape as everyone thought. I take it back, they're screwed. Before this week, Louisville had lost 21 underclassmen since the beginning of 2007. And this past week has been a lot of the same.

With Trent Guy being shot outside a night club, and JuJuan Spillman being arrested (again) for dui/marijuana possession/concealed weapon, it's time to call in the professionals. And I'm not talking about counselors and security chiefs. We've gone well past all conventional approaches. What this team needs is a complete karma makeover.

Steve Kragthorpe's phone rings....

Hello...

DUDE!!! IT'S TY PENNINGTON!!

Who?...

TY PENNINGTON FROM EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER! WHAT'S UP BRAAAAH?

Oh God. Look Ty, things aren't going well around here. I don't know what you want, but I'm real busy. Could you call back some other time?

DUUUUUUDE!!!! THAT'S WHY I CALLED! I'VE GOT THIS IDEA I WANNA THROW AT YA!

TY! QUIT FREAKING SHOUTING!!!!

CHILL, BRAAAAH! THIS IS HOW I ALWAYS TALK!

ANYWAY, I WANNA DO THIS SPIN-OFF OF HOME MAKEOVER CALLED....WAIT FOR IT....EXTREME KARMA MAKEOVER!

........

HELLO?.... STEVE?

Is this a joke?

WOW! SOUNDS LIKE I GOT HERE JUST IN TIME!

I HOOKED UP WITH THIS RIGHTEOUS SHAMAN THAT IS GOING TO TURN YOUR KARMA AROUND, BRAAAH!

Hello Mr. Steve. I want you to listen to me. I can help you with all these evil spirits wrecking your life.

YEAH? WELL I WANT YOU AND MR. ESPRESSO TO GO JUMP OFF A FREAKING CLIFF!
This is what I'm talking about, Mr. Steve. If we don't act soon, I see terrible things in your future.

DUUUDE! WHAT'D I TELL YA! IS SHE AWESOME OR WHAT?

.......

DUDE?

LOOK BRAAAH, WE ALREADY CLEARED IT WITH BIG DADDY JURICH! HE SAID IF YOU DON'T GO ALONG YOU MIGHT AS WELL PACK YOUR STUFF AND HEAD BACK TO TULSA!

God. ......Someone shoot me already! (slams the phone down)

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

Louisville Could Use A Witch Doctor originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Louisville Receiver Shot Outside Nightclub

Adam Jacobi — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:54:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Conference USA, NCAA FB Police Blotter

Scary news from Louisville, as junior receiver Trent Guy (pictured, right) was shot in the back as he left a nightclub early Saturday morning. He was hospitalized (obviously), but doctors expect him to make a full recovery. Police have made no arrests in the case, which makes no sense until you remember the victim is black.

The story is a familiar one, as you might imagine when you hear "nightclub," "early Saturday morning," and "shot." Nothing remarkable shows up in the details: stranger gropes woman, fiancé (in this case, Trent) gets upset, angry words get exchanged, everybody gets kicked out, pop go the shots.

As Guy's fiancée's friend Christopher 2X (uh...?) put it, "[h]e's a very fortunate and lucky young man to be alive." Technically, he's lucky in that his gunshot wound isn't threatening his life, but you know who was luckier than Guy that night? The other 99.9% of people at the club who weren't shot at all.

Grousing aside, it may be time for Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe to consider revising team rules on presence at bars. We're not advocating a "stay away forever there be dragons" approach; after all, part of the maturation process is to learn the difference between good and bad decisions, not to be protected from danger at all times.

Still, as Trent Guy and the team just learned, all it takes is one armed idiot to turn a good night out into a tragedy.

(Terrorist fist jab: The Wiz)

Louisville Receiver Shot Outside Nightclub originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Louisville Has Lots of Scholarships Available

Charles Rich — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:07:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Big East, NCAA FB Coaching

Every program has some turnover when there is a coaching change. There are players dissatisfied with the new system, personalities clash, promises made by the old regime are no longer valid, academics can always be an issue.

That's fine, but turning over a quarter of the roster in a little more than 12 months is ridiculous. Especially when a team goes from 12-1 and winning the Orange Bowl to 6-6 and home for the holidays. That appears to be what has happened at Louisville in the year after Bobby Petrino left and Steve Kragthorpe took control.

The Cardinals' beat writer from the Louisville Courier-Journal listed 21 underclassmen who have left the football team from the spring of 2007 to June 2008. While his list included a couple of players who left early for the NFL, it is still a crazy number.

4 players had to quit due to medical conditions.
6 were simply dismissed from the team.
8 transferred, left the program or quit the team.
1 was an academic casualty.

Add in the 17 seniors who graduated and that comes to 38 players out of the Louisville program in Kragthorpe's first year. There's winnowing out players not on-board with a new system, and then there's clearcutting.

Louisville brought in a 22-man recruiting class. That leaves 16 open scholarships coming into this season. They have roughly 20 scholarship seniors on the 2008 roster. The NCAA limits the number of scholarships to be given to a recruiting class in a given year to 25. It's going to be a while before Louisville gets close to its limits.

At least the walk-ons should get rewarded this season.

Louisville Has Lots of Scholarships Available originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Duke Sucks' Enshrined Into Law

Brian Cook — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:38:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, General CFB Insanity, Duke Football

I lost my contact... not that it matters since I'm Duke's quarterback.

The Wizard of Odds brings us this entertaining story about Duke football, justice, and the American way: Duke backs out of a scheduled four-game series with Louisville after the first game, causing the Cardinals to sue for the buyout money.

The buyout stipulated that Duke had to pay $150k for each voided game if a "team of similar stature" could not be lined up as a replacement, and here comes the catch for Louisville. Duke's lawyers argued the 6-45 Blue Devils sucked so badly that virtually any football team would be of "similar stature" and the buyout was unenforceable.

The judge agreed:

"At oral argument, Duke (with a candor perhaps more attributable to good legal strategy than to institutional modesty) persuasively asserted that this is a threshold that could not be any lower. Duke's argument on this point cannot be reasonably disputed by Louisville."

Duke sucks: now a valid legal precedent. What a country!

'Duke Sucks' Enshrined Into Law originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Louisville AD has a Firm Grasp of the Obvious

John Radcliff — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:23:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Big East, Louisville

Picture a team that was one Jeremy Ito field goal away from a shot at the national title in 2006. Most of the major contributors were back on offense in 2007 and expectations were for a similar year. I'm not going to recap the season for you. I will say that I was probably more surprised at the outcome than most of the Cardinal faithful. Seems I have some sort of Brian Brohm flinch reflex.

Fast forward to six months after the season, and I think reality is sinking in on Tom Jurich.

"We're definitely in a rebuilding process," Jurich told the school's Athletic Association's board of directors. "We're very limited from a depth standpoint. The next two years ... I just want to get through them."

The team lost 12 starters and 5 draft picks. But I think this whole rebuilding thing started about the time Middle Tennessee State put up 42. There's no way a 5-7 team from a mid-major conference should be able to do that. It shows how quick your fortunes can change.

Having said that, I don't think the rebuilding process is going to be nearly as painful as Jurich. I think Hunter Cantwell is a fine quarterback that has shown the ability to lead the team. I'm interested to see if Victor Anderson will step up this year at running back. He was good enough for Rich Rodriguez to offer him a scholarship as a junior.

The defense will surely be better with the addition of Ron English as defensive coordinator. There's going to be a lot of youth on both sides of the ball. But that's not always a bad thing. It makes for a short memory. The change in expectations might actually be a good thing for the team. What Louisville truly lacked last year was an identity. The defense was constantly guessing. The offense did put up some big numbers, but the consistency was way off previous years.

Maybe all this bonds the team together, and the coaches learn from their mistakes. Stranger things have happened. Louisville hasn't set the world on fire recruiting over the last three years, but 47th, 26th, and 43rd isn't exactly anything to cry about either. West Virginia has proven that you can win with that kind of recruiting in the Big East. And so has Louisville for that matter.

Louisville AD has a Firm Grasp of the Obvious originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:23:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big East Keeps its BCS Status Sun Rises in the East

John Radcliff — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Pittsburgh Football, West Virginia Football, Big East, Rutgers Football, Cincinnati Football, South Florida Football

Was it really only four years ago that the Big East was in danger of losing it's BCS status? Miami and Virginia Tech left in 2003 and Boston College in 2004. The conference sent Pitt, one of several 8-4 teams in the Big East to lose to Utah in the Fiesta Bowl. And there wasn't much reason to think the conference was going to get better any time soon. The conference was written off by the media and the blogospher didn't even bother to poke fun.

But something happened last week that most of us didn't even notice. The Big East was granted a spot in the BCS through 2013.

The reason is simple: no one noticed the news. No one questioned the Big East's place at the adult table. The reaffirmation wasn't even a note in BCS meeting coverage. "It was quiet,'' Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said Tuesday. "The way I like it."

You'd never make it as a blogger Mr. Tranghese. You need to rub it in someones face every once in a while. The least you could do is hold up one of those foam we're #1 hands. Or one of six, I guess. How bout a little woot-woot? Oh fine!

Despite the picture on the right, you can't just point to West Virginia and say their two BCS bowl victories and three straight top ten finishes are the reason. But I won't argue with you if you do. It really has been the improvement of several teams in the Big East that has brought the conference back to respectability. Louisville was expected to be one of the better teams in the conference. And mostly, they've come through. But the real surprise has been the improvement of South Florida, Rutgers, and Cincinnati. And more recently, Connecticut.

While the conference still isn't flooding the first round of the NFL draft with players, it is putting a lot more teams in the top 25. Sure, some coaches have left for "greener" pastures. Others like Greg Schiano and Jim Leavitt have made commitments to their schools that don't involve contracts. There's a balance, and certainly enough rising programs and programs that are there to keep the Big East respectable. At least until the Big 11 10 decides to add another team. Wankers.

Big East Keeps its BCS Status Sun Rises in the East originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 07 May 2008 17:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Louisville Wins the Big East Draft Again

John Radcliff — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:29:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Pittsburgh Football, Syracuse Football, West Virginia Football, Big East, Rutgers Football, NFL Prospects, Cincinnati Football, Connecticut Football, South Florida Football

I did this last year, so it seems only fitting that I would do it again.

And it wasn't even close. Louisville had five players drafted, while Pitt and West Virginia had three apiece. Rutgers, South Florida, Cincinnati, and Connecticut had two each. And for the first time since 1975, Syracuse did not have anyone selected.

That's 19 players drafted. And any way I slice it, that's just not all that good for a BCS conference. Looking at the distribution of what rounds the players were taken, it was pretty well spread out over the entire draft for the Big East. But that doesn't make it feel any better. It's especially bad if you look at a team like West Virginia that has had three 11 win seasons in a row along with three straight top ten finishes. They've had exactly four players drafted in the last three years. And Chris Henry and Pac Man Jones the year before that. So we won't even go there.

The ACC? Yeah, that conference we've been quietly laughing at after Miami, Va. Tech, and Boston College left. Yeah, they had 33 players drafted this past weekend. The coaching must really suck over there or something.

Pac 10? Oh, they had 37 players drafted. SEC? 35. Big 10? 28. Big 12? 27. Hell, C-USA had 11 players drafted! Patriot League? Never mind.

Even more upsetting for West Virginia fans, two players left early for the NFL and weren't drafted. Those two being Darius Reynaud and Johnny Dingle. Yeah, sorry folks. Those Dingle-Berry photo's won't be happening anymore. Those are definitely two players the Mountaineers could have used this year, though. I'm not saying that their stock would go up any with one more year of college. But it sure wouldn't go down.

Louisville will have the most holes to fill as well. You don't replace Brian Brohm, Harry Douglas, and Art Carmody. I know there are others, but those three were special at their positions. West Virginia won't be far behind with the loss of Slaton and most of the secondary and defensive line. Rutgers, well we don't know how bad it is because we haven't seen anyone but Ray Rice run the ball. The rest of the conference should be fine. And that's not a good thing if you think about it.

Louisville Wins the Big East Draft Again originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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College Eye For The NFL Guy: Brian Brohm

John Radcliff — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:32:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, NFL Prospects

I hated this guy so much while he was at Louisville, I take great joy in knowing that I will never have to write about him again. And by hate, I mean respect if you look at what he did the last three years to West Virginia.

WHAT NFL SCOUTS ARE SAYING

Pro Football Weekly Ranking the Quarterbacks

Brohm - Pop gun arm incapable of drilling NFL throws into tight NFL windows - I can envision him now getting picked off left and right trying to hit the deep out on the next level. Cannot throw on the run. Marginal athleticism - struggles to evade the rush. Pushes the ball and accuracy consequently suffers.

PROBABLY GETTING DRAFTED..

Even after that assessment, will probably go in the late first early second round.

GUY WHO WATCHED HIM FOR THREE YEARS IS SAYING

If all you knew of Brian Brohm was his performance last year, then I would say most of the above is spot on. However, there is a reason he was considered a top five pick if he would have come out for the draft after his junior year. He really is that good. And Louisville really was that bad last year. Most everyone will point out to you that a large part of the problem last year was that the defense put the offense in bad positions by letting teams score at will on them. And that's certainly true. But he didn't get a lot of help from the offense either. The rushing game got scary bad to nonexistent through the meat of the schedule. Harry Douglas was hurt in the middle of the season, and Mario Urrutia wasn't Mario Urrutia. Despite that, he completed 65% of his passes for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. Pop gun arm or not that's pretty good. Last year wasn't an easy year for Brohm, but he took it all in stride and did everything he could to help the team win.

His numbers and Louisville's record in 2006 and 2005 speak to what he is capable of when surrounded with adequate players. And while he might not have the OMG! skills that impress everyone leading up to the draft.
He does have adequate skills to play in the NFL. I've seen him make throws in real games that have made my blood curdle with hatred (respect). And he moves well enough, provided he doesn't suffer another knee injury, to handle NFL rushers. The injury bug might be the one thing that would make me skeptical about drafting him. But at the same time, I can't help but think about all the bright young NFL stars that completely fell apart their first year because they had never played on a losing team. Brohm went from a BCS Bowl victory his junior year to no bowl his senior year and never hung his head or wished he'd left for the NFL a year early. We know how Brian Brohm is going to react when things don't go well. And if you're going to make a $40 million investment, that might be a good thing to know.

College Eye For The NFL Guy: Brian Brohm originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:32:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2008 Big East Football Schedules Announced

John Radcliff — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:04:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Pittsburgh Football, Syracuse Football, West Virginia Football, Big East, Rutgers Football, Cincinnati Football, Connecticut Football, South Florida Football

OMG! Football news! February is like the worst sports month in the world! Unless you like meaningless mid-season NBA and NHL games. Sure I love NCAA basketball. But that love has been tainted by my coaches fashion sense and my teams ability to rip defeat from the jaws of victory. So I'm kind of not liking February at all.

Anyhow, some good news today football fans. The Big East released the 2008 football schedule. And while that's nothing compared to being in the stands after hours of tailgating and screaming obscenities at opposing fans and players, it is a reason for hope. The hope that another football season will soon be upon us.

And lookie, there are actually some good out of conference games this year. In September:

Cincinnati @ Oklahoma-Will the Sooners crumble again in the face of Big East might?

Penn St. @ Syracuse- When this game was scheduled Jo Pa was heard saying, "That Paul Pasqualoni is a tricky devil. We're going to have to find a way to shut down McNabb!"

Kansas @ South Florida- The Bulls can't be looking at this game the way they were a year ago.

West Virginia @ Colorado- This game fills the void left by Maryland opting out of the series. And given the size of Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, that's quite a void to fill.

Iowa @ Pitt- Again, Iowa might not like this game as much as they did when they scheduled it.

Rutgers vs. TBA-Ah, the unknown enigma that is TBA. You just never know what team you're going to play.

October has two out of conference games of note. Auburn @ West Virginia and Pitt @ Notre Dame. This could be a buzz kill game for the Mountaineers. Even though it is a Thursday night game in Morgantown and the SEC doesn't know that you can play football on Thursday nights. It will be a tough test wedged in the middle of conference play. This could be a make or break game for West Virginia's national title hopes if they exist. Pitt has a score to settle with the Irish from the 2005 season opening game that, coincidentally, was the last time the Panthers were ranked.

This might be the last football news we get until spring practices start up in about a month. So enjoy it while you can.

2008 Big East Football Schedules Announced originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Armed Robbery Is In For Spring Practice

Brian Cook — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:51:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Big East, NCAA FB Police Blotter

Alabama freshman Jeremiah Elder started the trend, and now we've got a second man overboard due to an armed robbery charge:

Louisville cornerback Rod Council has been dismissed from the team following his arrest for armed robbery in his home state of North Carolina. As of Wednesday evening, he is being held on $50,000 bond for a charge of robbery with a dangerous weapon. As a result, Kragthorpe got rid of him immediately, as he should.

While Elder took a redshirt in 2007 and wasn't expected to be a big contributor this year, Council was the best "cornerback" in what passed for Louisville's "secondary" last "year" and is a major loss for the Cardinals as they attempt to reassert themselves as a Big East power.

Also... like... dude:

According to the incident report, Council allegedly entered the store about 4:15 a.m. and pulled what looked to be a 9mm Uzi on the clerk, who was the only other person in the store at the time.

When Rod Council (allegedly) robs a store, he goes all out. Maybe he played too much Syndicate this month?

Armed Robbery Is In For Spring Practice originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:51:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anthony Allen is Free to Go Almost Anywhere He Wants

John Radcliff — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:48:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Big East, Louisville

In order for former Louisville running back Anthony Allen to be released from his scholarship, he has to agree not to transfer any school on the Cardinals schedule for the next three years. And he can't transfer to Arkansas, coached by former Louisville coach Bobby Petrino.

"They told us that if they let Anthony go there, it would be open season on their other players," Amos Allen said. "We're not even sure if Anthony wants to go to Arkansas, but we thought the restriction was unfair."

Absolutely, it is unfair. When you take into consideration that coaches, being the sneaky little devils that they are, can jump from job to job with little or no repercussions. At worst, boosters from the new school pay for the buyout clause of the coach. At best, the former coach drags his former school through the mud and fights the buyout in court. Tom Fornelli touched on this earlier with the story of Ryan Mallett.

What strikes me about this situation is that Louisville is scared that they would lose several players if given the chance to go to Arkansas. Is this paranoia, or is it based in fact? You can't want to have players on your team that are only there because you say so. The Louisville program is already on shaky ground after a very disappointing 2007 season. One that Steve Kragthorpe was rumored to be going to SMU at the end of the year, and Louisville fans were all for it. If there is something going on behind the scenes that players, even if it's only a few, want to leave to be with their old coach, that's not a good sign. A little locker room cancer can go a long way in deciding the fate of future recruits. And can be a horrible distraction to the team.

I'm not saying that players should be allowed to transfer at will without sitting out a year. But there should be some guidelines from the NCAA on what schools can and can't demand about the future of a player that transfers. Damn, I can't believe I just said that. The legal team at the NCAA will probably start working on that minutes after this story posts. And the legal fees will, of course, trickle down to the cost of my season tickets.

Anthony Allen is Free to Go Almost Anywhere He Wants originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:48:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Year In Schadenfreude

Brian Cook — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama Football, Louisville Football, Michigan Football, Notre Dame Football, UCLA Football, USC Football, Vanderbilt Football

scha·den·freu·de /???dn?fr??d?/
-noun

satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

[Origin: 1890-95; < G, equiv. to Schaden harm + Freude joy]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, (C) Random House, Inc. 2006.

On This Week In Schadenfreude we explore the sputtering rage, gibbering condemnation, and resigned ennui of the college football fan who has recently undergone humiliating defeat. Because even in your darkest hour, someone else is suffering too, and probably worse than you. Unless you are a Michigan fan who has just finished watching the Appalachian State game.

It's been a bang-up year in the laugh-at-your rivals department. As a fan, there's nothing more painful than seeing your team's shot at the ever-elusive mythical national championship go out the window because you can't beat some pissant like Stanford or Arkansas or Oregon State or Appalachian State or ... well ... not Oklahoma. But still. There was a large swath of the season in which unranked teams had a winning record over the #2 team. The most enormous upset in college football history was topped, then topped again* within a month of Appalachian State's blocked field goal.

And we tried to cover it all at the Fanhouse, at least after the two week period at the beginning of the season during which I huddled on the floor and tried really hard not to die. In the interregnum between the season and the bowls, then, let's review the year in pointing and laughing. Because the Motor City Bowl just isn't that interesting. After the jump: This Year in Schadenfreude.

*(in point spread terms, at least)

MOST OUTLANDISH EXPECTATIONS

For: the message boarder, commenter, or blogger with the most preposterously disconnected sense of his team's place in the heirarchy of college football.

You're Vanderbilt. The last time you had a winning record was 1982. In the past ten years your team has a cumulative record of 30-83, good for 113th of 119 eligible teams over at Stassen. This year you're 5-6 and attempting to lock down the unjustifiable bowl bid to end all unjustifiable bowl bids against a pretty good Wake Forest team. You lose in fairly ugly fashion, but without your starting quarterback.

Is this your reaction?

OUTRAGE
Commodore Nation should be incensed right now. We didn't just get beat by Wake Forest, we got destroyed.

Did you post a "should Bobby Johnson be fired" poll? Or declare this season -- the team's second-best since 1999 -- "a huge disappointment from the start"?

No? Well, then, that's why you didn't win this award and the Vanderbilt Sports Line did.

TEAM SCHADENFREUDE

For the team that brought opposing fans the most joy this year. Roughly measured by frequency of appearances with special consideration for "Tears of Infinite Sadness" victories.

This was a tight one. Michigan entered the year with national championship hopes, then promptly lost to a I-AA team. They were then blown out of the water by Oregon and lost to to their primary rival for the sixth time in seven years. They're scheduled to be demolished on New Year's Day in one of the most lopsided bowl matchups of the year. In any normal year, they would be runaway winners in this category.

But -- as anyone commentator even vaguely associated with college football will tell you -- this was no normal year in college football. Michigan's week three opponent, Notre Dame, rolled into town with a record as shiny and winless as Michigan. The table was set for a pillow fight of epic proportions. The result:

Michigan was a national laughingstock for two weeks at the beginning of the season and a month and a half at the end of it; an eight-game win streak in between kind of put a damper on things. There was no such solace for 3-9 Notre Dame, whose only victories came against Stanford, Duke, and UCLA's third-string walkon quarterback and his five turnovers. Super Genius Charlie Weis turned in the nation's worst offense, and then he did this:

All the while Notre Dame fans had a hilarious internal debate as to whether Charlie was permanently retarded or just, like, temporarily retarded.

Amazingly, Michigan could have pulled this out at the last second if their coaching hire went as badly as it looked like the search process was going. The initiation of the Brady Hoke era or, even more insane, the appointment of Ron English as an interim head coach would have signaled a death knell for Michigan football in the short term. But then they hired Rich Rodriguez, which is awesome.

PONTIAC PROGRAM-CHANGING SCHADENFREUDE OF THE YEAR

For the most generally humiliating moment suffered.

Though Michigan narrowly escaped ignominious victory in the last category, there is no freakin' way they weasel out of this one.

This is the moment:

And this is the very essence of schadenfreude captured on film:

Sigh. Have I mentioned we hired Rich Rodriguez?

THE SCHADENFREUDE-MAN

For the player, coach, or other figure tangentially connected to college football who brings the most joy to opponents. Reggie Ball would have run this four years running.

Bobby Petrino took off for the worst idea ever -- Vick-free Atlanta Falcons head coaching -- but left behind Brian Brohm, Mario Urrutia, and the rest of a high powered offense that had seen the Cardinals surge into national championship contention. In came Steve Kragthorpe from Tulsa, and off came the wheels.

First, there was the ominous Middle Tennessee game, in which the Cardinals gave up 42 points but managed to win. This "winning" did not so much happen against Kentucky, prompting this:

Kragthorpe

He doesnt know what hes doing. He doesnt know how to prepare against the big teams. Way too many of the same mistakes. I never thought Id say this but...I miss Petrino

by GoCards5 on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 02:15:18 AM EDT

Which is sort of like a 'Bama fan saying "I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Bear Bryant," but whatever. So it was bad. Then they lost to Syracuse. Result? Impossibly Emo Song Lyrics!

I am drowning
There is no sign of land
You are coming down with me
Hand in unlovable hand
And I hope you die
I hope we both die

Card Chronicle decided to switch up its mojo by instituting "Go Cards Baby" midway through the season. UL managed a win, but then lost to Utah 27-21. Result? Go Cards Baby abdication!

I'm dragging myself away from the computer now before I ramble on for pages (like I always do, hehe), but before I go I'd just like to assure you that it's not me, it's you. I'd rather date one of the Federline babies than serve as the sacrificial mojo for the Cincinnati game.

Please don't write or try to contact me in any way ever again.

By the end of the year we were all wondering if someone could really get fired after one year, feeling bad for Brian Brohm, and generally having a laugh at the expense of one caveman-named coach.

MOST EMO POST OF THE YEAR

For the post, be it blog or message board, that reminds you the most of this.

USC fans have had it good the past few years. And by good we mean "Scarlett Johannsson riding a unicorn wearing bacon lingerie" good. As long as we make it clear that it's Johannson in the bacon lingerie, not the unicorn. Ew.

Anyway, they still have it good, as for the fifty-sixth consecutive year they have won the Pac-10 and will go to the Rose Bowl, where they'll face a third-place Big Ten team they'll crush by 100 points. But earlier in the year, the #1 team in all the land, a juggernaut of expectation, ran up against a raggedy Stanford team starting their backup quarterback, a man named Tavita Pritchard. Johnathan Tu described Pritchard like so:

... an earnest young lesbian ceramics associate professor yearning to set the world of cutting edge pottery on fire. And I do not mean that Tavita Pritchard sounds like a lesbian who teaches ceramics; I mean that Tavita Pritchard is the kind of name you'd associate with someone who teaches the art of lesbian ceramics, probably at your local community college but there's always that opening at Santa Cruz.

So ... losing to this person is not so good. Tu, in the aftermath, had all sharp objects forcibly removed from his presence:

Someone just ran over my puppy
His name is Jim Harbaugh. Not my puppy. My puppy is named Bonestorm. Jim Harbaugh ran over Bonestorm, the greatest puppy in the history of college football.

I think I might just drive straight back to California tomorrow and eat In 'n Out until I don't feel feelings anymore. Everything is dark and hopeless and devoid of meaning. I want a chocolate vanilla milkshake very badly right now. And two sausage McMuffin with egg sandwiches for two dollars. And heroin.

And his team ended up going to the Rose Bowl!

BEST AND MOST TRAITOROUS DECISION TO TAPE YOUR CRAZY FRIEND AND STICK IT ON YOUTUBE

Word.

Friends, they have no mercy.

MOST LIKELY TO ACQUIRE RESTRAINING ORDER

For the blogger or message board poster with the most crippling obsession with hating his coach.

Can this go to anyone other than Bruins Nation? No. No, it cannot. BN's campaign against Karl Dorrell has been relentless and, finally, successful. As UCLA flailed its way to another .500-ish season, managing losses to Utah and Notre Dame along the way, BN slowly lost what little sanity it entered the year with. Typical slice of rhetoric:

There is not much else to say about this clown and his overpaid joker assistants. At this point of time we just cannot take these clowns seriously. These people are either bold faced liars or seasoned con artists who are ripping UCLA of millions of dollars.

Again if these clowns had any sense of dignity and integrity they would submit their mass resignations these week instead of passing the buck and making weak, pathetic shameful excuses.

When it became clear that Dorrell's tenure was coming to a close, BN turned its guns on a potential Dorrellian successor:

Walker needs to be exposed for what he is: an average assistant coach at best, who in the eyes of some desperate UCLA fans, who are willing to settle for anything to get rid of Dorrell, is a credible candidate for UCLA's next football coach.

Last night's game should end those stupid wishes.

I hope this is an Ed Wood "your stupid, stupid minds!" callback but kind of doubt it.

BEST USE OF EXCESSIVE CURSING

For the best &#*@ing post of the year.

There are two strong contenders here. A sanitized excerpt from the first, posted by Orson Swindle on EDSBS after Florida got stomped by Knowshon Moreno and Georgia:

Knowshon Moreno? [so far so good -ed] #$*&. Damn. God *#$@ing dammit. God #$*S#@*iing dammit. Holy #$&#$!$%*ing piss-#$*#$ing #$*(@#$*ing bull&*#$ $#%&#*@. Just $&#*ing god&*@ pisswad #$*#$ing Cleveland steamer *#$&!ing !&!$%-*#@ &*#$ing #*$&#*$&#ing #*#@head hellassed #$&!storm goddamn *#$%#@& #$&*wallah @#&*headed rectumweeping @!#$%*&ing #*&@master!

That is a lot of humorous cartoon substitution, my friends, and the original goes on and on and on afterwards. But though this post has a higher density of cursing than any other, it lacks a certain something. And that something is deep-seated anger. Orson's really going for comic effect here.

Our other contender is Notre Dame blogger "Jay" from Blue Gray Sky, who understandably kind of lost his mind after the Navy game:

You stupid goddam idiot. I'm talking to you, #&*$head. You just cost us a chance to win the game. Where did you learn your trade, you stupid goddam idiot. You Bob-Davie-versus-Nebraska mother#*$er. What you are hired to do is to help us win. Not to #*@! US UP.

Less frequency, way more genuine frothing anger: winner.

"WOW... JUST WOW" OF THE YEAR

I probably owe Ryan Ferguson my first-born, as he brought this baby to my attention in the aftermath of the Iron Bowl:

i want to thank Saban for destroying my family.

My sons grandparents are auburn fans and we visit them only at deaths in the family. Well we Lost a 41 year old Auburn fan and preacher on Nov 11 2007. So we got together for the Funeral.the first time in two years because we are Bama fans. They ask us to come to their home for Christmas so we can help with the lost of their youngest son.

we agreed when we left their house my sons one is 24 one is 16 said if Auburn beats Alabama they never wanted to see them again. Guess what we lost and thanks to the sorry backs and Quarterback we have and the 4 million dollar coach we lost our family for good.

Thanks for destroying our hope our faith and family and the youth of Alabama's hopes forever. My 24 year old was going to transfer. this year if Bama Won but who wishes to play with a bunch of loser like the ones that take the field in Alabama,

Again: wow, just wow. Some things just can't be commented upon adequately.

This Year In Schadenfreude originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Louisville RB Wants Out

Charles Rich — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:33:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Big East

Purely coincidence that it is just a day after Bobby Petrino returns to college coaching, I'm sure.

Anthony Allen was Louisville's leading rusher this year, and set a team record for rushing for 275 yards in one game. He did, however, wear down during the season and appeared to be out of favor with new head coach Steve Kragthorpe who preferred speedy, shifty, pass catching tailbacks for his offense over a more traditional power back like Allen. In light of that Allen has decided to transfer.

Louisville is willing to release him, but his choices are a bit limited.The Big East prohibits any player transferring to another Big East team. The school also won't release him to any school they face in the next three years. Right now, that includes Kentucky, K-State, Utah and Oregon State. Oh, and they also won't give him a release to Arkansas.

Amos Allen, who was driving from the family's home in Tampa, Fla., to retrieve Anthony this afternoon, said going to Arkansas "is the last thing on our minds right now." If that should change, he said, the family would appeal U of L's decision to block that transfer.

That sounds convincing that he doesn't want to join his old coach. Good luck with that appeal.

Louisville RB Wants Out originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rutgers Louisville: 2nd Half Liveblog

Charles Rich — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:58:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Big East, Rutgers Football

Rutgers @ Louisville | 1st Half | 2nd Half

Welcome back. Thanks to John Radcliff for the fine work of blind liveblogging the first half. It looked like the Scarlet Knights were going to run the Cardinals right out of their own stadium with a 21-3 lead. Louisville QB Brian Brohm has admirably prevented the Cardinals from quitting. It's 28-17 Rutgers, and while Louisville has not come back to win a game they trailed at the end of the half this year the Scarlet Knights have blown two halftime leads (Maryland and Cinci) this season. So, it's hard to write this game off.

Given the meaningless of the game in the scheme of the National Championship picture and the early blow-out status, the crew of Fowler, Flutie and James have seemingly spent most of the game talking about other games. Since it's a Big East game the are ostensibly covering, much of the discussion has been about West Virginia and how they have absolutely no chance of losing to Pitt this Saturday.

That of course led to the latest Lou Holtz halftime pep talk for Pitt. Something I, as a Pitt alum have been looking forward to hearing all season since the pep talk has achieved demented cult status. This one pulled out the classices. Lou Holtz's magic trick with ripping up the newspaper then bringing it back whole. Pitt is the biggest underdog of the weekend. NoHe even ended with Mark May walking on in his old school Pitt jersey. Words fail me.
10:00: Louisville's 1st possession of the second half. The Cardinals start with three straight running plays. Erin Andrews reported that Brohm has a sore ankle. That may have something to do with it.

10:03: Fumble! When Brohm dropped back on a 2nd and 6, Brohm got hit from behind by Eric Foster and the ball came loose. Rutgers recovered and the Scarlet Knights take over at the the Louisville 43.

10:06: Wha' happen? Teel hits Britt and he is tackled short of the 1st down marker. Yet, the official never blew a whistle. As Louisville starts to celebrate, Britt rolled back up and ran it in for a TD. Wow. How did the refs miss that? This has been a horrible season for the Big East refs. It's not been particularly good across college football this season, but the Big East has really had some egregious misses.

10:09: Eventually replay officials reverse the obvious screw up. Rutgers goes for on 4th down and Mike Teel hits Kenny Britt for a perfect throw up top for an easy touchdown. Britt was so wide open, as the corner never believed that Rutgers would throw long on 4th and short with Ray Rice in the backefield.

35-16 Rutgers with more than 11 minutes left in the third quarter. This could be the thing that completely breaks the Cardinals. At the very least it might send the half-filled pizza stadium crowd streaming for the exits on a cold night.

10:16: The Rutgers front four is getting lots of pressue on Brohm. It isn't like they are blitzing that much. They are just getting past the O-line of Louisville.

Bilal Powell the Louisville freshman RB has been having a great game in what has been an otherwise depressing performance for the Cardinals. He is down on the turf in some pain. He did get up and leave under his own power.

10:24: This has been a nice drive for Louisville. Not exactly quick strike, but very steady and a lot on the ground where Rutgers' defense has been more susceptible.

35-24 Rutgers with 6:18 left in the 3d.

10:29: Flutie is now regaling the booth with tales of the Canadian Football League as the topic has shifted to Gray Cup issues. The mute button is my friend.

10:38: Jabu Lovelace has been in regular rotation with Mike Teel at the Rutgers QB spot. Teel is apparently having thigh or hip issues.

10:45: Rutgers has very effectively driven the length of the field mixing the run and pass. I'm not saying the Louisville defense has quit. They just aren't any good. No pressure up front so Teel can throw at will and the corners are too slow. Then there is Ray Rice to just run over people.

10:50: Rutgers ate up the rest of the 3d quarter and into the 4th before having to settle for a 21 yard chip shot.

38-24 Rutgers with 14+ minutes left in the game.

10:53: I believe I mentioned that Rutgers blew 2 halftime leads. Despite dominating the game, they have let Louisville hang around. Powell was back on the kickoff for Louisville and broke off 53 yards to start Louisville inside Rutgers territory. That was followed by a nice screen to Trent Guy for 20+ yards. Then Powell again on a run that he beat Rutgers around the corner and 18 yards into the endzone.

38-31 Rutgers with 12:55 left.

11:00: Louisville's defense with a stop. A stop. There was an assist on Teel. He left the pocket, when he didn't have to. On top of that, he didn't try to go forward. He made it easy for the sack.

11:07: Powell has been injured for part of the season, but wow. Looks like Louisville has a running back for next year. Powell broke off another big run to inside the 5. Brock Bolen then runs off-tackle untouched for the score.

38-38 8:37 left in the game.

Rutgers is collapsing.

Does Louisville actually want to take it?

11:13: Louisville's defense actually looked aggressive. Rutgers got tentative and went 3 and out.

Louisville took over at their own 25.

11:17: Rutgers defense finally makes a stop again. Aided by Harry Douglas dropping a pass that would have been good for a first down.

5:11 left in the game and Rutgers has the ball at their own 24.

Stange statistics tonight. Mike Teel for Rutgers has 18-28 for 247 yards and 2 TDs. Brohm is only 10-18 and 185 yards with 1 TD. Louisville has outgained Rutgers on the ground 225 to 151. Go figure.

11:24: Another Rutgers 3 and out. Louisville has contained Rice, and Teel is getting his happy feet when he drops back as the pressure increases.

11:27: Brohm to Douglas on a beautful 46 yard pas!!!

Louisville is at the 18 of Rutgers with 1:23 left in the game.

11:30: Rutgers' defense has folded like a lawn chair.

On that note, Powell takes an inexplicable 8-yard loss to make the field goal attempt a less solid proposition.

11:31: Rutgers has already used its last timeout with 1:04 left and now 3d and 10.

Louisville just runs straight ahead for a yard and let the clock run down before kicking the FG.

Defending Lou Groza Award winner Art Carmody lines up for a 33 yard FG with 25 seconds left.

41-38 Louisville with 20 seconds left.

Louisville has its first lead of the night. 17 unanswered points by Louisville as Rutgers completely choked this one.

11:35: Kickoff taken to the Rutgers 37 yard line with 15 seconds left.

That's it. Rutgers tried a hook and ladder, but it never got going.

Rutgers completely fell apart in the second half. The third time this season they blew a halftime lead. This was the worst of the bunch. The Scarlet Knights had an 18 point lead early in the 3d quarter and then it all fell apart.

From that point on, the Cardinals outscored Rutgers 20-3. As Louisville got closer, Mike Teel seemed to get tighter. He didn't toss a pick, but his throws were no longer accurate and he wasn't standing firm in the pocket.

Rutgers Louisville: 2nd Half Liveblog originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rutgers-Louisville 1st Half Live Blog

John Radcliff — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:39:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Big East, Rutgers Football

What a difference a year can make. Both teams started the year out in the top 20 with aspirations of a Big East title and a BCS bowl game. With Rutgers accepting a bid to the International Bowl today and Louisville needing a win tonight to become bowl eligible, it's been a season of disappointment for both schools. But that doesn't mean it won't be a good game.

Louisville certainly has plenty to play for. Besides an outside shot at a bowl, they should still have payback on their minds from last years best game. With Louisville undefeated and in the running for a national title shot, an equally undefeated but lower ranked Rutgers won the game on a last second field goal. A field goal that was gift wrapped after Jeremy Ito missed the first kick, but Louisville was offside. Ito nailed the second one, and ruined a perfect season for the Cardinals.

It'll be interesting to see how fired up Rutgers is, or if Louisville isn't. With a bowl game already locked up, Rutgers doesn't have much to play for but respect. Louisville on the other hand has everything to play for, including this being Brian Brohm's last game. Not to mention Harry Douglas and Art Carmody. I'm sure they've had this one circled since last years game ended.

1st Quarter:

Woo Hoo! This is going to be great! The TV just ate itself so this should be interesting to say the least. I won't be able to tell you what is exactly happening on the field since I can't see it. But hey that's no different than some of the TV crews that we're used to. Right? The good news is that someone should be along soon to pick this up.

That didn't take long. Rutgers marches down quickly on a five play drive that ends with Mike Teel hitting Kenny Britt for a 35 yard touchdown. I bet it looked great! Louisville comes back with a quick strike of their own as Brock Bowlen rushed for 55 yards to the Rutgers 18, but the drive stalled and they had to settle for a field goal. And I'm feeling rather silly right now telling you at least what you already know.

Woot! Woot! Rutgers drives 61 yards in 11 plays, capped by a ten yard run by Ray Rice. And the score is 14-3 Rutgers. Don't you just feel like your at the game! It's so real! I'd say Louisville looks flat on defense, but yeah. You know about the whole TV thing. Right? Following the game cast can be fun. No really!

3:53 left in the first quarter, and Louisville has to punt after a three and out. Umm, the dreaded 28 yard out of bounds punt that gets punters fired, or at least a Cower Shower after the game. And Rutgers starts at their own 41. You needed to know that. Trust me.

Rod Council must be a bad boy. Two consecutive pass interference calls for 14 and 15 yards respectively. Keep throwing it to that side Rutgers. Or give it to Rice for a 14 yard touchdown run. RU-21, UL-3.

Louisville already has 5 penalties for 54 yards including a 5 yard false start penalty that turned third and one into third and 6. Hey you guys ever listen to Donavon Frankenreiter? Dang, I can't even finish a paragraph and Louisville has another penalty for delay of game. Mercifully, the first quarter is over. Strangely, Louisville has 8 yards passing, and 72 yards rushing.

2nd Quarter:

Jeremy Ito just stuck his hand up for next on the Cower Shower thing with a 19 yard punt that went out of bounds. Is it windy there or something? So Louisville takes over at their own 31 yard line and 13 minutes left in the half. And just like that, Louisville takes the ball down the field in a little over three minutes to bring the score to RU-21, UL-10. Eight plays and 69 yards, highlighted by a Brian Brohm 30 yard pass to Gary Barnidge, for those of you keeping score at home. And I know you are.

Shew, had to step away for a minute I was talking with Ray Charles about last years national championship game. And we both agreed that Florida looked really fast. So, did I miss anything? Ah, Jeremy Ito missed a 52 yard field goal after a 9 play 45 yard drive stalled for Rutgers. And Louisville loses three yards on three plays and punts the ball back to Rutgers. I understand Louisville fans were a bit upset when Kragthorpe announced this past week that he was 100% committed to Louisville football. I can only imagine how they feel now.

Ray Rice makes it 28-10 with a six yard run. And I think I hear the fat lady warming up. Sure anything was possible with last years Louisville offense, but it will take a major gaff for Rutgers to let them back in this game. And unless something amazing happens that I probably still won't see, I'm going to let this one die a peaceful death. I just want to wish Brian Brohm a successful pro career. Respectfully, I'm glad to see you go.

Yup there you go being all like you wanna win this game now, Louisville. Pfft! Brian Brohm connects with Patrick Carter for a 52 yard touchdown. And the score is now RU-28, UL-17 as the teams head into the locker room for halftime.

Rutgers-Louisville 1st Half Live Blog originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:39:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Kragthorpe Debacle May Be Mercifully Brief for Louisville

Brian Cook — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:59:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Big East, NCAA FB Coaching, SMU Football

Anyone who's watched Louisville go from up-and-coming power to insta-has-been this year has idly wondered if Steve Kragthorpe would get the ziggy faster than anyone since Mike Price, but rumors of an escape hatch as SMU seemed too odd to be true.

In the past few hours this story has metastasized from fanciful rumor to real possibility; Card Chronicle with the straight dope:

ESPN's Pat Forde wrote in his "Forde Yard Dash" column today that a source had informed him that it was "50/50" whether embattled first-year Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe would leave if he were offered the job at SMU.

Now WHAS-11's Kyle Draper and 790 a.m.'s Adam Neft are reporting that U of L football sports information director Rocco Gasparro has confirmed the 50/50 rumor. Both are also reporting that Tom Jurich is backing his head coach and wants him to stay.

Kragthorpe, of course, was a moderately successful coach at Tulsa tabbed to replace Bobby Petrino when Petrino left for Arthur Blank's six trillion million billion dollars.

At Louisville he's been a spectacular failure unable to get anyone to tackle anything; Cardinals fans are ecstatic of the possibility of hiring someone, anyone else. Almost literally:

I think they should suit up the ol' cowboy
John L.

and make Jeff full O coordinator and asst head coach

John L Smith? John L Smith? Oh, please God, please make this happen.

Steve Kragthorpe Debacle May Be Mercifully Brief for Louisville originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:59:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ponies Like Steve Kragthorpe

John Radcliff — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:55:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Big East, NCAA FB Coaching, Louisville

It's all still rumors and such, but it looks like Southern Methodist University has taken an interest in Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe. And apparently no one in Louisville is all that upset about it. From reading the comments on Card Chronicle as Mike has followed the rumors, you get the idea that the biggest concern isn't if Kragthorpe is leaving, but who will replace him.

If you follow coaching changes at major universities, you know one thing. And that is that it is never a good idea to follow THE MAN. You always want to be the guy that follows the guy. That didn't work out all that well for Bill Callahan at Nebraska, but at least he is going to get fired for something worth being fired for. Unlike Frank Solich, who got fired for a very respectable record. But that's another story.

Kragthorpe, following in the very large footsteps of Bobby Patrino, was expected to contend for a national title in his first year. No matter what the talent level on the team, that's always going to be a near impossible task. And it turned out to be very impossible for Kragthorpe.

If it is true that Kragthorpe is leaving, it's still unclear what effect this will have on the Louisville program. In the short term, it will probably be a setback. But with the universities commitment to upgrading the Louisville program, it should be a very tempting position for just about any college coach. And it shouldn't be too long before the team gets back to winning some football games.

Ponies Like Steve Kragthorpe originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Louisville's Insane Back Problems

Charles Rich — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:02:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Big East, NCAA FB Injuries

Ever hear of Congenital Stenosis of the Cervical Spinal Canal (also called congenital cervical spinal stenosis)? It's not exactly a common condition.

Congenital stenosis of the cervical spinal canal is the narrowing of the spinal canal in the neck. This condition, which exists at birth but is not hereditary, puts the affected person at increased risk of injuring the spinal cord.

It's not something that is diagnosed until there's a problem. For a football player, given the violent nature of the sport, a diagnosis of it is a career-ender.

It's estimated that anywhere from 250,000 to 500,000 people in the United States have some form of spinal stenosis. That's maybe 0.16% of the population (at the maximum). Congenital cervical spinal stenosis is a fairly uncommon aspect of the condition.

Louisville lost their starting Right Guard Tom Donoghue earlier this year when he was diagnosed with congenital spinal stenosis. Now, Defensive End Peanut Whitehead, a Freshman All-American last year, was diagnosed with the same condition. Not sure what the odds of that happening on the same team between unrelated players, but the phrase "highly improbable" comes to mind.

Whitehead was injured in the West Virginia game last Thursday. His football career is over, but he has the rest of his life and the ability to walk, run and live under his own power ahead of him.

Louisville's Insane Back Problems originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spitting Spat Erupts Between Pat White and Louisville Linebacker

Brian Cook — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:15:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, West Virginia Football, Bowl Games, NCAA FB Video

Pat White in the aftermath of yesterday's win over Louisville:

"That's not saying anything about that team, because they're very classy," White said. "But that one incident didn't sit too well with me at all. Never in my life has anybody spit in my face. ... I don't know his name, don't care to know his name, but I would like to see him again."

This has been denied by both the player in question, Cardinals linebacker Preston Smith, and (soon-to-be-ex, if anyone's paying attention) Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe:

Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe was asked about White's allegation and said, "Pat White's a great player, but that's total fiction."

The Fanhouse would have also accepted "the Louisville secondary" as a total fiction, Kragthorpe. So did he do it? Or was there a second spitter? Where's Keith Hernandez when you need him? Video after the jump.

This is by no means conclusive, but the ESPN video of the incident:

Survey says "probably," -- Card Chronicle agrees -- especially since there's no reason for White to make it up. There's a distinct hawking motion and White immediately starts trying to get the referee's attention. But, again, not conclusive.

Spitting Spat Erupts Between Pat White and Louisville Linebacker originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Louisville Must Really Want To Play Duke

Bill Maloney — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 10:40:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, ACC, Big East, BCS, Duke Football

It has been a long season for Louisville and they are already looking towards next year. One problem though -- they don't have enough games scheduled for 2008 (or 2009 for that matter). How did this happen? The Cardinals are blaming Duke.

It seems that Duke backed out of their four-game series with Louisville and the defending Big East champ cannot find replacement games. These sorts of schedule challenges happen all the time. However, it is very rare that it goes to court.

Maybe Duke is doing Louisville a favor. This season has been a disaster. 2008 should represent a fresh start. The last thing Steve Kragthorpe and company need is a pesky Duke team to hand them another embarrassing loss.

Louisville Must Really Want To Play Duke originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 09 Nov 2007 10:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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