November 2, 2012

Game Day: Cards welcome Temple

Matt Willinger
CardinalSports.com








Temple v. #10/#12 Louisville
Noon EST
Nov. 3, 2012
Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
Louisville, Ky.
Television: ESPN
Radio: WHAS (840 AM)




The Game
  • Saturday's game represents the sixth meeting and the first as members of the BIG EAST Conference. The series began in 1980 and the Owls own a 3-2 advantage.

  • The Cardinals have won the last two meetings in the series, winning 62-0 in 2006 in Philadelphia and 21-12 in 2003 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Prior to that, Temple won the first three meetings in 1980 1982 and 1983.

  • The Cardinals are 1-0 all-time at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, winning 21-12 in 2003. The Owls are 2-1 in Louisville.

  • The Cardinals defeated Temple 62-0 in the last meeting.

  • The Cardinals raised their record to 8-0 and 3-0 in the BIG EAST with a come-from-behind 34-31 overtime win at home over Cincinnati. Sophomore Teddy Bridgewater threw for a career-high 416 yards and two touchdowns and red-shirt freshman John Wallace booted a 30-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Cardinals

    Cardinals Remain One of Six Unbeatens
  • The Cardinals remained one of the six (Alabama, Ohio State, Kansas State, Oregon, Louisville and Notre Dame) unbeatens in the country with the win over Cincinnati on Friday night. The Cardinals are 8-0 for the first time since the 2006 season when they opened the year with eight-straight wins before falling to Rutgers 28-25. Louisville will look to go 9-0 for the first time in school history with a win over Temple.

  • Louisville is also 3-0 in the BIG EAST Conference for the first time since the Cardinals won three-straight league games in the same 2006 campaign.

  • The Cardinals won their fifth-straight game at home with the overtime win over Cincinnati. Louisville has won seven of its last eight games at home, with its last loss being a 21-14 decision to Pitt on Nov. 12 last season.

    Last Meeting Against Temple
    Sept. 9, 2006 • Louisville 62, Temple 0
    George Stripling and Sergio Spencer each ran for two touchdowns, ably filling in for Bush, to lead No. 13 Louisville to a 62-0 win over Temple. A ridiculously lopsided game thanks to his touchdowns and scores
    on 10 straight possessions made some early rest possible.

    Kurt Quarterman and Kolby Smith added touchdown runs for the Cardinals and Brian Brohm threw for 307 yards and a score in their biggest win since beating Cincinnati 70-7 in 2004. Mario Urrutia had five catches for 110 yards and a touchdown, and the Cardinals finished with 671 yards of total offense - the fifth-highest total in school history.

    The winning margin on the road was the third-highest in team history. Louisville finished with 312 yards rushing on 43 attempts, and a whopping 7.3 yards per carry. On fourth-and-4 at the Louisville 39 late in the first half, Stripling turned a catch in the flat into a 43-yard gain down the right sideline. Two plays later, Spencer scored on a 1-yard run for a 42-0 lead.

    Temple / Louisville Connections
  • U of L head coach Charlie Strong, Temple head coach Steve Addazio and Temple defensive coordinator Chuck Heater were a part of Florida's staff from 2005-09.

  • Louisville defensive coordinator Vance Bedford and running backs coach/special teams coordinator Kenny Carter were on Florida's staff with Addazio and Heater from 2008-09.

  • In addition, Bedford and Heater were a part of Colorado State's 1991-92 coaching staff.

  • Temple defensive line coach Sean Cronin was a graduate assistant at Florida from 2006-08.

  • Strong and Temple defensive line coach Sean Cronin worked together at Florida from
    2006-08.

  • Temple offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Ryan Day was a graduate assistant at Florida in 2005 when Strong was a part of the staff.

  • Temple offensive line coach Justin Frye was a graduate assistant at Florida in 2009 when Strong, Bedford and Carter were coaching the Gators.

  • Temple special teams coordinator and inside linebackers coach Sean McGowan was a graduate assistant at Pittsburgh in 2000 during Carter's tenure with the Panthers.

  • Louisville offensive line coach Dave Borbely coached at Temple from 1989-91.

    Back in the National Rankings
  • The Cardinals have been in the polls since the preseason, but they made their biggest jump in the polls this season, as they jumped to 10th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and 12th in the AP rankings. This is the first time the Cardinals were ranked in the top 10 in the Coaches Poll since they were ninth on Sept. 11, 2007.

  • Louisville made its debut in the national rankings this season in late August when the Associated Press placed the Cardinals at No. 25. It marked the first time the Cardinals reached the rankings since the 2007 season when Louisville was ranked 18th before a loss to Syracuse dropped the out of the polls.

  • The Cardinals were ranked No. 23 in the AP Top 25 and No. 24 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 on Sept. 3. It marked the first time since Sept. 16, 2007 that Louisville has held a spot in both national top 25 polls (No. 18 in AP and 19th in USA Today Coaches Poll).

    Cardinals Win Last Two Games by Five Points
  • Head coach Charlie Strong said after the 27-25 win over USF on Oct. 20 that his team was the "Cardiac Cards". Well, last week, the Cardinals proved that slogan to be true for the second-straight week. John Wallace kicked a 30-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Cardinals to a 34-31 victory over Cincinnati. It was the Cardinals' second victory by three points or less.

  • The last time the Cardinals won consecutive games by four points or less was back in 1994 when Louisville defeated Arizona State 25-22 on the road and Pittsburgh 33-29 at home.

  • Louisville is 4-0 this season in games decided by five points or less this year and head coach Charlie Strong is 7-2 in games decided by five points or less in his Louisville career

    Cardinals 8-0 for Only the Third Time
    The Cardinals raised their record to 8-0 for the first time since 2006 and just third time in school history. The Cardinals started the 2006 season with eight-straight wins before falling to Rutgers and ending the year at 12-1.

    The Cardinals had only two previous seasons where they started the year at 8-0 and went on to enjoy remarkable seasons. Louisville was 8-0 in 2006 before falling to Rutgers the falling week. Louisville ended the 1925 season at 8-0.

    The Cardinals will be looking to go 9-0 for the first time in school history. Below is a list of the 8-0 starts in school history and how the Cardinals finished the year.

    Cardinals Going Bowling Again
  • At 8-0, Louisville is bowl eligible for the third consecutive season under head coach Charlie Strong. The Cardinals have advanced to bowl games the last two seasons, losing last season to NC State in the Belk Bowl and defeating Southern Mississippi in the Beef 'O'Brady's Bowl in 2010.

  • The Cardinals have advanced to bowl games the last two seasons and are 7-8-1 all-time in bowl games.

    Cardinal Fever
  • Louisville has sold a record 43,432 football season tickets this year, shattering the previous mark of 43,300 set last year.

  • Louisville had two sellouts in 2010 and one last season for a total of three sellouts in the first two seasons. In the first five home dates this season, the Cardinals have sold out four games.

  • The Cardinals set a single-season attendance record for the last two years, averaging 50,648 in 2010 and 48,538 last season. The Cardinals are averaging 51,942 through the first five games this season.

  • Thirteen of the top-15 attendances in Louisville's history came in the last two seasons. A record 55,386 fans packed Papa John's Cardinal Stadium for the 2012 opener against Kentucky.

    Cardinals Own Nation's 4th-Longest Streak
  • With its 8-0 record, Louisville owns one of the longest winning streaks in the nation at eight games. With its eight-game winning streak, the Cardinals winning streak is tied for the fourth-longest in the nation with Notre Dame, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Kansas State. Dating back to last season, the Cardinals have won 10 straight regular-season contests.

  • Alabama owns the nation's longest-winning streak at 12 games, while Oregon is second with 11 and Ohio State is third with a nine-game winning streak.

    Athletic Department Success
  • Louisville is the only school in the nation with its football and men's and women's basketball teams all currently ranked among the nation's AP top 15 (MBB 2, WBB 9, FB 12). Notre Dame (MBB 22, WBB 7, FB 4) is the only other school with its three teams all in the AP Top 25. In addition, the Cardinals' women's volleyball team is ranked 13th in the AVCA poll and UofL's men's soccer team is 14th in the NSCAA rankings.

    Spread the Wealth
  • Sophomore quarterback Teddy Bridgewater continues to spread the football around in his first eight games. Looking at the 2012 statistics, the Cardinals don't have a player with more than 30 receptions, despite having 162 completions.

  • Louisville has nine players with 11 or more receptions this season and eight different players have caught the 13 touchdown receptions. Damian Copeland became the eighth different player to catch a touchdown pass when he scored from 21 yards out versus USF.

  • Copeland leads the team with 28 receptions for 358 yards and one touchdown, while sophomore DeVante Parker has caught 20 passes for a team-high 457 yards and four touchdown receptions. Parker leads the team with 457 yards receiving and is averaging an incredible 22.9 yards a reception.

  • Bridgewater continues to spread the football around. Against Cincinnati, Bridgewater completed passes to seven different receivers, marking the eighth time in eight games that he has connected with seven or more receivers in a game.

    Child's Play
  • Sophomore wide receiver DeVante Parker is a touchdown-scoring machine, totaling 10 touchdown receptions in just 38 career receptions. He recorded two more on Friday night to give him a team-high four scores in 2012.

  • Parker has 10 career touchdown receptions in two seasons and is averaging an amazing 35.8 yards a touchdown reception. He has five touchdown receptions of 30 or more yards and two of 60 or more yards.

  • This season, Parker has averaged 49.5 yards on his touchdown receptions. He has a 75-yard touchdown reception versus Pittsburgh and a 64-yarder in the win last Friday against Cincinnati. He also owns touchdown scores of 30 and 29 yards in 2012.

  • Parker has eight receptions of 20 or more yards this year and and 13 of his career 38 receptions have gone for more than 20 yards. He is averaging 22.9 a reception, which is second nationally to Willis Wright of FIU, who leads the country with 23.7 yards a reception.

    Watson Has Shown He Can Score
  • Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson knows offense and he and the Cardinals started to put some points on the board since the last six games of the 2011 season.

  • The Cardinals have scored 251 points through the first eight games, which is an average of 32.63 points per game. The Cardinals scored 34 points in the win over Cincinnati on Friday. Since a 16-14 win over Rutgers last season, the Cardinals have scored over 24 points in 12 of the 14 games and are averaging 30.7 points per game over that span.

  • The Cardinals have tallied 30 or more points in five of the eight games this season, which is the most 30-point games since 2007 when the Cardinals had seven or more games of 30 or more points.

    Strength in the Secondary
  • The strength of the Cardinals defense this season lies in the secondary. Four of the top six tacklers for the Cardinals come in the secondary and four of the teams' team's six interceptions.

  • Sophomore Calvin Pryor leads the team with 61 tackles and a four forced fumbles. Junior safety Hakeem Smith is third on the squad with 43 tackles, while senior cornerback Adrian Bushell is fourth on the team with 42 stops and an interception. Sophomore Terell Floyd is sixth on the team with 28 tackles and a pick.

  • Bushell leads the team with six pass break-ups.

    100-Yard Streak Snapped
  • The Cardinals have given up three of 100-yard rushers this season after Cincinnati's George Winn rushed for 125 yards on Friday and USF's Lindsay Lamar rushed for 110 yards on Oct. 14.

    Louisville gave up 102 yards on the ground to FIU's Jeremiah Harden in the 28-21 win on Sept. 22. Harden carried 20 times to become the first player to rush for 100 yards on the Cardinals since Cincinnati's Isiah Pead, who ran for 151 yards in a win for the Bearcats last season at Paul Brown Stadium.

  • The Cardinals went a span of 11 games without giving up a 100-yard rusher. Southern Mississippi's Desmond Johnson missed the century mark by running for 99 yards.

    Need Returns and Need to Stop Returns
  • The Cardinals have been solid in the return game the last couple of seasons, but need to get their special teams going this week versus USF. After eight games, the Cardinals rank 95th in kickoff returns with an average of 19.1 yards a return, while Louisville fell a little in punt returns to 96th at 5.1 yards a return.

  • Kai Dominguez had a season-high 30-yard punt return in the win over FIU on Sept. 22. Senior cornerback Adrian Bushell leads the team at 23.3 yards a kick return and owns the longest return of the season at 42 yards.

  • The Cardinals have to do a better job in stopping the kick returners, as the Cardinals rank 104th in kickoff return yardage defense, allowing 24.40 yards a return.

     

    ...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now for a FREE Trial



    		•