CardinalSports.com - Game Day: Cards look to snap ugly streak against UConn

October 16, 2009

Matt Willinger
CardinalSports.com Staff

Louisville vs. UConn
Saturday, October 17
12:00 p.m. EST
Rentschler Field
E. Hartford, Conn.
TV: WHAS-TV (Big East Network)
Radio: WHAS (840 AM)
Series History: Louisville leads 3-2

Game Look
The University of Louisville football team returns to BIG EAST action when the Cardinals travel to East Hartford, Conn. to take on Connecticut on Saturday, October 17 in a Noon kickoff, which will be televised on the BIG EAST Network. The Cardinals snapped its three-game losing streak with a come-from-behind 25-23 win over Southern Mississippi last Saturday at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

It was the Cardinals first win over a FBS team since defeating South Florida 24-20 on October 25, 2008. Senior placekicker Ryan Payne connected on a 32-yard field goal with 30 seconds left in the game to lift the Cardinals to their first win since a 30-10 victory over Indiana State on September 5.

After Southern Mississippi took a 23-22 lead on a 13-yard touchdown run with 2:13 to play, senior kick returner and wide receiver Trent Guy made the play of the game when he returned the kickoff 64 yards to the USM 30-yard line. After a 12-yard run by Victor Anderson, the Cardinals gained just three more yards to set up Payne's game-winning kick.

The Cardinals trailed at the half 16-7, but came out in the second half and dominated the third quarter, out-scoring the Golden Eagles 15-0. Junior Bilal Powell scored from 13-yards out to trim the lead to16-14. After a three and out, the Cardinals came back when quarterback Adam Froman connected on a 92-yard pass to Scott Long for the third-longest pass play in school history. Froman connected on the two-point conversion with true freshman Scott Radcliff, who was making his collegiate debut. Froman, making his second start, was 14-of-26 for a career-high 248 yards and a touchdown, while Long had a career-best day, catching fi ve passes for a career-best 146 yards and a score. Anderson and Powell accounted for 90 and 58 yards, respectively for the Cardinals.

Louisville recorded a season-best 439 yards of total off ense in the game, including 180 yards on the ground. Connecticut dropped its BIG EAST opener against Pittsburgh last Saturday 24-21 at Heinz Field when Dan Hutchins booted an 18-yard fi eld goal in the final seconds of the game.

Series History
The Cardinals and Huskies will meet for the sixth time when the schools square off this Saturday. Louisville leads the overall series 3-2, but have dropped the last two encounters to Connecticut, including a 26-21 decision at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in 2008. Louisville dropped its last visit to Connecticut 21-17 on a rainy night in 2007. The Cardinals are 1-1 all-time at Connecticut with their only win a 30-20 decision in 2005.

Last Meeting vs. Connecticut
Lawrence Wilson returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown with 2:45 remaining to give Connecticut a 26-21 victory over Louisville. Donald Brown ran for 190 yards and a touchdown for the Huskies, who rode the legs of the nation's leading rusher to stay in it after starting quarterback Tyler Lorenzen was sidelined by a foot injury. Sophomore Zach Frazer threw for 90 yards and a touchdown in place of Lorenzen and wisely let Brown do most of the work. Louisville moved the ball effortlessly at times and piled up 508 yards of total offense but squandered several opportunities to put the game away. Redshirt freshman running back Victor Anderson ran for 100 yards and had a touchdown running and receiving, and Bilal Powell added 112 yards and a touchdown.

Kragthorpe vs. Edsall
Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe and Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall will face off against each other for the third time. Kragthorpe is 0-2 all-time against Connecticut in his career, losing 21-17 in 2007 and 26-21 in 2008.

Cardinals Hope to Avoid Back-to-Back Losing Campaigns
The University of Louisville football has enjoyed unprecedented success over the last few seasons. Coming off a 5-7 season - their first losing campaign since 1997, the Cardinals are trying to avoid their first back-to-back losing seasons since Louisville went 5-6 in 1996 and 1-10 in 1997. Last season's 5-7 mark snapped the Cardinals' 10-year run of consecutive
winning seasons.

Must Get Better on Third Down
For the Cardinals to be successful, they have to do a better job of getting off the field on third down. Louisville ranks 91st in the country on third down defense, yielding 42.2 percent on third down. The Cardinals held Utah to 4-of-13 on the "money down", but have allowed 20-of-43on third down in the last four contests against FBS teams. Louisville was a disappointing 7-of-16 in the season-opener versus Indiana State.

Patrick Doing it All
Junior cornerback Johnny Patrick is doing a little of everything for the Cardinals in 2009. Patrick is tied for 42nd nationally and leads the team with a pair of interceptions, but is also tied for third on the team with 26 tackles - which is tops in the defensive backfi eld. He also leads the team with five pass breakups. Patrick tied his career-high with nine tackles in the win over Southern Mississippi and also recorded a pair of tackles for loss. He also had nine stops in a loss to Kentucky this year.

It's a First
In the win over Southern Mississippi, the Cardinals committed the game's only turnovers - an interception thrown by Adam Froman. It marked the first time in the three years under head coach Steve Kragthorpe that the Cardinals lost the turnover battle, but won the game. The Cardinals are now 1-12 under Kragthorpe when the team losses the turnover battle.

Losing the Rushing Battle Usually Equals Loss
The Cardinals finally got their rushing game on track in the win over Southern Mississippi last Saturday, running for a season-high 180 yards on just 29 carries (6.2 yards per carry). However, the Golden Eagles did out-gain the Cardinals 181-180 on the ground. The Cardinals are now 2-13 when being out-rushed by the opposition. Their only other win when they were out-rushed by the opposition came in 2007 when the Cardinals upset 15th-ranked Cincinnati 28-24 at Nippert Stadium.

Froman Notches First Win as a Starter
Junior quarterback Adam Froman, who was making his second career start, became the second Cardinal quarterback to win a game this season when he helped guide the Cardinals to a 25-23 win over Southern Mississippi last Saturday at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Junior Justin Burke won his first game as a starter, defeating Indiana State 30-10 in his Cardinal debut. Burke was solid in his first win, going 17-for-31 for 223 yards, but did throw a pair of interception. Froman won his first career game on Saturday versus Southern Mississippi when he completed 14-of-26 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown. Froman led the Cardinals in the second half when he went 4-for-8 for 145 yards and a 92-yard touchdown pass. Froman also rushed four times for 17 yards in the game. Froman evened his record at as a starter, while Burke is 1-2.

Cardinals Gain Season-Best Versus Golden Eagles
During the Cardinals' three-game losing streak, Louisville had trouble moving the football and scoring points. During its three-game slide, Louisville averaged just 17.0 points per game and 314.7 yards of total offense U of L gained a season-high 439 yards in total offense in the win over Southern Mississippi. Louisville ran just 58 plays, but averaged 7.8 yards a snap, including 17.3 yards a completion and 6.2 yards a rush. Th e Golden Eagles entered the game 22nd nationally in total defense, allowing 286.6 yards per game.

Rushing Game Gets Back on Track
It's no coincidence that during the Cardinals' three-game losing streak, the running attack was not where the coaching staff wanted it to be. In the three straight losses, the Cardinals were held to an average of 104.7 yards and just 2.8 yards per carry. However, in the win over Southern Mississippi last Saturday, the Cardinals registered a season-best 180 yards on the ground, including a season-best 6.2 yards per carry. Playing with just two healthy backs, Victor Anderson and Bilal Powell combined to rush 24 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns. The Cardinals still ranks 74th in the nation at 134.0 yards per game on the ground.

Quarterbacks Getting Too Comfortable
The Cardinals have to do a better job of getting pressure on the quarterback and getting the quarterback off his rhythm. The opposition is having a field day throwing the football, completing 85-of-125 passes for 933 yards and six scores. Opposing quarterbacks are completing 68.0 percent of their throws this season and have an efficiency rating of 138.54. Martevious Young was 22-of-31 last Saturday, Bill Stull of Pittsburgh was 16-of-23, while Terrance Cain of Utah was 17-of-22 and Mike Hartline was 20-of-27. Take away, Indiana State's 10-of-21 performance and the opposition would be 75-of-104 for a completion
percentage of 72.1 percent.

Second-Half Adjustment
The Cardinals did a great job in the second half in the win over Southern Mississippi. Trailing 16-7 at the break and giving up 236 yards of total offense, the Cardinals defense responded to limit the potent Golden Eagle offense. Louisville limited USM to just seven points and 174 yards of total offense, 89 of which came on one drive late in the game. Th e Cardinals forced four straight punts in the second half. Louisville has given up just 14 points in the third quarter all season.

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