If you have lost faith in the state of college football, with coaches on the go from one place to another in search of more money,Charlie Strong is here to calm your nerves.
Strong held what can probably be best described as an emotional press conference Thursday morning to confirm his loyalty to Louisville, explaining why he decided to stay with the Cardinals instead of moving on to Tennessee. Reports yesterday suggested Strong was mulling the decision to stick with Louisville, fresh off a Big East championship and BCS berth or take over Tennessee, a program willing to shell out some significant money to have Strong lead a revitalization project for a once-proud football program.
When it came time to make a decision on his coaching future, Strong reflected on the support and faith many had in him. That support spanned from his boss, Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich to the city of Louisville. … Continue Reading
If there is one thing I absolutely love about covering college football, it is getting a chance to head down to the field for the final moments of a game and witnessing the raw emotion that comes from the thrill of victory. Thursday night I got a chance to do that as Louisville topped Rutgers to win the Big East’s automatic BCS berth, in all likelihood.
Here is how I saw the final moments of the 20-17 Cardinals victory unfold from field level. Some of the video may look a little rough but I managed to do what I could with my trusty little Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera.
Louisville kept their undefeated alive by coming out on top of a wild Big East contest against Cincinnati. Teddy Bridgewater passed for over 400 yards and he and Munchie Legaux were each able to put together late touchdown drives to send the game in to overtime. It was a wild fourth quarter as Louisville battled back against a Cincinnati defense that was looking gassed perhaps overdoing it between the third and fourth quarters by hopping all around the sideline. Long passing plays by both teams late in the quarter just added to the drama as Louisville finally took the lead, only to lose it moments later.
In the overtime, Legaux tried to force something and was intercepted instead, giving Louisville a chance to end everything and reclaim the Keg of Nails for the first time since 2007. Lining up for the field goal, Butch Jones did what many coaches do and call a late timeout to ice the kicker. The decision may have cost Cincinnati the game, as the snap sailed above the holder. The game would have either gone to a second overtime, or perhaps Cincinnati could pick up the loose ball and run it in for a touchdown. Instead, Louisville got a second chance in the rainy conditions to boot a game-winning field goal. Naturally, they did and started celebrating the rivalry victory, remaining undefeated as well.
Senior Will Stein figured it was appropriate to celebrate winning the Keg of Nails by doing, what else, a keg stand!
There has been a lot of talk about how much the Big East seems to be slipping down the ladder of college football, and collegiate athletics, pedigree. The Big East has become a punching bag that everyone feels is ready for a few punches.
Pittsburgh losing to Youngstown State? The Big East stinks.
Temple losing to Maryland? The Big East stinks.
Rutgers at South Florida on Thursday night? The Big East stinks.
The NFL replacement refs are ruining the game. Uh, sure why not. The Big East stinks.
It almost doesn’t matter what you are talking about. Somebody will likely find a way to rip on the Big East conference, whether it is a fair criticism or not.
The news that Notre Dame is heading to the ACC in all sports but football (and hockey) was just one of the latest reasons some found to pile on the Big East. The latest news that the Orange Bowl may prefer to align a partnership with the Big Ten or SEC even without a conference champion deal, or Notre Dame, instead of the Big East champion was this week’s reason to continue trashing the Big East. As for that new TV deal the conference is looking to secure? Michael Bradley says a depleted conference will mean the Big East struggles to score big.
Whenever I want to get a good take on the state of the Big East, I call on Mark Ennis from Big East Coast Bias. Ennis has become the target of Big East criticism on Twitter, through absolutely no fault of his own. The truth is no matter what the stat of the Big East is, Ennis will have a fair and objective point of view on the conference. In our conversation we take a look at what losing Notre Dame means for the Big East, as well as what may be in the future for the conference’s bowl line-up and what eventually happens for the television package currently up for renegotiating (currently exclusively open to ESPN).
We also take a couple moments to discuss the success of the Louisville Cardinals, the preseason favorites in the Big East, the rise and maturation of Teddy Bridgewater as well as a couple games involving Big East teams (Rutgers @ Arkansas, Louisville @ Florida International and Temple @ Penn State).
Have a listen to the podcast below, then make sure you are subscribed in iTunes, and following the show on Get Glue! Follow Ennis on Twitter @Mengus22 (follow me @KevinOnCFB). And don’t forget, this podcast can be heard at anytime on Stitcher Radio (and click here for a promo code to get started and a chance to win $100)!
A portion of this podcast will be featured in our first ever encore presentation Friday evening, airing live on Pioneer Digital TV channels 150 and 152 in Oklahoma, and parts of Texas and Kansas where available. Click here for more information, and stay tuned for some announcements for the podcast and site coming soon.
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Syracuse enjoyed their final clambake in the Big East Monday night in Rhode Island, but it was Rutgers who walked away with the conference title this year. Rutgers consumed 30 lobsters tonight, an incredible increase over their 2011 total of just two. Meanwhile, Syracuse was breaking multiple school records with 20 lobsters digested as a team, and 7.5 each downed by linemen Justin Pugh and Zack Chibane (according to Troy Nunes is a Magician‘s crack staff).
As is tradition it seems, the Big East players , coaches, and media and more cleaned out the Eisenhower House staff of lobsters before the bellies were full. Imagine what could happen next year when the conference bumps up to 12 members with the additions of Boise State, San Diego State, Houston, SMU, Central Florida and Memphis. The Big East better start looking for more lobsters.
Keep in mind, these are unofficial numbers, and we are taking the players at their word.
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