From their showcase position Monday night, the University of Louisville Cardinals have broken into the Associated Press Top 25. Thanks the the hurting they put on the Miami Hurricanes, Bobby Petrino’s squad goes into Saturday’s matchup against Murray State as the 25th ranked team in the nation.
That’s a fairly long way considering that the Cardinals:
- Lost head coach Charlie Strong to the Texas Longhorns
- Lost the staff Coach Strong built into the number 15 team in the nation last year and finished the season 12-1
- Lost star quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings
- Lost star safety Calvin Pryor to the New York Jets
- Lost crucial pieces of the puzzle to graduation
- Brought in head coach Bobby Petrino and his baggage
- Lost potential star running back Michael Dyer to injury
- Lost proven star wide out DeVante Parker for nearly 2 months to injury
- Started a green Will Gardner at quarterback
- Took on a Miami team who wanted revenge for the shellacking Louisville put on them in the Russell Athletic Bowl
- Began play in the much stronger ACC
- Opened the season with a conference game when other teams were playing Middle Cupcake State University
That’s a lot of question marks. But after the Labor Day game, at least some got answered. Enough for the voters to decide they liked what they’ve seen thus far.
Ironically, the ranking puts the Cards above Texas who was relegated to the “also receiving votes” category. That’s also where you also find former powerhouse teams like Penn State and Michigan.
The Coaches Poll, on the other hand, didn’t seem as impressed. In that survey, Louisville would be the equivalent of number 28. That puts them behind Oklahoma State and Florida, two teams they top in the Associated Press. And in an fit of confusion USA Today, the same newspaper that publishes the Coaches Poll, also published their “NCAA re-rank” where they place the Cards at number 25.
Don’t be too excited, though. They’re probably not Florida State ready just yet, but beating Clemson in October just became a realistic possibility.
Photo by: Max Sharp/Louisville.com
