National title? Don’t forget about Louisville

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, March 23, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Louisville Cardinals
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Pencil in the date: September 16, 2006. And the location: The only major college football field named for a pizza chain.

That's when the University of Louisville hosts Miami in a game that could propel the Cardinals to a national championship.

Really.

Of course, there are a few other teams that will have something to say about that, including Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida and defending champion Texas. But the Louisville Cardinals still make for an intriguing candidate.

For one thing, a victory over Miami would give the Cardinals a high national ranking in the early going. Then, while the other major title contenders run the risk of being knocked off in their competitive conferences (or, in the case of Notre Dame, of stumbling somewhere during a strong independent schedule), Louisville has a relatively weak Big East to contend with.

True, the Cardinals were hammered (45-14) by Big East rival South Florida last year and required three overtimes to subdue West Virginia, but they have both of those teams at Papa John Cardinal Stadium this time around.

Besides Miami, the non-conference schedule is hardly fearsome -- Kentucky, Temple, Middle Tennessee and Kansas State.

During the off-season, head coach Bobby Petrino turned down an $18 million offer to coach the Oakland Raiders and star running back Michael Bush decided to return for his senior season. There were reasons.

In Bush's case, the 6-3, 240-pounder saw Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Lawrence Maroney and several other strong running backs coming out and saw that he might not be drafted until the second round.

"My family is in good shape," he said, "and there was no need to rush it."

That was bad news to the other Big East teams, who now have to contend with a monstrous back that rushed for 1,143 yards and scored 23 touchdowns last season. Bush runs with the sudden impact of a piano falling downstairs, and it's hard to find a college tackler that can handle him one-on-one.

Meanwhile, quarterback Brian Brohm will be back after missing the end of the 2005 season with a torn ACL. Hunter Cantwell subbed for him in the Gator Bowl and performed surprisingly well in a 35-24 loss to Virginia Tech. Cantwell will get most of the contact work this spring while Brohm continues his rehab.

A 6-4, 210-pounder, Brohm threw for 2,883 yards and 19 touchdowns in Petrino's high-octane offense. He was the USA Today Player of the Year as a senior at Trinity High School in Louisville after accumulating a mind-blowing 10,000-plus passing yards as a prep.

Two of Louisville's prime receivers - Mario Urrutia and Harry Douglas - also return. A big target at 6-6, Urrutia snagged 37 passes for 797 yards and seven touchdowns last season, while Douglas amassed 497 receiving yards on 27 catches.

The offensive line will need to be rebuilt, with only freshman All-American Eric Wood (center) and guard Kurt Quarterman returning, but Petrino feels he has the necessary replacement parts.

Linebacker Aaron Harris, D-linemen Amobi Okoye and Zack Anderson and DB's Rod Council and William Gay will lead a defense that lost All-America DE Elvis Dumervil but will be strong otherwise.

So remember Sept. 16, Papa John's Stadium. That's when the Louisville Cardinals will be ordering out for Miami.
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