One of the most anticipated seasons in the history of Louisville football kicked off today. As I was heading down I64 I don’t think I could have imagined just how much the Cardinal Nation was ready to see their football team play. When I got to my parking spot and started to walk around it became pretty clear then. You could feel the excitement in the air. At every tailgate spot I stopped it seemed as though fans had taken their excitement to another level. And I witnessed one of the most passionate Card Marches ever today. Folks lined up early to get their chance to wish the players good luck on their way to battle. From a fan standpoint Cardinal Nation really took a step up today. And at kickoff the second largest Papa Johns crowd ever were in their seats and ready to go. If a college football program is to be considered “Big Time” then the fans have to be “Big Time” and today they were.
Another thing I noticed today was how many former UofL greats showed up in Louisville to cheer on the football team. I ran into several former Cardinal players as I was making my rounds. This is another sign of a football program making it to “Big Time” status. When you got guys coming back to cheer for the football team it says a lot about what’s going on in my opinion.
When the team came out for their pre game warm-ups they matched the level of intensity and excitement of the fans. I had never been to a regular season game and seen our football team more hyped, and focused. You could tell early on in the pre-game reps that Ohio was in for a long day. When our Cards came running out of that tunnel for game time it was on…
The last time Louisville and Ohio played was 54 years ago and on that day it was the Bobcats who were victorious in a 22 to 15 slobberknocker. But today the guys from Ohio suffered their worst loss ever under their current coach as they ran into a team on a mission. A team that is out to prove that “Big Time” football has arrived in Louisville. The Cards took control early today and never looked back. The defense stepped up big and shut down the Ohio big three of Tettleton, Blankenship, and Donte Foster. Turns out my prediction in my game preview was pretty accurate and losing those three starters on that offensive line really hurt them. A team that had averaged over 30 points a game was held to just 273 total yards and 7 points. Louisville’s James Burgess played a big part of that as he was a tackling machine and even forced a fumble. He was the defensive player of the game.
Ohio Coach Frank Solich: “I don’t think there is any question that they are a Top 10 team. They are the best team we have played since I’ve been at Ohio.”
Ohio QB Tettleton: “Give them a lot of credit. They have a really good defense.”
And the Louisville offense today was just awesome and as near to perfection as they could be in the opening game. Right out of that gate Teddy Ballgame was 9 for 9 on his first two drives for 122 yards, and hooked up with Damian Copeland for two 2 touchdowns. The onslaught would continue as Teddy would throw for four touchdowns in the first half. He would finish with five on the day.The key was his ability to connect on 3rd downs as he was 8 for 8 with 7 first downs and two touchdowns on third down. Again just as I had predicted in my game preview it was toss and catch all day long with Copeland, Parker, Clark, De La Cruz, and Christian against the Ohio D. Teddy said he felt “like a kid in a candy store” with all the weapons. “I just have to pick the flavor.” I was also happy to see Michaelee Harris get a catch. Hope it’s a sign that he could be a contributed later in the season. Our offensive line deserves a lot of credit as they controlled the line of scrimmage all day long. It appeared that losing six defensive starters was too much to overcome for the Bobcats. They replaced their entire defensive front this spring. The Louisville five headed monster of running backs also played their role in this big win. Dyer scored his first ever touchdown with he and Perry leading the way. Brown, Lamb, and Radcliff also got snaps. It’s just crazy to see this much depth at that positions. This is the deepest offense in the country. Was good to see Will Gardner come in to get the clean-up touchdown. The cards turned in the best offensive performance ever for Coach Strong with over 600 yards. There were a few penalties but most of those could be contributed to early season mistakes and Coach Strong didn’t seem too concerned about them after the game.
Coach Strong: “We felt like if we played well we could dominate that opponent. We have some things we can clean up.”
It was a great day in the history of the Cardinal football program. I’m just glad that I was there and could be a part of it. I do think it was a significant moment and one that I would summarize as “Big Time” football has arrived in Louisville. We will all look back on September 1st 2013 as a day when it all came together. Great fan support, great facilities, great atmosphere, and great execution by a great team. Go Cards!