The first game of the season has set the bar high for the Louisville Football program both from a fan standpoint and a team standpoint. The first home game against Ohio had a very “Big Time” atmosphere and I’m hoping that can be maintained throughout the entire football season. With game one in the books it’s now time to look to the Cardinal’s next opponent the EKU Colonels.
The EKU program is one of the most tradition rich in the state of Kentucky and although they are still working to get back to the level they were when the legendary Roy Kidd walked the sideline they still play some very competitive football in Richmond. The Colonels have had the highest winning percentage in the OVC over the past ten years at .772 and have won 21 titles in that league. They have also won two FCS National Championships. They are currently ranked #21 in the FCS. The Colonels and Cardinals have played each other 26 times from 1927-2010 and Louisville leads the series with a record of 17-8-1. The last time EKU beat Louisville was during the 1985 season and they won that game in Louisville 45 to 21. These two teams last played each other in 2010 with Louisville prevailing in that contest, 23 to 13. Dean Hood is the head man at EKU and has been the Colonels coach since 2008. He was the Defensive Coordinator at Wake Forest prior to coming to EKU and went up against Bobby Petrino’s Louisville offense in the 2007 Orange Bowl.
There are lots of new faces that will fill the Eastern Kentucky depth chart heading into the game on Saturday as 11 starters from the 2012 squad were seniors including three key positions on offense quarterback, running back and wide receiver. Hood is a coach that believes in the run and EKU’s rushing average has improved for four straight years. The Colonels averaged 205.7 yards per game on the ground in 2012, their highest since 2002. Redshirt freshman JJ Jude and redshirt freshman Jared Sanders will get the bulk of the carries. They combined for 103 yards last week. Junior Jared McClain is the man under center for EKU and he had a solid debut last week throwing for 155 yards and two touchdowns. His top targets are senior TE Nathan Watts, senior WR Ike Ariguzo, and sophomore WR Joel Brown. Eight players had at least one reception as this group combined for 194 yards and two touchdowns last week. Again this week the size, speed and agility of the Louisville defense will have no problem taking care of this EKU offensive group. Just not in the same league. They will be having nightmares after seeing Lorenzo Mauldin all day.
The front seven in EKU’s 4-3 defense has the look to be one of the best in Dean Hood’s six years as head coach. Five of the seven are returning starters and three earned All-OVC honors a year ago. Eastern’s defense led the conference in points allowed (21.7 ppg) and rushing defense (108.2 ypg) one year ago. This group limited Robert Morris to 2 of 12 on third-down conversions last week. But we’ll see if the veteran group can pose any sort of a challenge to one of the deepest offensive college football teams in the country. Teddy and company didn’t have any trouble at all with the Ohio defensive group, but to be fair they did replace their entire defensive front. The Colonels group will be more experienced so they might pose more of a challenge.
EKU Coach Dean Hood: “We appreciate the opportunity to play Louisville,” “It’s not too many times you can say you are going to play a top-10 FBS team. We are going to show up and play the game.”
This is not the same program that was filling Roy Kidd stadium when “The Beak” was on campus in the early 90’s and its definitely not the same Louisville program the Colonels beat back in 1985. This will be the best Louisville team that EKU has seen in the series and the scoreboard will reflect that. The Cardinals are favored by 40 in this one but it could end up much worse. Gonna be a long day for my Alma Mater.
The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 67 EKU 3