The Summer of Pitino concluded today as he took his spot among the greats in the Hall of Fame at Enshrinement ceremonies in Springfield, Mass. He was inducted by Hubie Brown and Dick Vitale in front of family, friends and colleagues. It is great to see another basketball coach represent the Louisville Cardinals while becoming a Hall of Fame member. There’s no doubt that Rick Pitino will be one of the greatest coaches we will ever see on a college basketball court. I know he made all of Kentucky proud today and I know we are all very lucky to have been a part of his great career.
You can watch Coach Pitino’s induction speech below:
The Cards came out today and they took care of business just like most expected they would beating EKU 44 to 7. The atmosphere in Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium was awesome as just over 53,000 fans showed up for the 12:00pm kickoff. It was the 5th largest crowd ever to watch a game. Pretty impressive numbers considering that it was against a FCS opponent. Teddy Ballgame threw for 397 yards and 4 touchdowns and DeVante Parker had 5 catches for 134 yards with 2 touchdowns. These two guys were the highlight of the day for the Cards offense but the the 5 headed monster known as the Cardinals running backs were held in check with only 79 yards. I said in my pregame post that this was probably the best defense that EKU has had in a long time and they showed it today by putting up a very respectable effort against the Cards. They have a gutsy bunch down in Richmond Kentucky and they have nothing to hang their heads about after today. They brought the game to the Cardinals and came to play.
The attitude in the Cardinals locker room after the game was one of discontent as both Charlie Strong and his players all felt like they could have been better today. The Kicking game gave up too much return yardage, the defense gave up a few first downs that should have been stopped, and the offensive line could have done a better job at controlling the line of scrimmage. All stuff that will provide some teaching moments to coach Strong and his staff this week as they prepare for the game with Kentucky. I think the looming rival game played a big part in the Cards performance today. I think they kept the offense simple not wanting to show much today and I do think the players were looking ahead. I know they say that doesn’t happen but I think it does.
A win is a win and the Cardinals are now one step closer to that undefeated season and possible National Title game. Below you can check out the sights and sounds of the Cardinals versus EKU.
