Louisville Cardinals

The University of Louisville Cardinals finished the 2003 season at 9-4 which got them a berth to the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Louisville put up 28 points, and on most nights, that’s good enough to get a W, but QB Ben Roethlisberger and his Miami (OH) teammates were the better squad on the night and came away with the 49-28 victory. The loss hurt the team, but the national exposure helped in recruiting as the Cardinals winning ways in Conference USA have brought them more media attention. The Cardinals will finish this season in Conference USA before joining up with the Big East next season. I expect them to show what they can do this season and earn a solid bowl berth after starting at #14 in my pre-season poll.

Stefan LeFors started every game at the QB position last season for the Cardinals and led the team to their 9-4 record behind 3,145 passing yards, 17 scores, and completing 61% of his passes. The Cardinals led the conference in total offense and finished second in passing efficiency. LeFors will have to battle incoming freshman Brian Brohm before the season to keep his starting spot in 2004. Brohm, who turned down Tennessee and Notre Dame to play at Louisville, was an All-American last year and had three brothers earn letters at Louisville. One brother, Jeff, was an outstanding Louisville QB in his day and now coaches the QBs at the school. Running backs Eric Shelton and Lionel Gates will compete for the starting spot giving the Cardinals a solid starter and an above average back-up. Last year as a true freshman, Michael Bush played quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, and he’ll likely try to work all three positions as well in 2004. A broken foot in practice slowed him down this spring but he’ll be ready to play during the season. Receiver J.R. Russell finished last year as the Cardinals top receiver with 75 catches for 1,213 yards and eight scores. Defensive end Marcus Jones earned second-team honors last year after recording a team high ten sacks and 17 tackles for loss. Linebacker Robert McCune had 143 tackles last season including eight games with ten or more tackles.

The Cardinals will play host to the Horned Frogs of TCU on November 10 in a game that could decide who will win the conference title. Everyone knows that the Cardinals can score points and make big plays on the offensive side of the ball but the team will need to make the big stops on defense if they want to have a chance at winning the conference championship. Louisville’s non-conference schedule will likely prepare them for the battles of Conference USA. They’ll open the season at home against Kentucky before traveling to North Carolina and Miami (Fla.) during the season. The Cardinals also play two Tuesday games in November with the first being played on November 2 when the team travels to Memphis. The other game is the following Tuesday against TCU.

College Teams Football Home

Join Our Mailing List » JOIN NOW

All Images, Content and Design © 2004-2010, CollegeTeamsFootball.com