11-12-2005, 09:43 AM
Woj: Louisville has solid foundation
Saturday, November 12, 2005
By ADRIAN WOJNAROWSKI
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For once, act like you've played an important November college football game. For once, act like you've been there. These Rutgers Scarlet Knights want to be taken seriously as a Big East Conference contender, but with the national television lights turned on, with fans at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium watching with mouths agape, Rutgers returned to its low-rent, bush league roots before a ball was ever snapped.
Of all places, against all teams, a bunch of Rutgers players made a deliberate show of stomping on the Louisville Cardinal logo at midfield. So full of bravado, so full of something, Rutgers stood on that big, red bird and slammed its feet into its beak.
As it happened, there were Louisville's coaches extended arms wide, as though to say, "What the [bleep] is this?" The Cardinals' players furiously pointed across the field, telling Rutgers players that they would pay for such a foolish act.
After the game, Rutgers players insisted that they do this every game - working themselves into a pregame frenzy - but it was hard to believe that they had done anything but antagonized No. 23 Louisville.
And oh, how Rutgers paid. How Louisville laughed last, and laughed longest, a 56-5 victory that left Louisville livid that it didn't get a shot to break the glass on 60. No one ever has to give Louisville coach Bobby Petrino a reason to embarrass an opponent - he sleeps under Steve Spurrier posters in his bedroom - but Schiano and his kids invited a Big East beat-down of monumental proportions.
"It motivated us," understated Louisville receiver Joshua Tinch said.
"Never expected it at all," Petrino said. "Our guys took it a little bit personal because it's happened to them before."
Rutgers couldn't even say that it hadn't been warned about doing a dance on that bird. Last season, Cincinnati did it. And lost, 70-7. And then, East Carolina tried it. Louisville slipped past them, 59-7. This isn't Conference USA, this is the Big East. And unless you've the muscle to back up that kind of brazen act, you don't dare do it. Actually, you never do it.
As a result, when it was 49-5 in the fourth quarter, the brilliant Cardinals' sophomore quarterback, Brian Brohm, wasn't just still in the game, he was still in the shotgun. Inside the final two minutes, Petrino indulged his cheering fans by going for it on a fourth-and-2, getting the first down to reach 500 yards in total offense.
So, the Scarlet Knights win six football games, get bowl eligible and behave like they're the Miami Hurricanes. After five years on the job, it looked like that was all Schiano had brought with him from his days with the Hurricanes. All the talk, but none of the walk.
Here's what should happen when Schiano reports to work on Monday morning. Bob Mulcahy must pull him into his office, and tell him that if one of his football teams ever embarrasses Rutgers that way again, there will be hell to pay. And that has nothing to do with the final score on Friday night, and everything to do with his kids greeting that national television audience looking like equal parts renegade and foolhearty.
Yet, these are college kids and they never would've behaved that way unless they believed they could get away with it. For the coach who goes to such pains to control everything about the perception of his program, he is always forgetting to control what happens when 40,000 people are watching in a stadium.
Rutgers does this every game? Well, here's some advice: Don't do it anymore.
Just a year ago, Schiano refused to have his players leave the field in Annapolis before a pre-arranged ceremony to honor a former midshipman football player who died in the line of duty. As you'd expect, Navy couldn't imagine a more disrespectful display out of a guest and resolved to punish Rutgers. Before halftime, the Midshipmen hung 44 points on Rutgers. They would've taken Schiano behind a barracks and treated him like a wisecracking plebe.
Just before halftime, Rutgers was still in this game Friday night. They had a chance to play it safe, punt the ball and go to the locker room within 14-5. It was third and 11 on the 13-yard line, and Mike Teel hadn't thrown the ball well. What happened? Teel threw the ball into traffic, Louisville's defensive back Jon Russell intercepted the pass and returned it 32 yards to the Rutgers 4-yard line.
"The turning point in the game," Petrino said.
What, Schiano believed Teel was going to take Rutgers 87 yards with less than a minute on the clock? Everybody knew he was hurting - and you hope that's why he was so bad on Friday night - so why would you ever put that kind of burden on him? So, Kolby Smith scored the Louisville touchdown, and the Cardinals danced into the locker room with the momentum, with a 21-5 lead, and most of all, with Rutgers' hearts. Once Louisville scored on the opening drive of the third quarter, it was over.
Now, Rutgers must beat Cincinnati on Nov. 26 to get that seventh victory and a bowl bid. They looked like a lot of things Friday night, but barely a team worthy of December football. Still, Louisville is a fantastic program. Rutgers is a long, long way away. This was a chance for them to measure themselves against the conference elite on Friday night, and they left staggering, stunned on how far away they still were.
When this beat-down had ended, the Louisville Cardinals rushed to the middle of the field, and all together, all in the faces of the Scarlet Knights, hopped up and down on that Louisville Cardinal logo. Big mistake messing with that's bird's beak here.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
By ADRIAN WOJNAROWSKI
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For once, act like you've played an important November college football game. For once, act like you've been there. These Rutgers Scarlet Knights want to be taken seriously as a Big East Conference contender, but with the national television lights turned on, with fans at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium watching with mouths agape, Rutgers returned to its low-rent, bush league roots before a ball was ever snapped.
Of all places, against all teams, a bunch of Rutgers players made a deliberate show of stomping on the Louisville Cardinal logo at midfield. So full of bravado, so full of something, Rutgers stood on that big, red bird and slammed its feet into its beak.
As it happened, there were Louisville's coaches extended arms wide, as though to say, "What the [bleep] is this?" The Cardinals' players furiously pointed across the field, telling Rutgers players that they would pay for such a foolish act.
After the game, Rutgers players insisted that they do this every game - working themselves into a pregame frenzy - but it was hard to believe that they had done anything but antagonized No. 23 Louisville.
And oh, how Rutgers paid. How Louisville laughed last, and laughed longest, a 56-5 victory that left Louisville livid that it didn't get a shot to break the glass on 60. No one ever has to give Louisville coach Bobby Petrino a reason to embarrass an opponent - he sleeps under Steve Spurrier posters in his bedroom - but Schiano and his kids invited a Big East beat-down of monumental proportions.
"It motivated us," understated Louisville receiver Joshua Tinch said.
"Never expected it at all," Petrino said. "Our guys took it a little bit personal because it's happened to them before."
Rutgers couldn't even say that it hadn't been warned about doing a dance on that bird. Last season, Cincinnati did it. And lost, 70-7. And then, East Carolina tried it. Louisville slipped past them, 59-7. This isn't Conference USA, this is the Big East. And unless you've the muscle to back up that kind of brazen act, you don't dare do it. Actually, you never do it.
As a result, when it was 49-5 in the fourth quarter, the brilliant Cardinals' sophomore quarterback, Brian Brohm, wasn't just still in the game, he was still in the shotgun. Inside the final two minutes, Petrino indulged his cheering fans by going for it on a fourth-and-2, getting the first down to reach 500 yards in total offense.
So, the Scarlet Knights win six football games, get bowl eligible and behave like they're the Miami Hurricanes. After five years on the job, it looked like that was all Schiano had brought with him from his days with the Hurricanes. All the talk, but none of the walk.
Here's what should happen when Schiano reports to work on Monday morning. Bob Mulcahy must pull him into his office, and tell him that if one of his football teams ever embarrasses Rutgers that way again, there will be hell to pay. And that has nothing to do with the final score on Friday night, and everything to do with his kids greeting that national television audience looking like equal parts renegade and foolhearty.
Yet, these are college kids and they never would've behaved that way unless they believed they could get away with it. For the coach who goes to such pains to control everything about the perception of his program, he is always forgetting to control what happens when 40,000 people are watching in a stadium.
Rutgers does this every game? Well, here's some advice: Don't do it anymore.
Just a year ago, Schiano refused to have his players leave the field in Annapolis before a pre-arranged ceremony to honor a former midshipman football player who died in the line of duty. As you'd expect, Navy couldn't imagine a more disrespectful display out of a guest and resolved to punish Rutgers. Before halftime, the Midshipmen hung 44 points on Rutgers. They would've taken Schiano behind a barracks and treated him like a wisecracking plebe.
Just before halftime, Rutgers was still in this game Friday night. They had a chance to play it safe, punt the ball and go to the locker room within 14-5. It was third and 11 on the 13-yard line, and Mike Teel hadn't thrown the ball well. What happened? Teel threw the ball into traffic, Louisville's defensive back Jon Russell intercepted the pass and returned it 32 yards to the Rutgers 4-yard line.
"The turning point in the game," Petrino said.
What, Schiano believed Teel was going to take Rutgers 87 yards with less than a minute on the clock? Everybody knew he was hurting - and you hope that's why he was so bad on Friday night - so why would you ever put that kind of burden on him? So, Kolby Smith scored the Louisville touchdown, and the Cardinals danced into the locker room with the momentum, with a 21-5 lead, and most of all, with Rutgers' hearts. Once Louisville scored on the opening drive of the third quarter, it was over.
Now, Rutgers must beat Cincinnati on Nov. 26 to get that seventh victory and a bowl bid. They looked like a lot of things Friday night, but barely a team worthy of December football. Still, Louisville is a fantastic program. Rutgers is a long, long way away. This was a chance for them to measure themselves against the conference elite on Friday night, and they left staggering, stunned on how far away they still were.
When this beat-down had ended, the Louisville Cardinals rushed to the middle of the field, and all together, all in the faces of the Scarlet Knights, hopped up and down on that Louisville Cardinal logo. Big mistake messing with that's bird's beak here.
