Perspective Piece
Louisville vs. West Virginia, Oct. 15

By Matthew Zemek

The word “respect

Excellent article and the Big East dilemma very well stated. How can we get a win win situation out of this game.

nice article, but it overstates the importance of one game. The respect of the BE will not be made or lost depending on what happens Saturday. And there are more than 2 excellent programs in this conference. I think UCONN might have something to say about who wins the BE this season.

For us it is a elimination game. We must win Saturday against WVU. For the Mountaineers this is a very important 2 games with UofL followed by a trip to Tampa.

And lurking in the weeds is this very young team in Storrs, Connecticut.

This game will not make or break the conference, but it is probably the biggest stage we will get for the rest of the year. If the performance stinks for either team or both....not good. Someone will emerge ranked and will probably remain ranked for the remainder of the season. The other will probably face an uphill struggle to return to the top 25. S Florida and UConn both will have a big say in what happens this year (both can win out)...and believe it or not, Pitt will throw a monkey wrench into someone's plans before the year's over. But for now, this is our spotlight and it's on us to shine.

The "best" outcome is a close and well-fought game.

Does a WVU win mean UL drops out the 25? Hmm. Possibly.

Does a UL win automatically drop WVU out? Probably.

But...... if both of these teams run the table AFTER this game, there are sufficient remaining games for both of them to be ranked.

UL being higher ranked would be the "ideal" victor, because it means they would end the season with a higher ranking than WVU would if WVU were to win.

As noted, though, this game is big, but there are additional angles involved.

South Florida remains unbeaten in conference. They have WVU at home. That's potentially bad for WVU. On the other hand, USF has to travel to Rutgers and UConn. Their only remaining home games are WVU and UC. It'll be tough for them to run the table.

UConn's roadwork includes a Cincy team that will mightily try to bounce back this Saturday, and a WVU team that might be trying to secure a New Years Day invitation (if they beat UL).

So, nothing is set in stone, but without doubt this is a huge game.

It is LIKELY that the winner gets the BCS bid.

But to reiterate, what's important is this:

1. Good game. Not a sloppy poorly played mess.
2. Close game. Evenly or at least closely matched which indicates two teams deserving of top 25 status.
3. Both teams run the table after this game to move up as far as possible in the ranks.

cardtopper Wrote:This game will not make or break the conference, but it is probably the biggest stage we will get for the rest of the year. If the performance stinks for either team or both....not good. Someone will emerge ranked and will probably remain ranked for the remainder of the season. The other will probably face an uphill struggle to return to the top 25. S Florida and UConn both will have a big say in what happens this year (both can win out)...and believe it or not, Pitt will throw a monkey wrench into someone's plans before the year's over. But for now, this is our spotlight and it's on us to shine.

Lets hope for closely fought, exciting game. I am looking forward to a great game. I think UL winning will erase the bad memories of USF and getting UL some national respect. Lets hope for an exciting game and not a blow out.

Randy Edsall teams always improve as year goes on. UCONN is very well-coached and sky is the limit for the young Huskies. If our new QB can perform on the field, we will have an excellent chance to move forward with our defense. Game at WVU wil be very very tough. Game against UL at end of the year could decide some major things in the BE. I am pumped all these close races. However, we have to take care of RU and CINCY immediately first.

SF Husky Wrote:

cardtopper Wrote:This game will not make or break the conference, but it is probably the biggest stage we will get for the rest of the year.  If the performance stinks for either team or both....not good.  Someone will emerge ranked and will probably remain ranked for the remainder of the season.  The other will probably face an uphill struggle to return to the top 25.  S Florida and UConn both will have a big say in what happens this year (both can win out)...and believe it or not, Pitt will throw a monkey wrench into someone's plans before the year's over.  But for now, this is our spotlight and it's on us to shine. 

Lets hope for closely fought, exciting game. I am looking forward to a great game. I think UL winning will erase the bad memories of USF and getting UL some national respect. Lets hope for an exciting game and not a blow out.

Randy Edsall teams always improve as year goes on. UCONN is very well-coached and sky is the limit for the young Huskies. If our new QB can perform on the field, we will have an excellent chance to move forward with our defense. Game at WVU wil be very very tough. Game against UL at end of the year could decide some major things in the BE. I am pumped all these close races. However, we have to take care of RU and CINCY immediately first.

I hope you are right but I think the only way the USF debacle gets erased is if we go to the BCS and beat a top 10 team from one of the other power conferences, atleast that is what the media is saying here, and I kinda agree. Unfortunately for us we get reminded of that loss everyday on talk shows and in the newspapers. I guess you can say its still a dark cloud hanging over the football complex, it will take a solid road win to ease the minds of the critics and some of the fans. I wish we didn't have to play WVU right now. I wish it was later on in the season for the simple fact that; I think if either team loses one will drop out of the top 25. On the other hand I want to see what this team is made of going on the road after seeing the improvements over the last two games. I think the offense is finally in mid-season form and if the defense can get some movement up front and some pressure on the backs then I think we have a chance. We shall see, I would rather have the challenge now, and hopefully the cardinals can continue to play with the same passion they have played at home this season. I will feel much better if we come out with a victory. I just want to see a good football game and may the best team win.

Bearcat 1984 Wrote:The "best" outcome is a close and well-fought game.

Does a WVU win mean UL drops out the 25? Hmm. Possibly.

Does a UL win automatically drop WVU out? Probably.

But...... if both of these teams run the table AFTER this game, there are sufficient remaining games for both of them to be ranked.

UL being higher ranked would be the "ideal" victor, because it means they would end the season with a higher ranking than WVU would if WVU were to win.

As noted, though, this game is big, but there are additional angles involved.

South Florida remains unbeaten in conference. They have WVU at home. That's potentially bad for WVU. On the other hand, USF has to travel to Rutgers and UConn. Their only remaining home games are WVU and UC. It'll be tough for them to run the table.

UConn's roadwork includes a Cincy team that will mightily try to bounce back this Saturday, and a WVU team that might be trying to secure a New Years Day invitation (if they beat UL).

So, nothing is set in stone, but without doubt this is a huge game.

It is LIKELY that the winner gets the BCS bid.

But to reiterate, what's important is this:

1. Good game. Not a sloppy poorly played mess.
2. Close game. Evenly or at least closely matched which indicates two teams deserving of top 25 status.
3. Both teams run the table after this game to move up as far as possible in the ranks.

Pretty dead on assessment. The BE needs as many ranked teams as possible.

I wonder what everyone's thoughts are about which team has the better poll advancement potential by winning out?

WVU:
Impressive win at Maryland
Only loss to #3 VTech

UL:
No quality wins stand out, but in their wins, running up huge margins of victory.

What does everyone think there? WVU's OOC schedule seems slightly stronger, IMO.

Lemmiwinks Wrote:I wonder what everyone's thoughts are about which team has the better poll advancement potential by winning out?

WVU:
Impressive win at Maryland
Only loss to #3 VTech

UL:
No quality wins stand out, but in their wins, running up huge margins of victory.

What does everyone think there?  WVU's OOC schedule seems slightly stronger, IMO.

Maryland hasn't shown much more than UNC this year. The record difference is based on schedule. Besides their BE opponents, Maryland beat a weak Navy and Temple. UNC played Utah and Wisconsin. It will play out but there may not be much difference, other than their UofL game b/c no game looks good when you lose by 55.

Sagarin wise, its UNC 34th, Maryland 55th. Oregon St right behind at 58th.