Get the lowdown on Thursday's matchup by clicking on Christian Alexander's Pick Pack.
Rutgers (7-4, 3-3 Big East) at Louisville (5-6, 2-4 Big East)
Thursday, November 29
7:30 PM ET on ESPN
Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium (Natural Grass)
Hard to believe that we’re already here at the 14th week of the season – the end of the road for another year – my eighth – of Thursday night college football handicapping on VegasInsider.com.
Southern Cal proved last week that despite having two losses on their record, this team might be playing as well as any program out there right now. Unfortunately for the Trojans, those aforementioned losses will keep them from getting a shot at the title but considering what a whacky season it has been, it wouldn’t feel right for the prohibitive favorite to have won it anyhow. Just hard to believe that of all the teams on their schedule, a loss to Stanford will keep the Trojans from getting a title shot. Like I said, its been a crazy season.
Nonetheless, the strong late season play from Pete Carroll’s crew made for an easy winner (-3) last weekend when USC took control early at Arizona State and then pulled away in the second half for an easy win (44-24) and cover.
That win in my pocket, I now sit at 8-5 on Thursday nights for the year. 8-6 (57%) wouldn’t be the end of the world but 9-5 (64%) is my goal so with that in mind, lets take a look at the last Thursday night regular season game of the year.
While I already mentioned the “disappointing” season for Southern Cal, you can’t get too bummed out for the Trojans since they are more than likely headed to the Rose Bowl – not too shabby a postseason destination.
No, for true disappointment look no further than the Louisville Cardinals. This is a program that was coming off a winning effort in a BCS Bowl (Orange) and had its best player (QB Brian Brohm) spurn the NFL to return for his senior season. Those two factors went a long way in explaining why everyone had this school in their preseason Top Ten and some even had the Cardinals as a darkhorse to win it all, thinking they might run the table.
Think again.
Louisville currently sits at 5-6, not even eligible for postseason consideration. That obviously means there is some extra motivation for the Cardinals as they face Rutgers this Thursday, although a win doesn’t even guarantee that Louisville will go bowling.
So what went wrong for the boys that play at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium? Well, for starters it certainly didn’t help when Coach Bobby Petrino bolted for the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons at the end of last season.
That said, his replacement was Tulsa’s Steve Kragthorpe, a coach that many had pegged for stardom so conventional wisdom said the Cardinals would be fine.
Maybe they eventually will but there have been a lot of growing pains this season for sure.
The main issue resides on the defensive side of the ball. If you can even call what Louisville does as playing defense? The Cardinals are currently ranked 85th in the nation in total defense and will have their hands full with Rutgers coming to town.
At 7-4, the Scarlet Knights have been a modest disappointment themselves. Still, the team is likely heading to Toronto to play in the International Bowl on Jan. 5 against either Bowling Green (8-4) or Ball State (7-5).
Rutgers boasts one of the top running backs in the country in Ray Rice. The junior will likely come up short in his bid to win Doak Walker Award as the nations best running back – something tells me Darren McFadden of Arkansas has that one in the bag – but make no mistake, this is one of the most electric players in the nation.
Combine Rice with the potent passing attack of QB Mike Teel and WRs Tiquan Underwood and Kenny Britt and you’ll see why many aren’t optimistic about Louisville’s chances.
On paper it appears that for Louisville to win this game it will have to take down Rutgers in a shoot out. But can the Cardinals put up a lot of points on the Scarlet Knights? That is likely where this game will be decided and considering that Rutgers has the 8th ranked defense in the land – and #2 against the pass – the pass oriented Louisville offense could be in for another tough night.
See you next year for more Thursday night action. Until then, best of luck to all!
PS - Be sure to check out my College Bowl package where I offer analysis and selections for all 32 games!!!
