By Andrew Krumme And Benjamin Lampkin
0-fer in the Red zone
Despite the twenty seven first downs, four hundred plus yards on offense and twelve points for the Temple Owls, they went a dismal 0-4 while in the red zone, which most of the time is not going to get you the W. This 0-fer for the Cardinal defense showed that it comes up big time when it really matters. ‘They”re a very good football team, I think they”re very strong on defense,’ said Temple head coach Bobby Wallace. ‘We got some yards on “em, but we didn”t get in the end-zone very well.’
Playing Unconscious?
Stefan LeFors left the game after Louisville”s second drive of the game. He apparently suffered a concussion on a scramble up the middle of the field where he was hit helmet-to-helmet by a Temple linebacker. LeFors bounced back and finished out the drive throwing a pretty touchdown pass to tight end Richard Owens. Doctors then determined he could not come back and play. ‘The doctors didn”t let him go back in,’ said Bobby Petrino. ‘That”s their decision, and that”s why they get paid all that money.’ So you have to wonder what LeFors was thinking on the end of that drive or even if he was able to think at all. ‘I don”t know if he was unconscious throwing that,’ said senior center Dan Koons. ‘I don”t know if he remembers throwing it. But somehow he did it.’
Kicking Problems
The Cards” special teams knew going into Saturday”s game that something important would happen for them. After all, they were facing a Temple kicking game that had a new snapper, holder, punter, and kicker, so the likelihood of U of L”s unit coming up with a block was high. However, the Owls were able to get of all their punts, and though they missed both extra point attempts, it wasn”t because of the Cards. ‘Obviously we have some problems with kicking,’ said Temple”s Wallace. ‘The first extra point we missed was kicked low, it was not blocked. We blocked it, it hit our guard in the back of the helmet. I know they (Louisville) want credit for blocking it but we got it.’
Movin” Up
With just 6 seconds left on the clock in the first half senior tight end Ronnie Ghent made a sweet grab for his 13th career touchdown catch. Ghent”s touchdown moved him pass Ralph Dawkins into a tie for 5th place with Zek Parker. Even Temple”s coach had to lavish praise on Ghent for his great catch: ‘That was, first of all, a tremendous effort on their tight end”s part, number 86. I mean that was just a great play on their part.’
Three-Headed Monster
U of L gained over 185 yards on the ground, but not one person dominated for them. Instead, three Cardinals had over 40 yards on the ground. The ‘Gates’ opened for Lionel who had 60 yards on 12 attempts. Eric Shelton, who was nursing a couple of nagging injuries from practice during the week, chipped in 51 yards, and the all-around freshman stud Michael Bush put together as solid 42 yards on six attempts.
15 Straight for J.R.
After four non-conference games and four non-conference wins, the Cardinals are set to start Conference USA play Saturday night against South Florida. As Dan Koons and Bobby Petrino have said, ‘the preseason”s over.’ The Bulls, in their inaugural season in C-USA, are 2-1 this season, with wins against lowly Army and Nicholls State, and a loss in the season opener at Alabama. Though the Bulls were picked to finished third by the league”s coaches (ahead of Louisville), Petrino is definitely optimistic about the conference opener. ‘I feel good We”re 4-0, and we know a lot about our team. We know a lot about which guys can make plays, and maybe some guys that can”t.’
