Football preview: Louisville Ranked Top 25

Coach Charlie Strong built the Cardinals into one of the Top 25 teams in the nation.

By John Brady–

With football season right around the corner, the Cardinals are getting ready for the upcoming season. With the season starting on Sunday, the Cards know they have a target on their back.

Louisville was picked to finish first in the conference during Big East Media days. Now the Cardinals have become the only Big East team to be ranked in the recently released AP Poll. The AP Poll rankings are compiled by polling sports writers all across the nation. Each voter provides his own ranking and when it was all said and done, our Cards come in at number 25.

This is truly a testament to what Coach Charlie Strong has been trying to do at Louisville. When he first came into Louisville, the program was in a downfall and had not been ranked since the beginning of the 2007 season. Now, the Cards are hyped to win the conference and are picked to compete in a BCS bowl this season.

Coach Strong does not get caught up in the hype but admits that the new poll is “a step in the right direction.” Coach Strong likes to keep his players humble as well.

“Our players understand two years ago you were picked last in this conference,” says Strong. “Last year you were picked seventh and look where you ended up.”

Coach has a point, last season the Cards were picked to finish at the bottom of the conference but ended up taking a share of the Big East Championship.

With these newly acquired accolades, the Cardinals are gathering attention around the country. Long time journalist Pat Forde, who currently writes for Yahoo Sports, had this to say about the Cardinals:

“The Cardinals were the youngest team in the nation last season but came on as the kids grew up and finished in a three way tie for the Big East title. Now, with sophomores all over the field and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a star in the making, Coach Charlie Strong could win the league outright in his third season.”

The football team has been creating quite the buzz around the city, the university and around the nation. We will see how it goes when Louisville opens up the season against rival Kentucky Sunday, September 2 at Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium. The game will air on ESPN.