By Benjamin Lampkin And Pk Bartley
University of Louisville vs East Carolina Game Notes
By Benjamin Lampkin
and PK Bartley
Cardinal Staff
ECU Coach Happy to See Ragone Leaving
ECU head coach Steve Logan (no, not that one) will be the first person to congratulate Dave Ragone upon his graduation.
“I’m gonna send that boy a graduation gift as soon as I get back,” said Logan. “He took a couple of our freshman corners and took ’em to school.”
At one point Ragone completed 18 consecutive passes, which establishes a new school record.
Ragone Unaware of Record-Setting Day
The postgame press conference was the first time quarterback Dave Ragone heard that he’d broken Chris Redman’s record for consecutive completions with 18. “He’ll be the first person I call,” said Ragone. “I had no idea, I usually count the incompletions in a row.”
Ragone also moved past a couple of former Tulane quarterbacks in the record books. He passed Shaun King for fourth place on the Conference USA charts in career passing yards (7, 689) and he passed Patrick Ramsey for third place in total touchdowns with 74 in his career.
Never Mention “That Game” Again
Last week’s disappointing home loss to TCU is not one that defensive end Devon Thomas would like to think about any time soon.
“We dropped a couple of heartbreakers, and one that we don’t ever wanna discuss, ever, ever, ever again,” said Thomas.
However, Thomas is aware that Louisville is in position to make another run at the C-USA title.
“We gotta win ’em all,” said Thomas. “I guess we control our own destiny.”
A Little Energy Goes a Long Way
U of L head coach John L. Smith’s postgame press conference following last week’s loss to TCU was peppered with the term “embarrassing.” This week’s buzzword was “energy,” as in the Cards’ utilization of it.
“It’s amazing, if you play with a little energy and enthusiasm, how well you can play,” said Smith. “They were much smarter than they have been, they played with much greater effort and energy.”
The Cards average 11 penalties and over 100 penalty yards per contest. They finished Saturday’s game with 8 penalties for 74 yards. Not great, but an improvement.
Hungry Guest Speaker
Former U of L cornerback Frank Minnifield spoke to the Cardinals earlier in the week, and his words of wisdom stayed with many of the players throughout the ECU game.
“Our speaker last night talked about just getting hungry, and playing like we used to play,” said offensive lineman Dan Koons.
“Sometimes you tell them as coaches and they become a little bit, ‘ah yeah, it’s coach Smith again.'” said head coach John L. Smith. “Frank spoke to them from a player’s standpoint and talked about the days they were hungry at Cleveland. A lot of them got accolades and all of a sudden the hunger wasn’t there. They chose not to participate in the hunger that was there. And I really think that hit the nail on the head and I think our kids listened to it. And like he said, if you’re not one of them that can get in on the hunger and enjoy it. FAKE IT!”
Koons, the starting center, also joked about Ragone’s in-the-huddle insubordination concerning play calling.
“He was in the zone. They called a run play, and he told us in the huddle, ‘I’m checking this, I’m throwing it.'”
Where Do You Buy One of Those?
ECU head coach Steve Logan has yet to garner a Conference USA championship in his 11+ seasons at the helm for the Pirates. When asked what his team needed to do to collect a championship banner like the ones hanging all over Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Logan smugly replied, “I don’t know where they bought those.”
Recognition Returns
Following their performance against ECU, Louisville’s Dave Ragone and Damien Dorsey were both named as C-USA Players of the Week. Dorsey was named as the special teams player of the week, while Ragone shared offensive player of the week with Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman.
Snow balling
Though the Cards won decisively on Saturday, Smith still is not certain that the players have gotten the point. “Last week starts the snowball rolling,” he said. “But, it’s not rolling down hill yet. We’re still trying to form that little bit and get it going.”
Speaking of snow
Known for his many off-season adventures, Smith has already made plans for next year’s exotic trip. He will go on a three-week safari to Africa and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. “It’s an adventure. The snows are going to be gone soon with global warming.”
One reporter laughed saying he did not know that Smith was such an environmentalist/animal lover the coach was quick to respond. “Why are you laughing. I’m not a health nut. I’m not an animal lover. I love snow. The snow is going to be gone. I’m serious. Then there’s going to be something in life that you’re going to miss.”
