By Gavin Lapaille
For the second consecutive week, the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals will take on an undefeated conference foe that is highly ranked in the BCS standings on national television. This time, Louisville will travel to Piscataway, N.J. to take on one of the most surprising and intriguing stories in all of college football this season, the No. 15 Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
After receiving the boost they needed for an invite to the BCS national title game with last week’s win, Louisville (8-0, 3-0) now turns its full attention to Rutgers (8-0, 3-0).
“Now the biggest game in Louisville history is this Rutgers game coming up,” said Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm.
Rutgers is 3-0 in the Big East conference for the first time since joining the league in 1991. Already gaining national attention with their impressive start, a victory over Louisville could position the Scarlet Knights for a run at the Big East Championship. The game is already being billed as one of the biggest in school history.
The Cardinals will have their hands full with Rutgers sophomore running back Ray Rice, the country’s third leading rusher. Rice has already run for 1,203 yards and 13 touchdowns, helping pace the Scarlet Knights to their best start since 1976. Rice had his worst game so far this season in last week’s 24-13 win over Connecticut, rushing for only 79 yards, his lowest output of the season.
Rice is not much of a threat in the receiving game with only three catches for 26 yards on the season. Rutgers’ passing game as a whole has been one of the worst in the nation, averaging just 134 yards per game, ranking them 114th in the country. Quarterback Mike Teel has completed only 90 passes out of 164 attempts for 1,016 yards to go along with six touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Rutgers’ offense begins and ends with Rice, but the focal point of the offense may not be at 100 percent after a Connecticut player fell on Rice’s ankle, forcing him to leave the game early. However, Rice should be ready to go for the much-anticipated match up with Louisville.
“It’s just a little sore,” said Rice. “I’m ready to go.”
The highly ranked Louisville offense may have a tough time moving the ball against Rutgers, who has one of the top defensive units in all of college football. The Scarlet Knights rank third in points allowed per game, 11th in pass defense and fourth in total defense. The most points they have given up all season was against South Florida, as they eked out a victory against the Bulls 22-20. The unit is led by sophomore defensive back Courtney Greene, who has three interceptions.
The game is at 7:30 p.m. this Thursday and will be televised by ESPN. It will be the second of three weeks in a row in which ESPN will televise two Big East teams nationally on a Thursday night.
