By Gavin Lapaille

When the University of Louisville and West Virginia University met the last two seasons, the Big East Championship and a trip to a Bowl Championship Series game was on the line.

This year, the Cards may need to win just to get to a bowl.

With three games remaining, U of L needs one more victory to become bowl eligible. However, with five Big East teams in front of them and five conference bowl tie-ins, the Cards probably need seven wins to make their 10th straight bowl appearance.

U of L head coach Steve Kragthorpe said he thinks his team will be ready after last week’s 24-17 win over the University of Pittsburgh.

“We are a little chipped up and now it gives us 12 days to get a few extra days before we go to Morgantown,” Kragthorpe said. “It gives us a couple of extra days to evaluate ourselves. There are still some things that we want to correct.”

After a rocky start to the season, the U of L defense has begun playing better football as of late. The Cards have allowed under 25 points in their last three games, something they did only twice in the first six games of the season.

“I think we are playing better defense,” Kragthorpe said. “We are tackling better and getting more pressure on the passer.”

If U of L hopes to knock off the Mountaineers in Morgantown Thursday, that trend will have to continue.

Backed by Heisman candidates quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton, the high-powered West Virginia offense has been held under 30 points once this season – a 21-13 loss at the University of South Florida.

West Virginia is among the nation’s leaders in rushing yards per game, averaging just under 300 yards per game. Both White and Slaton rank in the top five in rushing yards in the Big East.

Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez thinks U of L’s defense could test his team.

“I think Louisville’s probably playing their best defense recently, and they’ve figured out what those kids can do well,” Rodriguez stated in a recent press conference.

“At least watching them on film in the last couple weeks, they are back to having their defense make a lot of plays. Their defense pretty much controlled that last game for them.”

Rodriguez hopes this game won’t rival last year’s offensive shootout between the schools.

“I think last year both teams got off to a hot start offensively,” Rodriguez stated. “This is a whole new year and everything is different. Both teams have the same explosive players so we’ll see what happens.”

West Virginia remains in the National Championship hunt with a 7-1 record. Currently, the Mountaineers control their own destiny for their second Big East title in three years.

“It’s exciting that we control our own destiny, but like I said, destiny doesn’t win championships,” Rodriguez stated. “Our players know determination wins championships, and we have a chance to control that play by play.”

Although U of L will enter the game as underdogs, students still think the Cards have a chance to make something special happen.

“I think even though we have had a tough season, we have a chance to surprise the Mountaineers,” senior communication major Amber Lurie said. “We are probably favored to lose be we were favored to lose to Cincinnati and look what happened. It’s anyone’s game it seems this year, so we will see. I think it will be a great game.”

The two teams will kick off at 7:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised by ESPN.