By Andrew Krumme
The cards are on the table, and it looks like the Cards will have the upper hand this season. In their first season in the Big East Conference, Louisville football garnered 23 of 24 first-place votes to win the conference. The “Red & Black” are consistently ranked among the top 15 in preseason rankings, including one ranking as high as fourth in the country.
Any gambler would put his money on this round.
In a recent online forum put together by The Courier-Journal, U of L head coach Bobby Petrino shed some light on the high expectations and “big ifs” of the 2005 football season: “We understand the expectations from the fans and the media are much higher this year. Our coaching staff and players’ expectations have always been very high.
“Our graduating senior class has set the standards very high for our weekly preparations. I’m looking forward to seeing which group of players steps up in camp and takes over the leadership roles. We’ll certainly find out how mature our team is and if we can prepare one game at a time like our 2004 C-USA title team did.”
While these high expectations and big question marks are certainly on Petrino’s mind, they will be answered in seven days in the Kentucky game. Brian Brohm will, of course, be a big factor in the equation.
In Brohm We Trust
Cardinal fans were spoiled the last two years by the exciting but efficient play of Stefan LeFors at the quarterback position. After winning Offensive Player of the Year honors in the C-USA his junior year, his encore was to lead the nation in passing efficiency and take down All Conference honors again. He threw 20 touchdowns to just three interceptions, and led the nationís best offense to one of the greatest years in school history and a near-perfect season. So, who is next in line? Welcome to the party, Mr. Brohm, and good luck.
Sophomore golden boy Brian Brohm will be stepping in as the main man in Petrino’s offense, and he has some big shoes to fill.
So why do I seem a little concerned? I’m not really, but I think some people don’t realize how good a fit LeFors was for this offense. The Petrino brothers’ style is not the wild run-and-gun Steve Spurrier type of attack that many people mistake it for. People often made this assumption because of the outrageous margins of victory or total yards amassed. But make no mistake, the Petrino-style offense is built on efficiency, something that LeFors mastered.
Now, there is little doubt that Brian Brohm has the tools to make the spectacular throw. But will he have the head and the discipline to be consistent? Think about it: Brohm is a highly-touted quarterback who can make the impossible throw for a big play, but then misses a simple out-route on third and six in the fourth quarter, letting the other team get the ball back. Situations like this are going to make or break the season for the Cards.
If you take Brohm’s stats from last year and prorate them to the number of attempts that LeFors had, it’s clear that LeFors was the better quarterback. Stefan threw 257 passes and completed 189, roughly a 74 percent clip. Comparing that to Brohm’s statistics from last year, you can project that he threw around 250 passes, he would have completed between 150 and 160 passes. That’s right around 63 percent, and a considerable difference.
Let’s not forget that half of Brohm’s time last year was mop-up duty. Brohm is going to put this team on his back. There is no more Eric Shelton or J.R. Russell to lean on, and definitely no soft Conference USA defenses to pick apart. He is going to be relied on to make the big play but will also have to be the rock of this offense and show he can be the efficient leader LeFors was.
Well, Mr. Brohm, here’s your shot.
Avoiding a letdown
With the hype surrounding this year’s team, not to mention all the praise Brohm has garnered since he stepped on the field, Coach Petrino has a huge hurdle to overcome this season. Not only does he have to get his team ready every week for a game, he has to avoid a big letdown. The Cardinal faithful have it in the back of their minds that the Cards will make it, but don’t forget John L. Smith’s 2002 Louisville team that entered the year with a preseason ranking in the top 20.
This year’s team has some striking similarities to that one three years ago: a heralded quarterback, a high-flying offense and an underrated but dangerous defensive unit.
Hopefully, this Cardinal team can get off on the right foot against UK, something the ‘02 Cards couldn’t do. That team ended their dream season after just one game.
Andrew Krumme is a junior majoring in Finance, and is a sports writer for The Cardinal. E-mail him at:sports@louisvillecardinal.com
