By David Hamrick
Many analysts predicted the Nov. 3 showdown between Louisville and Pittsburgh would be the game to decide the Big East Conference Champion. The hype hasn’t calmed down; tickets for the game were sold out last Friday.
But both college football teams have struggled and now find themselves in need of a win to keep an outside shot at the title both were once considered serious contenders for.
Louisville comes into the game with the stronger overall record at 5-2 while Pitt enters 4-4 on the season after getting off to a messy start. Pitt lost its first game to Notre Dame, a game most experts picked them to win at home, and then lost two straight out-of-conference road games to Ohio and Nebraska. But after that sluggish start, first-year Head Coach Dave Wannstedt has put his Panthers 3-1 in the Big East while Louisville is just 1-2 and on the bottom looking up at the Conference. If the Panthers can win all of their remaining games they can win the conference title.
“They’ve come back and won their last three and they look good,” Louisville Head Coach Bobby Petrino said.
“They’re big and physical on defense, got two 300-pounders inside that are hard to move around. Offensively, you’ve got to contend with quarterback Tyler Palko, who not only can throw the ball downfield but also can run. So, we’ve got a lot of preparation ahead of us.”
Palko is the leader of the Pitt offense and has been throwing the ball extremely well after starting the season off slowly. Palko has thrown for 1,770 yards while completing 57 percent of his passes and throwing 13 touchdowns.
One area he has improved is in interceptions. During their first four games, Palko threw five picks but has settled down since, only throwing two in conference play.
Palko’s favorite target is wide out Greg Lee, who has caught 34 passes for 710 yards and five touchdowns. Lee, a 6-foot-2 senior, will prove to be a match-up problem for the small, inexperienced Louisville secondary.
Two Louisville players continue to pile up the stats and lead the NCAA. Despite fumbling three times against West Virginia, running back Michael Bush still leads the NCAA in scoring after adding three more touchdowns to his total. Elvis Dumervil had three sacks and a forced fumble in his last outing against the Mountaineers, bringing his sack total to 19 and forced fumbles to eight. These stats give him the national lead in both categories.
Both Big East teams are coming off “bye” weeks before the Thursday night clash, which will give both of them an extra week to get healthy and prepare for the game. “I think we need it,” Coach Petrino said. “It’s been a pretty good grind and most of our practice days have been hotter than usual, so I like the fact we have a bye right now.”
On the injury front, the Cardinals are projected to have three major players back in action. Linebacker Abe Brown and running back Kolby Smith have both been cleared to play, barring any setbacks during the 11 days of practice leading up to the game.
Broderick Clark remains sidelined, however, due to a knee injury he suffered during the opening kickoff of the West Virginia game.
As reported by The Courier-Journal last week, U of L Assistant Sports Information Director Rocco Gasparro said Clark plans to petition the NCAA for a medical redshirt season. If the petition is granted, Clark, who is in his fifth season at U of L including one as a redshirt freshman, will be able to resume play next season.
Pitt looks to field the same team from the previous week.
The Thursday night match-up will be broadcast by ESPN and is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. in Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
A limited number of tickets remain for the Cards’ final two home games against Rutgers (Nov. 11) and Syracuse (Nov. 26).
Tickets can be purchased by visiting the U of L ticket office or calling 852-5151.
