04-15-2012, 12:53 AM
There are dozens of interesting items for the University of Louisville football players to study inside the south entrance to the Howard Schnellenberger Football Complex:
A sparkling display featuring Johnny Unitasâ Hall of Fame career. A tribute to the Cardinalsâ pros and All-Americans. Pictures from all of U of Lâs bowl trips.
Those are not the things that coach Charlie Strong wants his players to remember. Better that they focus on a poster that outlines the preseason predictions from the 2011 Athlon College Football Yearbook. That fearless forecast had U of L booked for 72nd in the FBS and eighth in the Big East Conference last season.
Eighth place is not where youâre going to find the Cardinals when the 2012 magazines arrive in June. First is more like it. Is it time for the Athlon display to surrender its prime wall space?
âNo way,â Strong said, shaking his head as he pointed at the prediction that his 2011 team would finish 2-5 in the league and 5-7 overall. Turns out the Cards were 5-2 and 7-6.
âWhat Iâm going to do is make it bigger,â he said. âIâm going to blow it up.â
Strong gets it. Managing expectations for 2012 will be as challenging as managing his offense and defense. The days of shrugging and wondering which teams U of L might beat are over. Theyâve been replaced by trying to determine which of the dozen teams on the Cardsâ schedule might beat them.
Think about it: The Cards have to be favored to win the Big East, and theyâll get Kentucky and North Carolina, their two nonleague BCS opponents, at home.
âBecause of what we have coming back, a lot of people think we should be picked (first),â Strong said.
Those people would be correct. West Virginia has departed for the Big 12. Pittsburgh is adjusting to its fourth coach in less than two years. Cincinnati is looking for replacements for quarterback Zach Collaros and running back Isaiah Pead. Greg Schiano is coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, not Rutgers.
That leaves Connecticut, South Florida and Syracuse. U of L beat all three last season. Temple arrives after winning five of eight games in the Mid-American Conference last season. The Owls will not be favored to win the Big East. U of L will be the choice â and should be, considering the Cards return 18 starters, led by Teddy Bridgewater, the best quarterback in the league.http://www.courier-journal.com/section/sports
A sparkling display featuring Johnny Unitasâ Hall of Fame career. A tribute to the Cardinalsâ pros and All-Americans. Pictures from all of U of Lâs bowl trips.
Those are not the things that coach Charlie Strong wants his players to remember. Better that they focus on a poster that outlines the preseason predictions from the 2011 Athlon College Football Yearbook. That fearless forecast had U of L booked for 72nd in the FBS and eighth in the Big East Conference last season.
Eighth place is not where youâre going to find the Cardinals when the 2012 magazines arrive in June. First is more like it. Is it time for the Athlon display to surrender its prime wall space?
âNo way,â Strong said, shaking his head as he pointed at the prediction that his 2011 team would finish 2-5 in the league and 5-7 overall. Turns out the Cards were 5-2 and 7-6.
âWhat Iâm going to do is make it bigger,â he said. âIâm going to blow it up.â
Strong gets it. Managing expectations for 2012 will be as challenging as managing his offense and defense. The days of shrugging and wondering which teams U of L might beat are over. Theyâve been replaced by trying to determine which of the dozen teams on the Cardsâ schedule might beat them.
Think about it: The Cards have to be favored to win the Big East, and theyâll get Kentucky and North Carolina, their two nonleague BCS opponents, at home.
âBecause of what we have coming back, a lot of people think we should be picked (first),â Strong said.
Those people would be correct. West Virginia has departed for the Big 12. Pittsburgh is adjusting to its fourth coach in less than two years. Cincinnati is looking for replacements for quarterback Zach Collaros and running back Isaiah Pead. Greg Schiano is coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, not Rutgers.
That leaves Connecticut, South Florida and Syracuse. U of L beat all three last season. Temple arrives after winning five of eight games in the Mid-American Conference last season. The Owls will not be favored to win the Big East. U of L will be the choice â and should be, considering the Cards return 18 starters, led by Teddy Bridgewater, the best quarterback in the league.http://www.courier-journal.com/section/sports