bullwark

Mike Stoops name is being tossed around in the land of Bama.

After watching the game tonight, I saw a very stagnant offense, that lacked screens on and off the ball. Very little passing into the interior, and numerous breakdowns on defense due to Richmond's weak side screens. The team has to do a better job of producing some motion on offense and create a post presence. Lastly, there was also little communication between the players to inform each of screens and switches. The team played very poorly tonight. USF appeared to be quicker, however, USF was unable to use it to their advantage. In my opinion USF should have pushed the ball upcourt quicker to make the game more up tempo for USF utilize their speed advantage.

I have left a message for the sports editor. This type of mistake could be made by a newspaper out west, however, for a local paper to make this type of mistake is moronic.

Wow, my son this morning asked for a Fathead and now this thread must be fate.

Silly-O is also a little jealous, USF facility is much better than UM's, Kirk Herbstreit mentions the fact that UM's facilities are below par every opportunity he gets. However, it was refreshing to hear Silly-O give USF props.

Bill King, on Rivals Radio has been saying for the past two months that UM should hire CJL, and today he said Bama should hire CJL. Its a product of the program's success, get used to it.

CJL's emotions almost got the best of me also, a great job by the players and the coaches.

From my view at the game: The Good: The 1 st QTR at best The Bad: The cold and wind, the pizza box is somewhat open on one end and the wind was relentless coming through there. The Ugly: The Bulls, the offense didn't show up and the secondary kept tripping over their skirts. After last nights game and the verbal abuse I had to endure, I want revenge next year!

I'm off to the game and will do my best to take some pics of the Bulls playing in the pizza box and have them posted on the board. **** its gonna be cold, GO BULLS.

1. Do you BULLieve USF "can" win 2morrow ? Darn Tooting! 2. Where will you watch the game ? The Pizza Box in Loserville. 3. What will be the deciding goup in our victory; Offense, Defense or Special Teams ? Defense 4. At 7-3, are we at what you expected before the season? Yes. 5. Do you even like Papa John's Pizza ? I did until they aligned themselves with Dirty Birds.

Leaving tonight for the Bluegrass State and will be on the lookout for my fellow Bulls at the game.

kentucky.com After tough loss, UofL will try to rebound against So. Florida By Russ Brown KENTUCKY.COM LOUISVILLE -- Bobby Petrino walked into his weekly press conference Monday afternoon with a smile on his face and even uncharacteristically cracked a few jokes during his meeting with the media, but the University of Louisville football coach admitted his demeanor was noticeably different a day or so earlier. "The last few days have been difficult," Petrino said. "It's a lot more fun when you win than when you lose. But our players will be back." Last Thursday in Piscataway, N.J., U of L suffered its first loss of the year and its first defeat in 14 regular-season games when Rutgers rallied from a 25-7 deficit to stun the Cardinals 28-25 and dash their national championship hopes. The setback dropped U of L (8-1, 3-1) from No. 3 to No. 10 in the Associated Press poll, to No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and from No. 3 to tenth in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings. Now the Cards have to regroup and get ready for another stern test against South Florida (7-3, 3-2) Saturday night in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (7:30 kickoff, ESPNU). The Bulls aren't ranked in the top 20, but they've won four of their last five since a 22-20 loss to Rutgers, and with a top-notch quarterback and a fast defense, they're certainly capable of an upset if U of L isn't at its best. One big question facing the Cards is how much they have left in their tank both emotionally and physically after playing two tough, emotional games in a row. Under Petrino -- whose first two seasons were spent in Conference USA and then a watered-down Big East last year, U of L had never faced two top-10 teams back-to-back, let alone three consecutive quality teams. So the Cards are in uncharted territory. They're about to find out how the other half lives -- teams that have traditionally played in stronger conferences, such as the SEC, Big Ten and Pac-10. "You worry about it, there's no doubt about that," Petrino said. "You worry about two big, emotional games and now you've got to go through it again and get back up again. We have to rely on our competitiveness and our leadership within the team. I think that's the biggest thing is the guys on the team that it's really important to, the seniors who don't get another go-around, make sure everybody rallies and gets themselves ready to play. We need to get up off the ground and rally. We need the seniors to understand that we are going to finish strong." One of those seniors is running back Kolby Smith, who is ready to join the other seniors in making that happen. "That was a tough loss to swallow," Smith said. "But we've got to keep our heads up and finish out the season strong and make the best of this year." Petrino wasted no time trying to boost his player's morale and get them out of the doldrums. He summoned them to a team meeting Friday and then sent them through a rare Sunday practice. He said the Cards, who still have an outside shot at a BCS bid and a share of the Big East championship, have responded well so far. "There are some of our goals out there we can still reach," Petrino said. "We're going to have to have some help, no doubt about that, but we've just got to wait and see how that all plays out. The main thing we've got to do is get up off the ground, practice hard and get ready for a real good South Florida team. When you watch the way they took the field last night and went through it with enthusiasm, I think they understand they still have a lot to play for. We had a good, hard, physical practice. We went ones on ones and used it as an opportunity to get better. "Coming back from the loss, the biggest thing is getting our minds right, physically being fresh and at full speed, mentally being fresh and at full speed and focused in on winning. That's what we're working at the hardest right now. In our team meeting we talked about how we need to respond. It was not any long, hard, chewing-out film session or anything like that. It was a positive meeting about it was a good football game and we ended up on the wrong end of it. We had our chances to win the game and we didn't get it done, which most of the time we do. It was about playing the game of football, playing it better, still believing in yourself and your teammates." Quarterback Brian Brohm said he doesn't believe he and his offensive teammates have lost any confidence despite producing just 53 yards and two first downs in the second half against Rutgers. "It's just one of those games you've got to bounce back from," Brohm said. "I think these games ultimately in the end will make you better as a player and as a team. You learn a lot of things about yourself and you have to keep working hard. We need to stay positive, put that one behind us and know we've got a lot of work to do to get better. We've got some tough games coming up that we need to win. If we win out, we can still have a very successful season." After the Cards were upset at South Florida last season, 45-14, Petrino and his assistant coaches had groups of players to their homes for dinner and told them the coaches still loved them. But he didn't repeat that invitation this time. "I'm still trying to figure out if I still love 'em or not," he said, grinning. "Naw, just kidding, you know that, right?" As for what happened to U of L's offense against Rutgers, Petrino said it was a combination of numerous breakdowns in all phases at various times-- receivers' timing being off on their routes, Brohm missing some plays and the offensive line being unable to pick up the Scarlet Knights' blitzes. Brohm said Rutgers made some adjustments in the second half the Cards couldn't handle. "They were covering (receivers) pretty good and they were blitzing a little differently than we anticipated," said Brohm, who was hit repeatedly. "They changed up a few of their schemes and they did a good job of getting in there and creating havoc. Their defense was fast and physical and they played really well." Besides trying to get their offense back on track against USF, the Cards will also face a major defensive challenge from one of the most productive freshman quarterbacks in the nation. Matt Grothe was named the Big East co-Offensive Player of the Week, along with Connecticut's D.J. Hernandez, for his performance in Saturday's 27-10 win over Syracuse when he threw for a school-record 364 yards and two touchdowns. Grothe's career-high 409 yards total offense and 71.4 completion percentage (25-of-35) both ranked as the second-best in USF history and enabled USF to overcome 10 penalties and three consecutive turnovers. Grothe leads the Big East in total offense at 255.7 yards per game and is the top freshman in the country in that department. He's third in the conference in passing yardage per game at 198 behind Brohm (255) and Pittsburgh's Andy Palko (221). "Grothe's good for a senior, freshman, sophomore or junior," USF coach Jim Leavitt said. Petrino compared Grothe (6-0, 200) to former U o fL quarterback Stefan LeFors. "He's a really good runner," Petrino said. "He maybe doesn't have the all-out speed (West Virginia QB) Pat White has, but he's shifty and quick. He's really a lot like a young Stefan. He has a knack for feeling where the pressure's coming from. He's going to be a difficult challenge for us. We've got to be able to contain him, put pressure on him and hit him and push the pocket in front, maybe distract his vision a little bit. He's a very good quarterback." NOTES -- Wide receivers Chris Vaughn and Scott Long were back on the team and made the trip for the Rutgers game after serving a one-game suspension, but neither was in uniform. They were arrested and charged with second-degree assault on Oc. 22 for allegedly shooting paint balls at a woman leaving a haunted house in downtown Louisville. "They've done a nice job on everything I've asked them to do and their attitude has been good," Petrino said. "If we're in a situation where we need them to play, then they'll get an opportunity.". . . Art Carmody's two extra points and a field goal against Rutgers made him U of L's all-time leading scorer with 304 points, four more than Lenny Lyles (1954-57). And since Carmody is only a junior, he has plenty of time to add to that record. . . JaJuan Spillman's 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the first quarter at Rutgers was Louisville's first kickoff return for a TD since Broderick Clark ran one back 92 yards against Cincinnati in 2002, a span of 48 games. "We've been waiting for that," Petrino said. "I've been telling JaJuan for three weeks that he was close to breaking it.". . . Petrino has been named a finalist for College Coach of the Year, along with Ohio State's Jim Tressel, Mack Brown of Texas, Lloyd Car of Michigan, Bob Stoops of Oklahoma, Jeff Tedford of California, Mel Tjeerdsma of Northwest Missouri State and Tommy Tuberville of Auburn.

Makes too much sense for it to happen, unforntunately.

Wow, I forgot how racist that logo was. Hhhmm, former logos-SU-racist potrayal of native americans, USF-the Brahma Bull, Advantage USF.

I'm glad that USF will have him for three more years, he played a helluva game. George is listed at 6'4" 255 lbs, but he looks bigger than that, must be the new facility allowing the guys to get jacked up on the weights.

Easy Sheriff, I don't think some of those comments will sit well with Mrs. FlipFlop4900.

X-Rays were negative, I couple of days of his feet and MG will be ready, he is one tough kid.

The easy part is over, now its game time, life is broken down into four qtrs-infant/toddler, child, teenager, and adult. Goodluck Coach E.T. rasing/coaching your child through the four qtrs of life.

I concur, bad idea. Perhaps in the future the BE will expand, as for now the BE is doing well.

Too bad USF will not be in it for a while, would love to see USF vs LSU or UK or UF or UT.

And it goes beyond Mountaineers-Cards By Brian Bennett bbennett@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal Thursday's showdown between No. 4 West Virginia and the sixth-ranked University of Louisville could be the biggest football game in the history of this state. It also will serve as a showcase for the state of the Big East Conference. Less than a year after being roundly ridiculed, the reconfigured Big East has plenty of reasons to crow. It has three undefeated football teams ranked in the top 16 that demand attention this week and beyond. The men's basketball alignment, which some feared would prove unwieldy with 16 teams, put a record eight in the NCAA Tournament last season and has several strong contenders again. Once left for dead, the Big East not only is alive and kicking, it might be stronger than ever before. "This is what we were hoping for," commissioner Mike Tranghese said. "But it probably happened sooner than a lot of us thought." Many probably thought Big East football wouldn't recover after Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College bolted for the Atlantic Coast Conference. A deflated Big East sent its mediocre 2004 champion, Pittsburgh, to the Fiesta Bowl for a 35-7 drubbing at the hands of Utah. The addition of Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida didn't immediately boost the league's football reputation, but then West Virginia got on a roll and beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl for instant credibility. "That was the biggest shot in the arm for us," Connecticut coach Randy Edsall said. "It was something we needed to quiet the doubters." The momentum picked up steam this season. That U of L and West Virginia are 7-0 isn't a huge surprise, but Rutgers has emerged as one of the season's best storylines. Coach Greg Schiano has turned around the formerly moribund Scarlet Knights, who will be 8-0 if they beat UConn tonight. "We could have three teams undefeated heading into November," Tranghese said, "and in an eight-team league, that's pretty special." It also should make for an exciting stretch run. The Big East purposely backloaded its conference schedule to maximize exposure, which seems to be working out brilliantly. One week after Thursday's game, Louisville will travel to Rutgers for what could be the biggest game in the New Jersey school's history. The Scarlet Knights will play West Virginia in Morgantown in the season finale, and both the Mountaineers and Cardinals still must travel to vastly improved Pittsburgh. "The schedule looks pretty tough down the road, doesn't it?" U of L coach Bobby Petrino said. The conference race sizzles because of what the teams did outside of the league: 32-8. Before yesterday's action, Jeff Sagarin rated the Big East as the nation's third-toughest conference, behind the Pacific 10 and Southeastern. The ACC, which won't have any teams in the top 10 when today's polls come out, is ranked fifth by Sagarin. There's very little question that the Big East is one of the nation's strongest men's basketball conferences. U of L, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette and South Florida joined an already stacked group of powerhouses. But many, including some of the league's coaches, doubted that a 16-team format could hold together. At last week's Big East Media Day in New York, though, coaches were unified in their praise for how the alignment succeeded in Year One. "Initially I was very cynical about expansion," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. "But it was much better than I would have anticipated. I think expansion rejuvenated the league." Half of the conference teams made it to the NCAA Tournament, though none reached the Final Four. Five are in the preseason USA Today coaches' Top 25, with Pitt and Georgetown in the top 10. When the coaches met during the off-season in Florida, there was no talk of anyone wanting to leave the league, Villanova's Jay Wright said. "It was more that we were all privileged to be in it," he said. "Everyone was so committed and so proud to be a part of the Big East." Issues still remain on the basketball side. Some coaches, including Calhoun, would like to see all 16 teams make the conference tournament instead of just the top 12. But Tranghese said the logistics of that wouldn't work, and he likes the added excitement late in the season when teams battle for the final tournament spots. Also, for the second straight season, not all Big East teams will play each other in the regular season. U of L, for example, won't face West Virginia. That will change next season, when each team will play everyone else at least once during an 18-game league schedule. "I think it's working 90 percent," U of L coach Rick Pitino said. "When everybody plays each other next year, then it will truly be working. But it is working great right now in terms of competitiveness and fan interest and recruiting. It's opening a whole new world of recruiting for Louisville." Louisville will be the center of the college football world Thursday night. And the state of the new Big East will be on display. Brian Bennett can be reached at (502) 582-7177.

Impressive, I would like to see the second shield Bull on the helmet without the shield border. Nice concepts, someone should be working for Nike.

B o B Hhhmm, I don't remember seeing Banks running as much as MG when he was playing QB. The MB reference is inaccurate to use to support your argument since both QBs seem to have similar styles. As far as the coaches, they can only do so much, its up to players to perform. The coaches are not dropping balls, the coaches are not fumbling the ball, the coaches are not throwing ints, the coaches are not missing blocking assignments. At some point the players have to be responsible for their play, its not always the coaches.

Fellow Bull fans let us not forget that the offense was retooled in the off season to best utilize the talents of C. Hill. The coaching staff visited several schools to study their offenses to create that offense for Hill. MG is playing in a system that had to be put together in a short time to maximize his talents, therefore, next year, the staff will have more time to create an offense that suits MG and allow for MG himself to study his mistakes and become stronger. It is my opinion, that MG will have the best stats a Bulls QB has ever had at USF in the next three years. This year Bull fans have to remember with a freshman QB there are going to be some highs and some lows and that we just need to enjoy the ride, because its only going to get better.

University of Louisville reserve wide receivers Chris Vaughn and Scott Long were suspended yesterday after an assault arrest early Sunday morning. Vaughn and Long were outside the Haunted Hotel in downtown Louisville early Sunday when they fired with paintball guns at people coming out of the building, Louisville Metro Police public information officer Dwight Mitchell said. Vaughn, a sophomore from New Haven, Conn., and Long, a redshirt freshman from Southport, N.C., "have been placed on investigative suspension immediately and will be disciplined internally" U of L coach Bobby Petrino said in a release. "It's definitely something we don't condone in our program, and I'm very disappointed," Petrino said. "Both players know they made a mistake, and their actions are not acceptable." Their status for the sixth-ranked Cardinals' showdown against No. 4 West Virginia on Nov. 2 was not yet determined, U of L spokesman Rocco Gasparro said. Vaughn, 22, and Long, who turned 20 on Sunday, were each charged with second-degree assault, a Class C felony, according to Metro Corrections records. Jail records showed Long, who was also charged with not having a driver's license, posted bond on Sunday. Vaughn was released on his own recognizance. Vaughn was a highly touted receiver