Cards Get the Job Done 21-13 Over Red Wolves

It was probably one of the ugliest victories I have ever witnessed.  The University of Louisville needed to make a late fourth quarter defensive stand toescape with a 21-13 victory over Arkansas State.  Why was this game so ugly?  Louisville made several mistakes on offense, defense, and special teams.   They let scoring opportunities slip away.  The Cards had to overcome some terrible play calling by coach K. 

And did I mention they played in front of the smallest crowd ever assembled at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium?  That’s right, only 21, 497 fans showed up to PJCS to witness the victory.  I wouldn’t be surprised if half of those 20,000 were Will Stein’s family as the red-shirt Freshman made his first career start for the Cards.  Stein played pretty well for the most part as did Darius Ashley who ran for two touchdowns.  The Red Wolves of Ark. St would not go away though, and Louisville had to stop them in a goal line situation late in the fourth quarter to preserve the 21-13 victory.  If you missed the action, here is how things went down:

Recap

Louisville started the game on offense in hoping to jump on the Red Wolves early.  WithStein at the helm, the Cards started on their own 20 and put together a pretty solid drive.  The Cards went 42 yards in 9 plays behind powerful running from Bilal Powell.  The Cards had the ball in Arkansas State territory at the 38 yard line, but the drive stalled.  Cory Goettsche came in to punt and pinned the Wolves deep in their own territory at 11. 

Arkansas State couldn’t do much with their first drive.  The Louisville defense did a great job and held the Wolves to one first down.  State was forced to punt from their own 29 which gave Louisville great field position for their next drive. 

Louisville started their second drive of the game from their own 35 yard line and puttogether another solid drive.  Stein did damage on this drive with his arm and hislegs.  Stein was 2/2 on the drive with completions to Douglas Beaumont and Scott Long.  He also picked up a key first down on 3rd and 4 from the Ark St. 35 yard line when he scrambled for seven yards.  On the very next play, Stein handed off to Ashley who raced 26 yards down the sideline and into the end zone.  The drive consisted of eight plays, 65 yards, in 4:06 and Louisville had a 7-0 lead. 

Arkansas State got off the mat and came back swinging after the Louisville touchdown.  The Red Wolves put together a long drive that ended the first quarter and continuedinto the second.  State started on their own 30 yard line and went 63 yards in 12 plays.  Wolves quarterback Corey Leonard was sensational on the drive, completing 5/6 passes and rushing one time for a gain of 12.  The Cards appeared to have Ark St. stopped on third down at the Lou 29 yard line, but a roughing the passer penalty gave the Wolves a first down and kept the drive alive.  The Louisville defense held tough deep in their own territory when they stopped Ark St. inside the 10 yard line and forced them to kick a field goal to make it a 7-3 game. 

Neither team’s offense could get much going in the second quarter.  Louisville was held to a three and out and had another drive stall on their own 44.  Arkansas St. had one drive go into Cardinal territory, but it stalled at the 34 and the Wolves punted.  Then with 5:57 remaining before the half, Ark St. started a drive at their own 20 yard line after a Louisville punt.  With the way the offenses were playing, it looked as if the score would remain 7-3 going into the half.  On 2nd and 6 from their own 24 yard line, Leonard tried to throw a screen pass into the flat.  Louisville defensive back Brandon Heath read the play perfectly and broke on the ball.  Heath intercepted the pass in mid-stride and took it to the house.  This is probably the play of the game as it gave Louisville a 14-3 lead and the momentum in a game where offensive points were hard to come by. 

Louisville forced Arkansas State to punt on the very next possession, and theCards had the ball at their own 10 with 3:30 seconds left in the half.  The Cards put together a 17 play drive and set them up for a great chance of extending their lead going into the locker room.  Stein looked poised and confident on the drive picking up crucial first downs.  The big play came on 3rd and 18 from the LOU 45 when Stein hit tight end Cameron Graham for 17 yards.  On 4th and 1, Stein rushed up the middle to pick up the one yard needed and kept the drive alive.  Stein completed several passes on the drive to Scott Long and found Graham once again for an 18 yard gain which put the Cards at first and goalfrom the two yard line with17 seconds left.  The Cardinals had one timeout left but instead of using it, Stein spiked the ball on first down to stop the clock.  With one timeout left and the ball inside the two yard line, you would figure Coach Krag would at least try one rushing play.  Nope, Stein threw an incomplete pass on third down to set up a fourth and goal situation withseven seconds left.  At this point, Louisville was up by 11.  If they kick the field goal, they extend the lead to 14 points (two touchdowns) at halftime.  For some stupid unexplained reason, Kragthorpe decides to go for it.  Stein was pressured, rolled out of the pocket and threw a pass the bounced at the feet of  a wide open Trent Guy in the endzone.  The Cards walked away with nothing.  Louisville wasted a down, didn’t score a point, and wentinto the half with the timeout in their pocket.  It was one of the worst coaching decisions I have ever seen.

Coming out of the locker room, Louisville started the second half with a bang.  Arkansas State received the ball first in the third quarter and they were met with a hungry Cardinal defense.  The Wolves were forced to punt after three plays, setting the Louisville offense up with good field position. 

The Cardinal offense came out for their first drive and matched the effort that the defense had just shown.  The Cards went 64 yards in 10 plays, capped off with a one yard plunge from Ashley for his second touchdown of the game.  The key play on the drive came on a 3rd and 4 situation on the Ark St. 36 yard line.  Stein avoided tremendous pressure and completed a 24 yard pass to Trent Guy right before being thrown to the ground by an Ark St. player.  The pass play kept the drive alive and allowed the Cards to take a 21-3 lead.  It looked as if the rout that everyone was expecting was going to happen. 

Give the Arkansas State team a lot of credit.  They would not lay down and die when faced with an18-point deficit. Late in the third quarter, the Wolves put together a 51 yard drive in 6 plays which ended with a four yard touchdown pass from Leonard to Brandon Thompkins.  The score was now 21-10. 

The Louisville offense continued to struggle.  They put together several long drives and ate up yards, but those drives would stall deep in Arkansas State territory.  When the Cards had a chance to put the game away with field goals, the barefooted Ryan Payne would choke.  Payne missed two crucial field goals in the fourth quarter which could of iced the game for Louisville.  Instead, Arkansas State continued their comeback bid. 

A field goal from Red Wolves kicker Josh Arauco made the score 21-13 with 7:47 left.  The score remained 21-13 when Louisville’s Chaz Thompson intercepted a pass at his own 37 yard line.  The Cardinal’s had the possession with 3:18 left and a chance to run out the clock.  Louisville forced Ark St. to call a timeout when Powell rushed for a loss of two.  It was the last timeout that the Red Wolves had.  The logical thing to do is to run the ball twice and waste 80 seconds of clock.  Instead, Stein threw a pass out of bounds on second down and threw another incompletion on third down.  In the three plays, Louisville took only 15 seconds off the clock. 

Arkansas State’s offense took over witha chance to tie the game.  With 3:03 left, the Wolves started at their own 24 yard line.  In 9 plays, Ark St. was knocking at the door of the end zone.  The Wolves had first and goal from the eight with over a minute to play.  The Cardinal defense held strong when they needed to, forcing three incompletions and a sack by defensive end William Savoy. Stein then took a knee and the Cards escaped with the 21-13 victory. 

My Thoughts

1) Will Stein played pretty well for his first start.  He is extremely undersized for his position, but makes the most of his ability.  Stein finished 20/39 for 232 yards and one interception.  Most importantly, he made good decisions and led the team to a victory.  I think he should probably be the second string  QB on this team, but with how well he led the offense, coach Krags might give him another start. 

2) Darius Ashley is a beast.  WithVictor Anderson out with an injury, Louisville needed someone to step up in the running game.  Ashley did just that.  He finished the game with 77 yards rushing andtwo touchdowns.  He did all of this while splitting carries with Bilal Powell.  He showed a tremendous combination of speed and power.  He ran hard every play and got several yards after the first hit.  This kid has a lot of fight in him and will be a great running back for the next few years.  Also, congratulations to Darius as his two touchdowns are the first of his Cardinal career.

3) What is Coach Kragthorpe doing?  As I mentioned earlier in the recap, you don’t go for it on fourth and goal from the two yard line right before the half.  You kick the field goal to go up two touchdowns and reward your offense for the fantastic drive.  Instead, you walk away with nothing.  And the play calling was absolutely absurd in that situation, especially with one timeout.  RUN THE BALL!  More Coach K stupidity happened late in the game as well.  With a chance to ice the game with under 3:30 to play, you run the ball and waste clock.  Instead, this joker calls two pass plays, both of which were incomplete andonly 15 seconds runs off.  This kind of decision making has and will continue to cost the Cards some games. 

4) Ryan Payne should lose his scholarship and be dismissed from the team.  His only job is to kick field goals and he can’t do it.  It doesn’t matter the distance, long or short, he can’t do it.  He even struggles on extra points (missed two against UCONN two weeks ago).  This kid is a joke, a fraud, and has no business being on the field.  My advice to him is go to Shoe Carnival, spin the wheel, and get yourself a fresh pair of kicks.  Once you have done that, try to play at an NAIA school or something.  His inabilities are going to cost Louisville some games down the road.  Coach K needs to realize that Payne just can’t cut it.  But this kid on the bench and get rid of him at the end of the season. 

5) Major props to the defense for their effort yesterday.  They started off strong, got a little sloppy, but in the end they came through.  It was good to see a defensive touchdown since those are so rare in the Ville.  It was also good to see us finally getting some pressure on the opposing quarterback.  Louisville won the turnover battle, which was a major help in winning this game.  Great job defense, keep that effort up from here on out.

6) Finally, thank you for all those Cardinal fans that made it to the game yesterday.  It was the smallest crowd in PJCS history, but for those that came and cheered, thank you.  You are the true Cardinal fans that this team needs.  Keep supporting the Cards through the good and bad.  We will see this program get back on the track soon. 

Looking Ahead

The Cardinals have wrapped up their non-conference schedule for 2009.  From here on out it’s all Big East.  The Cardinals will travel to mountains of West Virginia next week to take on the Mountaineers.  It’s going to be a tough test for the Cards, but one that can be conquered.  West Virginia is coming off a loss at South Florida this past week and may be second guessing themselves.  If Louisville goes in and plays well, there is a chance.  Kickoff is set for noon next Saturday November 7th.