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The University of Louisville football team will conclude this long, miserable season this morning against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Cards and Knights will get together at breakfast time, that’s right I said breakfast. For some stupid reason, Louisville thought it was a great idea to schedule a football game at 11:00 am on Black Friday. But regardless of the time, a football game will be played. Rutgers is coming off a surprisinglopsided defeat at the hands of Syracuse 31-13 last weekend while the Cards went to South Florida without their defense and lost 34-22. Rutgers leads the all time series between the two squads 6-2 including a 63-14 beat down over the Cardinals last season in New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights once again have an extremely talented squad, so a victory on Senior day won’t come easy for the Cards.

Meet the Scarlet Knights

Defense

The strength of the Scarlet Knights is on the defensive side of the ball.  Rutgers is ranked second in the Big East and 17thnationally in scoring defense allowing just 17 points per game.  They are also ranked second in the conference and 22nd nationally in total defense giving up an average of 316 yards per game.  The Knights are exceptional in stopping the run ranking third in the conference and 23rd nationally, allowing a meager109 yards on the ground.  The Knigts are also good in pass defense ranking third in the conference with 206 yards given up through the air.  The Rutgers front line presents a problem for Louisville as they are very good at pressuring the quarterback.  Rutgers sacks the opposing quarterback on average about three times per game which is fourth in the conference and 15thnationally.  With Louisville’s offensive line being a major weakness, Adam Froman could be on his back a lot.  To go along with their outstanding pass rush, the front four on the Rutgers defense do a great job of plugging up the running lanes andmaking tackles in the backfield.  Rutgers ranks second in the Big East and fourth nationally in tackles for loss, averaging close to nine per game.  Rutgers also is ranked sixth nationally in fewest red-zone trips given up, allowing teams to reach the 20 yard line only 21 times this season.  They also generate a lot of turnovers, taking the ball away 29 times which is fifth in the NCAA.  This defensive unit is a monster that Louisville will have a tough time moving the ball on. 

There are several beasts on the Rutgers defense, but two in particular to watch out for are a pair of defensive ends in George Johnson and Jonathan Freeney.  Johnson is a senior defensive end that is ripping opponents up and swallowing them.  Johnson ranks second on the team in sacks (6.5) and  first in tackles for loss (11.0 for -50 yards).  He has recorded a total of 36 tackles on the season which is sixth on the team. Johnson also has one forced fumble and two recoveries. 

Freeney, a junior, is just as big of a force.  He is ranked first in sacks (7.5) and second in tackles for loss (9.5 for -48 yards).  Freeney also has one forced fumble.  These monsters will be in the backfield all day long against the Cards unless the offensive line pulls out a miracle.

  One other key player on the Rutgers defense to keep an eye on is Devin McCourty.  McCourty is a junior cornerback that just makes plays.  He leads the team in tackles with67 to go along with one interception and five pass deflections.   He has also forced one fumble.  Not only is McCourty an outstanding corner, but he makes big plays on special teams as well.  He has blocked two punts and returned a kickoff for a touchdown this season.  McCourty is only one of two players in the nation to pull of such a feat.  As I said, this kid just makes plays. 

Offense

On the offensive side of things, Rutgers is a little down compared to past years.  They rank sixth in the league in scoring offense (27.50 pts), seventh in total offense (324.20 yards), sixth in rushing (135.70 yards), and last in passing (188.50 yards).  If Louisville’s defense can get back to playing good football like they did before the South Florida game, then they should be able to keep the Cards in the game.

The main offensive weapon to watch out for is senior wide receiver Tim Brown.  Brown is the Scarlet Knight’s leading receiver by a wide margin.  He has 44 receptions for 927 yards andseven touchdowns.  All of these are team highs.  He also leads the team in yards per reception at 21.1 yards per catch.  He leads all active college football players in the country with a career average of 19.7 yards per reception.  Browns is the biggest deep threat receiver in the Big East.  He is averaging 43.3 yards per touchdown on his seven trips to the end zone.  Browns ranks first in school history in career touchdowns (18) and is sixthon the all time receiving list with 2,034 yards.  He ranks second in Rutgers history with eight 100-yard receiving games in his career.  This season, Brown is averaging 92.7 receiving yards per game.   This kid is a flat out freak on the offensive end.  Louisville’s secondary better smother him with a blanket or he will be sprinting to the end zone all game long.

Key’s to Victory

1) Offensive line must pull of a miracle.  This unit has been downright atrocious all season long.  You could put 5 construction cones out there andthey could block better than Louisville’s front line.  With the defensive line of Rutgers being so dominant, it is going to be a tough task.  Give Froman time to get the ball to the play making wide receivers and good things could happen.  The line also needs to give Darius Ashley time to hit the holes andget into the secondary of the Scarlet Knights.  Let Ashley breathe so he can make the big plays with his legs.

2) Give Trent Guy the freaking football.  All this kid does it make things happen when the ball is in his hands.  Whether it’s a kickoff return, punt return, reception, or reverse, this kid just makes plays.  Get him more involved in the offense and give him a chance to do what he does.  I guarantee you, he will do something positive with the football. 

3) Froman must make good decisions.  He might not have much time to deliver the football tomorrow morning, but when he does let it fly, he must be careful.  Rutgers has 13 interceptions by 11 different players.  The Rutger’s secondary is comprised of ball hawks.  They do a great job of reading the quarterback and making a play on the football.  Froman has to make smart throws and be aware of where the defense is.  He can’t throw picks or Rutgers will turn it into points and Louisville will be in a big hole.

4) Contain Tim Brown.  As I mentioned earlier, Brown is a big play receiver.  He is a tremendous deep threat that will give Louisville fits.  The corners and safties can’t let Brown get behind them or it’s an automatic six.  Stay with him andforce him to catch balls on underneath routes.  Make Rutgers freshman QB Tom Savage find other targets.  If the Cards are going to lose, don’t let Brown be the reason.

Senior Day

Tomorrow morning is the last game of the season and the most likely the last game of the Steve Kragthorpe era.  The misery has finally come to an end.  But tomorrow is much more important than Steve Kragthorpe’s departure.  It is Senior Day and this means the last remaining class from the 2006-2007 Orange Bowl Championship Team will play their final game as a Cardinal.  This class is made up of 20 tremendous young men who helped take Louisville to unprecedented heights.  I urge everyone to get out of bed early, put your shopping off for one more day, and come salute these great kids one more time.  For those of you wondering who the Seniors are, here is the rundown:

WR #3 Trent Guy
WR #84 Scott Long
WR/DB #26 Andrew Robinson
WR #4 Maurice Clark
FB #48 Joe Tronzo
RB #39 Marcus Roberts
OG #71 Abdul Kuyateh
DT #56 Tyler Jesen
DT #91 L.T. Walker
DE #93 L.D. Scott
LB #43 Chris Campa
LB #38 Jon Dempsey
LB #23 Stephen Garr
LB #50 Josh McDonald
S #30 Daniel Covington
S #6 Justin Matthews
S #2 Richard Raglin
S #4 Chaz Thompson
K #19 Ryan Payne
P #29 Corey Goettsche

Good luck and thank you to every senior and cardinal nation hopes to see many of you at the next level.

As for Coach Kragthorpe, hopefully he lands another head coaching job at a smaller university. He proved he can coach when in the right situation as he was at Tulsa. I think this job was to much for him to handle andhe came into it with the wrong expectations. Thank you coach Krags for your effort andgood luck with your next opportunity.