The Cards finally won, the Cats lost to the ‘Ole Ball Coach again, and Mike Hartline’s season is done. Those are the highlights, or lowlights depending on your perspective, from the weekend in the Pinkie sports world. Time to muse.

Steve Kragthorpe needed a win and he got a win. The Cardinals played a marginal first half, but showed some moxie in the second half and came out with a win over Southern Miss 25-23. One of the major goals going into the game was getting the ball to stud running back Victor Anderson about twenty times. That goal was accomplished as Anderson rushed the ball 14 times for 92 yards and a touchdown, caught 4 passes for 47 yards, and completed a pass for 11 yards.

Vic Anderson had several great runs, but his best play came on a swing pass from quarterback Adam Froman. In the second quarter and the Cards near mid-field, Vic swung out of the backfield on a pass play, Froman threw the ball a little high and a bit behind Anderson, but Vic snagged it with his right hand, then shook a Southern Miss defender out of his cleats for a gain of about ten yards. I cannot find the video on YouTube, but if it’s posted, I’ll be sure to pass it along.

Victor Anderson going airborne for a touchdown against Southern Miss

Another positive sign for the Cardinals was the play of another running back, Bilal Powell. Powell finished with 10 carries for 64 yards and a powerful touchdown. He also provided a highlight reel play on his 14 yard touchdown run. With the Cards driving and at the Southern Miss 14 yard line, Froman handed off to Powell for a dive right. As Powell crossed the line of scrimmage, he literally knocked a Southern Miss lineman off his feet and onto his backside with a left shoulder shot en route to a touchdown. I’m sure that clip will be a popular one in the Louisville film room.

The Cardinals had many positives after Saturday, as most teams do following a win, but now must bring those positives to Big East play. Adam Froman improved in his second start and showed he is capable of making plays. Scott Long showed why he is Louisville’s best receiver with 5 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown. They face Connecticut in Hartford on Saturday with a chance to improve to 1-1 in Big East play. UCONN is a solid team, but they are beatable. Louisville faces a difficult stretch coming up, but can get legit momentum going with a win on Saturday.

The Cats on the other hand, are facing some adversity. They have dropped three strait SEC games and now have to find a starting quarterback for their upcoming game at Auburn. Mike Hartline was performing at very high level on Saturday prior to his injury, going 9-14 for 139 yards and a touchdown. After the injury, Will Fidler came in and did not provide any reason to think he’s a capable replacement. Fidler finished up 2-8 for 16 yards and a couple near interceptions.

However, I do not want to jump all over Fidler for that performance. He came into a tight game, on the road, and against a very fast defense. Also, as the back-up, he does not get the chance to get many reps with the first team offense. That being said, Fidler did not show much promise and as a result, highly touted true freshman Morgan Newton looks to be getting his redshirt pulled off. While I think Newton is the better option than Fidler, I offer up this as the route to go for the upcoming contest at Auburn.

Give Fidler all the reps with the first squad this week in practice. Auburn just got rocked by Arkansas 44-23 and will most likely come out breathing fire. That is not the best situation to break in Morgan Newton to SEC play. I would start Fidler, mix in the Wildcat with Randall Cobb, and hope for the best. Then, when the Cats return home for three strait home games, I start Newton. Those three home games are against Louisiana-Monroe, Mississippi State, and Eastern Kentucky. Those are the games to get Newton into the groove, not at Auburn.

Outside of the quarterback situation, the story of the game to me was Randall Cobb. To me, Cobb is simply a great football player. He finished with 89 yards rushing, 62 yards receiving, and 78 return yards. Oh, and he also had two touchdowns. I take this guy on my team everyday.  Derrick Locke continued to just do what he does. Locke ran for 89 yards with a touchdown, and caught four passes for 20 yards receiving. This guy is a stud and just continues to impress week after week. It still confuses me as to how he got out of the state of Oklahoma.

Randall Cobb dives for a touchdown against South Carolina

Time for the quick hits:

-Who Dey!!! The Bengals are 4-1 and won another tough game, this time on the road against the Baltimore Ravens. This Bengals squad looks like a legit contender as they have defeated Green Bay and Baltimore on the road, and Pittsburgh at home. The team formerly known as the Bungles also beat Cleveland in Cleveland, but that doesn’t really count since the Browns are appalling.

-Speaking of appalling, I have to relay this story from the Louisville game on Saturday. My girlfriend and I are in our seats about twenty minutes before kickoff, which is a direct violation of Louisville football fan policy, and as the game progresses, we realize the two people normally seated in front of us have yet to appear. With only 2:34 left in the first half, they show up. They stay until exactly 2:34 left in the twenty minute half-time break, then leave and do not return. I’m still thoroughly confused.

-The Red Sox and more importantly, the Cardinals were eliminated from the MLB playoffs. Both teams were swept and my heart is filled with so much genuine joy.

-I bought salami today at Kroger and am way too excited about it.

-Big Blue Madness is this Friday and I’m pretty sure our fine UK contributor Guy may need to be hospitalized at some point this weekend due to excitement.