College Football Week 14: Louisville At Rutgers
| Charlie Strong, who will be a hot name for some of the head coaching vacancies around the country, has his team one win away from a BCS bowl. Louisville started 9-0 but has dropped two straight. | Coaching | With Louisville’s loss, Rutgers could’ve clinched the Big East title and a BCS bowl bid by beating Pittsburgh last week. Instead, the Scarlet Knights were smacked 27-6. First year head coach Kyle Flood will have to get his team refocused. |
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| Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is sixth in the country in passer rating but has a fractured wrist (on his non-throwing hand) and a bad ankle. He is expected to play, however; how well he can perform is obviously critical. | Offense | Rutgers gained just 207 yards last week. Quarterback Gary Nova has struggled since a horrific performance against Kent State in late October. |
| The Cardinals’ defense is average at best, and Rutgers will certainly try to expose Louisville’s weakness in defending the run. | Defense | The Scarlet Knights have counted on their defense all season, a top-25 unit in both yards per play and takeaways. Linebacker Khaseem Greene is in line for his second consecutive Big East Defensive Player of the Year award. |
| Louisville’s special teams are among the worst in the country according to Football Outsiders’ FEI ratings. The Cardinals have made 14 of 16 field goals, however. | Special Teams | Rutgers has been very good on kickoff coverage but poor in most everything else. |
We'll just call it a tie
In the de facto Big East championship, Rutgers has the edge in what should be a rowdy atmosphere in Piscataway.
-Andrew Kahn, College Football Contributor
More Tales of the tape
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NCAA Championship Game: #1 Louisville Vs. #4 MichiganRick Pitino has been here before, after making his 7th Final Four appearance, he’s now in his third go-round in the title game. He’s got plenty of experience on the big stage and he has the Cardinals playing high level basketball at the right time.
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NCAA Tournament Championship Weekend: #4 Michigan Vs. #4 SyracuseNo. 4 Michigan and No. 4 Syracuse square off in Atlanta this weekend with the winner getting a shot to play for the National Title.
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NCAA Tournament Championship Weekend: #1 Louisville Vs. #9 Wichita StateRick Pitino and No. 1 Louisville take on No. 9 Wichita State in Atlanta this weekend for a shot to play in the National Title game on Monday.
