So the Big East may give us a 7-5 Louisville as its BCS representative.
Here I thought an 8-4 Connecticut last year was embarrassing.
Now it’s not official yet, but the Cardinals have finished the season with a 5-2 conference record and will end up in some sort of tie for the league crown.
Who they are tied with will determine if Louisville is headed to the Orange Bowl or Fiesta Bowl.
After opening the season 2-4 (including losses to Florida International, Marshall, North Carolina and Cincinnati), Charlie Strong has worked some serious magic at Louisville. One key factor is the improved play of freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
Bridgewater, a Miami native, had his best game of the season on a return trip to Florida. He lit up South Florida’s athletic, but inconsistent defense for 241 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 33 yards on the ground.
No matter what the Big East looks like over the next few years, Bridgewater is a superstar in the making.
With Strong in charge, the Cardinals are going to keep getting better. He’s a top-notch recruiter, great coach and outstanding motivator. Plus he looks like he could bench press more than half of his team.
As impressive as the Cardinals’ resurgence this season has been, there’s no argument anyone can make for a 7-5 team in a BCS Bowl.
Now let’s take a few minutes to talk about the dichotomy that is South Florida.
Skip Holtz was supposed to be the key to getting the Bulls over the hump. Jim Leavitt recruited tons of talent to Tampa, but South Florida always found a way to come up short down the stretch.
The Bulls entered 2011 as the favorite to take down West Virginia from the top spot. South Florida proceeded to go 5-6 and 1-5 in the Big East. The only way the Bulls become bowl eligible is by taking down the Mountaineers next week at Raymond James Stadium.
For a second straight season, the Big East has not played up to the level of a BCS conference.
I’m starting to wonder if the Big East teams will ever get to that level again.
