Eastern Kentucky
N/A0-0
Louisville
6th Big East6-6
Eastern Kentucky @ Louisville preview
Cardinal Stadium
The first of back-to-back intrastate matchups didn't go too well for Louisville.
The Cardinals are hoping to reverse matters Saturday when Eastern Kentucky pays a visit to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
Louisville (0-1) opened the Charlie Strong era with a thud, falling to Kentucky 23-16 in last Saturday's season opener.
The Wildcats jumped on the Cardinals early, scoring a touchdown within the opening 35 seconds and building a 20-3 cushion early in the second quarter before holding off a second-half comeback.
Louisville's task this weekend will be to focus on how it finished against Kentucky and blot out the memory of how it started.
Facing Eastern Kentucky should help the Cardinals get back on track. The Colonels, a Football Championship Subdivision program, saw their season get off to an ominous start with a 31-9 drubbing at the hands of Missouri State.
Making matters worse, it was a defeat that was spread over two days. A three-hour lightning delay prior to Thursday’s kickoff forced the game to be pushed back one day, and Eastern Kentucky showed little spark once it finally hit the field.
The Colonels failed to get the ball in the end zone, mustering just three field goals from Logan O'Connor in the loss.
Sophomore quarterback T.J. Pryor, a Louisville native, threw for a career-high 315 yards but he also was picked off twice and connected on just 22 of 47 attempts.
Louisville had its own problems crossing the goal line against Kentucky, getting three field goals from Chris Philpott.
The Cardinals’ only touchdown came on an 80-yard run by senior running back Bilal Powell, who finished with 153 yards on 16 carries. However, he also had a fourth-quarter fumble after the Cardinals had cut the deficit to 10 points.
Vic Anderson, the Big East Conference Rookie of the Year after rushing for over 1,000 yards in 2008, had 34 yards on just eight carries. He was a force in the return game, bringing back a pair of kicks for 91 yards.
Strong said he expects the carries to be more evenly divided this week, saying Anderson’s limited role in the opener was dictated by the score.
The passing game, plagued by a number of drops and injuries to Josh Bellamy and Troy Pascley, struggled throughout.
Senior quarterback Adam Froman was just 14-of-29 for 127 yards and an interception. He was forced to play much of the game without Bellamy, the junior college transfer who suffered a first-quarter concussion. His status for this week’s game is unclear. Pascley hurt his knee and also might not be available for Saturday.
Louisville leads the all-time series with Eastern Kentucky 16-8-1, but the schools haven’t played since 1991. The Colonels are the last lower-level division school to beat the Cardinals – a 45-21 victory at Louisville in 1985.
The Cardinals are hoping to reverse matters Saturday when Eastern Kentucky pays a visit to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
Louisville (0-1) opened the Charlie Strong era with a thud, falling to Kentucky 23-16 in last Saturday's season opener.
The Wildcats jumped on the Cardinals early, scoring a touchdown within the opening 35 seconds and building a 20-3 cushion early in the second quarter before holding off a second-half comeback.
Louisville's task this weekend will be to focus on how it finished against Kentucky and blot out the memory of how it started.
Facing Eastern Kentucky should help the Cardinals get back on track. The Colonels, a Football Championship Subdivision program, saw their season get off to an ominous start with a 31-9 drubbing at the hands of Missouri State.
Making matters worse, it was a defeat that was spread over two days. A three-hour lightning delay prior to Thursday’s kickoff forced the game to be pushed back one day, and Eastern Kentucky showed little spark once it finally hit the field.
The Colonels failed to get the ball in the end zone, mustering just three field goals from Logan O'Connor in the loss.
Sophomore quarterback T.J. Pryor, a Louisville native, threw for a career-high 315 yards but he also was picked off twice and connected on just 22 of 47 attempts.
Louisville had its own problems crossing the goal line against Kentucky, getting three field goals from Chris Philpott.
The Cardinals’ only touchdown came on an 80-yard run by senior running back Bilal Powell, who finished with 153 yards on 16 carries. However, he also had a fourth-quarter fumble after the Cardinals had cut the deficit to 10 points.
Vic Anderson, the Big East Conference Rookie of the Year after rushing for over 1,000 yards in 2008, had 34 yards on just eight carries. He was a force in the return game, bringing back a pair of kicks for 91 yards.
Strong said he expects the carries to be more evenly divided this week, saying Anderson’s limited role in the opener was dictated by the score.
The passing game, plagued by a number of drops and injuries to Josh Bellamy and Troy Pascley, struggled throughout.
Senior quarterback Adam Froman was just 14-of-29 for 127 yards and an interception. He was forced to play much of the game without Bellamy, the junior college transfer who suffered a first-quarter concussion. His status for this week’s game is unclear. Pascley hurt his knee and also might not be available for Saturday.
Louisville leads the all-time series with Eastern Kentucky 16-8-1, but the schools haven’t played since 1991. The Colonels are the last lower-level division school to beat the Cardinals – a 45-21 victory at Louisville in 1985.