Despite Louisville’s struggles, Mountaineers still worried

Louisville comes into its game with West Virginia in last place in the Big East Conference.

The Cardinals have no sure starter at either quarterback or running back.

Still, WVU head coach Bill Stewart sees the danger Louisville presents when the Cardinals travel to Morgantown Saturday.

"We have a tough opponent coming in here this week that has everything to gain and nothing to lose," Stewart said.

UL head coach Steve Kragthorpe has multiple decisions to make prior to Saturday’s game, like who will start under center and who will carry the load for the Cardinals against WVU.

Kragthorpe has started three different quarterbacks – juniors Adam Froman and Justin Burke and redshirt freshman walk-on Will Stein.

Froman and Burke have been dealing with injuries, which led to Stein’s first career start last weekend against Arkansas State.

Stein, who is 5-foot-7, completed 20-of-39 passes for 232 yards.

"We’ve got a quarterback controversy," Kragthorpe said. "We’ve got three guys who’ve won games, but we will just wait and see in practice this week."

Who will step out onto Mountaineer Field first? Stewart has no idea. And, he admits, he doesn’t care.

"I don’t know who we are going to see, but I don’t really care, no disrespect or manner whatsoever," Stewart said. "The only thing I care about is the Mountaineers."

Kragthorpe isn’t worried about who starts, either. He said it’s one of his lesser concerns.

"We have three guys that are capable of playing and they have proven that," Kragthorpe said. "All three of those guys should be available, I hope."

Louisville’s starting running back Victor Anderson is expected to play against the Mountaineers as well. He was inactive last weekend against Arkansas State as he tried to heal an injured shoulder.

Anderson was named the Big East’s Freshman of the Year last season after rushing for more than 1,000 yards.

He has been less successful this year, though. He has 480 yards rushing this game, but is averaging over five yards per carry.

"Vic’s closer. It will just depend on how he will do in practice and if he can take the physical contact," Kragthorpe said. "We will wait on him, though."

The last time Louisville traveled to Morgantown, the game went late into the fourth quarter before the Mountaineers eventually won 38-31.

Kragthorpe is excited to play in front of the environment, though, which he considers one of "those great places to play in college football."

"It’s loud. The stadium is right on top of you. They’ve got a rabid fan base, and they’ve all got good arms whether they’re right-handed or left-handed. They throw those batteries extremely well," he said. "They are very accurate with those, too. I think I’m going to have a hard hat when I come out of the locker room."

He said the noon start will cause the stadium to be more crowded than normal.

"It’s a 12 o’clock kickoff this year, so they won’t be quite as tanked as they were two years ago," he said of the rowdy WVU fans. "But they get after it. They love football."

anthony.dobies@mail.wvu.edu

SCOUTING REPORT

Quarterbacks: Whether it’s Adam Froman, Justin Burke or Will Stein, the Cardinals will put a quarterback on the field. None of the three are game changers, though. Grade: C

Running backs: Victor Anderson was the Big East Freshman of the Year last season, but he has been injured on and off this year. Behind him is steady Bilal Powell, a bigger back. Grade: B

Receivers: If the Cardinals are healthy at this position, with the likes of Doug Beaumont, Trent Guy, Scott Long and Josh Chichester, they can be pretty good and deep. Grade: B+

Offensive line: The Louisville line is giving up an average of three sacks per game, which is last in the Big East despite having four of five starters as juniors or seniors. Grade: D+

Defensive line: L.D. Scott is a good, productive player at nose tackle, but there are no other truly consistent players outside of him on the line. Depth is OK, though. Grade: C

Linebackers: Brandon Heath is a versatile player who is good in coverage. He can play both outside linebacker and safety. Jon Dempsey is a senior leader. Grade: B

Secondary: The Cardinals are 110th in the country in passing efficiency defense, despite having a veteran corps of juniors and seniors. Grade: C-

Special Teams: Barefoot kicker Ryan Payne has hit 8-of-13 field goals this season, and Cory Goettsche is a serviceable punter averaging more than 40 yards per punt. Grade: B

Coaching: Steve Kragthorpe hasn’t done a good job resurrecting the program after it faltered following Bobby Petrino’s departure. He is on the hot seat. Grade: D+

ADVANTAGES

Quarterbacks: Jarrett Brown is the uncontested starter for the Mountaineers. Louisville doesn’t know who will be starting. That’s not good consistency for the UL offense. Advantage: WVU

Running backs: Noel Devine is healthy, and Victor Anderson is not 100 percent coming into this game. Devine is a little quicker, and the Mountaineers have better depth. Advantage: WVU

Receivers: While Louisville has a bunch of talent at wide receiver this season, the position is dealing with injuries. WVU is not, giving the Mountaineers the stronger group. Advantage: WVU

Offensive line: The Mountaineer offense is just a step above Louisville’s in talent. This can be said for each position, including the offensive line. Advantage: WVU

Defensive line: West Virginia will have Chris Neild back against UL. The Cardinals defense is allowing 147.4 yards per game on the ground, the worst in the Big East. Advantage: WVU

Linebackers: While Louisville linebackers Brandon Heath and Jon Dempsey are strong players, the Cardinals do not have the depth the Mountaineers have at the position. Advantage: WVU

Secondary: The Cardinals have one of the worst passing-efficiency defenses in the country, despite a senior-led group. West Virginia has its own share of struggles, too. Advantage: WVU

Special Teams: WVU’s Scott Kozlowski is one of the better punters in the country, but the Mountaineers struggle at kickoff specialist and kicker. Louisville is not much better, though, and WVU has a better return game. Advantage: WVU

Coaching: Steve Kragthorpe is 14-18 at Louisville, and the Cardinals are struggling again this year. WVU has recruited more talent over the years, giving the Mountaineers an edge. Advantage: WVU
 

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5 comments

Ben

Sat Nov 7 2009 09:43

Excellent job with the scouting report, Tony. I'm a Louisville fan, and I think you've done a pretty good job rating things. The only one I might change is kicking, mainly because of Payne's troubles during the past few games. But for someone who probably doesn't watch every Louisville game, you've hit the nail on the head in all facets of the team.

My prediction: WVU 34, Louisville 14

wagnha

Fri Nov 6 2009 14:04

I am a Cardinals fan and I can tell you WV has nothing to fear. The Cardinals have nothing to bring to the table and it is late enough in the season that players don't want to get injured for a worthless cause. I will be surprised if they give more than one quarter of effort in this game. Most teams improve after halftime, Louisville actually seems to do worse. There isn't much depth on the team and the speed from 3-4 years ago is gone. Once the Cardinals fall behind it won't matter if they have Barry Sanders in the backfield. The play calling is so bad, I truely believe that I could do better myself. Louisville wins this game 1 out of 100 times, and that if they are lucky!

John Young

Thu Nov 5 2009 14:22

Didn't Stewart say the exact same thing about a weak USF team that had lost 2 straight? And didn't we lose by running the same plays over and over and over again? The ones that worked, like the option, and using Ryan Clarke, were shelved because they worked. "And we never failed to fail. It was the easiest thing to do!" (Neil Young. Southern Cross)

We have tons of depth, but we don't use it. Geno and Corey must be getting awfully bored. Why isn't Corey in the backfield, or in as a receiver? And when Jarrett is cold, where's Geno? Has anyone checked his or Corey's HS stats? Why are they on the bench? And why isn't Tandy ON the bench? He'd be a better "end guard."

wveer

Thu Nov 5 2009 13:24

Shazaam! Gomer needs a good dose of Sgt. Carter to toughen him and his team up. Hard play, every play, wins games!

bayoubeast

Thu Nov 5 2009 09:19

Gomer is worried?. Has WVU played anyone this year he has not been worried about?. If we lose to the cardinals
he should have good reason to be.

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