And now, for your halftime entertainment....
The University of Louisville has now played half its 2009 football schedule, to the tune of two wins and four losses. Probably a majority of prognosticators predicted a 2-4 record at this point, with victories over Indiana State and Southern Mississippi.
I honestly thought the record might be as good as 4-2 through six games -- I thought the Cards had a good chance at stealing road games at Kentucky and Connecticut. In fact, U of L died of self-inflicted wounds in both cases, Cardinal turnovers giftwrapping both the Wildcats' winning touchdown and a total of 24 points at UConn.
Barring a succession of major miracles, Kragthorpe's Cards will post their third consecutive non-winning season -- enough to send a fan base that prior to his arrival had celebrated nine consecutive bowl bids simmering toward outright revolt. With a stadium expansion due to open next September, U of L athletic director Tom Jurich may have no alternative to dismissing Kragthorpe.
I must admit, I too have just about run out of slack to cut Coach K. It's not so much the losing that galls me -- though it certainly does. It's the appalling number of stupid mistakes that have cost U of L dearly -- offside penalties on kickoffs, late hits on offense, miscommunication on defense, linemen forgetting the snap count, receivers not knowing when they should or should not be on the line of scrimmage, and other outright blunders.
It speaks to quality of coaching these things have lingered far beyond the end of preseason camp.
True, as I myself have often said, coaches don't drop passes, miss blocks, shank kicks, or fail to make secure tackles. They do, however, bear the responsibility for teaching proper technique and creating a culture of efficiency. At the level of competition where U of L's program resides, Kragthorpe has not shown me he has the resources to serve as both head coach and offensive coordinator -- either playcalling or game management has suffered all season long. U of L has burned too many timeouts to save delay-of-game penalties or get the right personnel on the field. That reeks of a disorganized sideline.
I truly hope Kragthorpe has his resume polished and updated, because only a bowl bid would assure him another year at U of L. That would require at least five wins in the remaining six games, and with road trips to Cincinnati, West Virginia and South Florida lurking, that prospect seems slim indeed. The home games look daunting as well; Arkansas State gave Top 10-ranked Iowa all it wanted in Iowa City a few weeks ago, Syracuse is showing signs of life, and Rutgers, while showing signs of reverting to its long history of putrid football, has recently played U of L much tougher than expected.
Honestly, anything better than 5-7 looks like a reach right now.
I also hope Jurich has that short list of coaching candidates in his desk -- I expect he'll be making phone calls in about six weeks.
The University of Louisville has now played half its 2009 football schedule, to the tune of two wins and four losses. Probably a majority of prognosticators predicted a 2-4 record at this point, with victories over Indiana State and Southern Mississippi.
I honestly thought the record might be as good as 4-2 through six games -- I thought the Cards had a good chance at stealing road games at Kentucky and Connecticut. In fact, U of L died of self-inflicted wounds in both cases, Cardinal turnovers giftwrapping both the Wildcats' winning touchdown and a total of 24 points at UConn.
Barring a succession of major miracles, Kragthorpe's Cards will post their third consecutive non-winning season -- enough to send a fan base that prior to his arrival had celebrated nine consecutive bowl bids simmering toward outright revolt. With a stadium expansion due to open next September, U of L athletic director Tom Jurich may have no alternative to dismissing Kragthorpe.
I must admit, I too have just about run out of slack to cut Coach K. It's not so much the losing that galls me -- though it certainly does. It's the appalling number of stupid mistakes that have cost U of L dearly -- offside penalties on kickoffs, late hits on offense, miscommunication on defense, linemen forgetting the snap count, receivers not knowing when they should or should not be on the line of scrimmage, and other outright blunders.
It speaks to quality of coaching these things have lingered far beyond the end of preseason camp.
True, as I myself have often said, coaches don't drop passes, miss blocks, shank kicks, or fail to make secure tackles. They do, however, bear the responsibility for teaching proper technique and creating a culture of efficiency. At the level of competition where U of L's program resides, Kragthorpe has not shown me he has the resources to serve as both head coach and offensive coordinator -- either playcalling or game management has suffered all season long. U of L has burned too many timeouts to save delay-of-game penalties or get the right personnel on the field. That reeks of a disorganized sideline.
I truly hope Kragthorpe has his resume polished and updated, because only a bowl bid would assure him another year at U of L. That would require at least five wins in the remaining six games, and with road trips to Cincinnati, West Virginia and South Florida lurking, that prospect seems slim indeed. The home games look daunting as well; Arkansas State gave Top 10-ranked Iowa all it wanted in Iowa City a few weeks ago, Syracuse is showing signs of life, and Rutgers, while showing signs of reverting to its long history of putrid football, has recently played U of L much tougher than expected.
Honestly, anything better than 5-7 looks like a reach right now.
I also hope Jurich has that short list of coaching candidates in his desk -- I expect he'll be making phone calls in about six weeks.
posted by Alan at 1:58 PM
1 comments
