Hurricanes meekly huff, puff, can't blow new powerhouse down
Sep. 16, 2006
By Gregg Doyel
CBS SportsLine.com National Columnist
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Only one college football powerhouse walked into Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on Saturday, and only one college football powerhouse walked out.
Not the same powerhouse, either.
Louisville's blowout victory over Miami is a sign of the times. (AP)
Miami is no longer big and bad. It's just bad, with a losing record and a spot outside next week's Top 25. Meanwhile, a new Southern superpower has emerged to take the Hurricanes' place. That would be No. 12 Louisville, which manhandled No. 17 Miami 31-7 on Saturday to make the two programs' role reversal official.
Miami (1-2) has become a college football rumor. Louisville (3-0), finally, has become the truth.
"This was a statement game for us," Louisville tailback Kolby Smith said. "They say we can't win the big ones, we're a tease, we beat up on (inferior) teams, we can't beat the ranked teams."
Whoever they are, they were right. In the last two years Louisville has lost winnable games against Miami, West Virginia and Virginia Tech, which is a big reason why those three teams have enjoyed more national cache than Louisville despite similar or even lesser overall results. Louisville, cursed by conference affiliation -- once as a member of irrelevant Conference USA, and now in the weakened Big East -- has been defined not by its 31 wins over the past three seasons, but by its losses in big games.
There's a reason Louisville has been averaging 10 wins per season for years, then started 2006 with two blowout wins, yet still wasn't in the Top 10: Louisville hadn't demonstrated true greatness. The Cardinals had only whispered at greatness.
Saturday, they screamed out.
"People across the nation aren't going to believe it until they see it," Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm said.
"This should wake up a lot of people," Louisville linebacker Nate Harris said. "Open up their eyes that Louisville is for real."
Louisville embarrassed Miami despite starting the game without its All-American tailback candidate, Michael Bush, who suffered a season-ending leg injury two weeks ago. And Louisville embarrassed Miami despite finishing the game without its All-American quarterback candidate, Brohm, who left early in the third quarter with a dislocated thumb on his right (throwing) hand.
At most schools, those are fatal blows. Not at Louisville, not anymore. Fourth-year coach Bobby Petrino has built the kind of program enjoyed now by Southern California, Texas and Ohio State, and enjoyed once upon a time by Florida State and -- yes -- Miami. Like 10 or 15 programs nationally, Louisville has superstar frontline talent. Like three or four others, Louisville also has superstar depth.
Bush, who ran for 1,143 yards and 23 touchdowns last season, has been replaced by Smith and George Stripling. That duo -- Florida natives who weren't recruited by Miami -- combined for 126 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns against the Hurricanes.
Brohm, the 2005 Big East Offensive Player of the Year, was replaced by 6-foot-5, 230-pound sophomore Hunter Cantwell. On Cantwell's second play, he threw a 45-yard laser to Harry Douglas to set up Smith's second rushing touchdown. On his next series, Cantwell threw a 39-yard touchdown to Stripling.
Cantwell attempted just four passes -- he was 3-for-4 for 113 yards -- and Miami can thank Petrino for that. Had Petrino wanted to run up the score instead of run out the clock, Cantwell could have thrown for another 100 yards. He's that good, and with Brohm expected to miss three or four games, Cantwell will prove it.
For all intents and purposes, Louisville outscored Miami 17-7 with Brohm. It outscored Miami 14-0 with Cantwell. What does that say about this Louisville program?
"Well," Petrino said, "it says our depth is a lot better than it used to be."
Everything is better than it used to be. Petrino's offense has become a haven for stat-producing receivers, but the Cardinals haven't had one as good as Mario Urrutia, a 6-6, 220-pound sophomore. On one drive sure to make the rounds in NFL scouting circles, Urrutia nearly pulled in a 50-yard pass with his right hand, the ball falling incomplete ... then did pull in a short pass with his left hand for a 5-yard gain ... then after a more conventional catch used his left hand to stiff-arm a Miami defender for the final 15 yards of a 56-yard touchdown.
Urrutia will make money in the NFL. So will true freshman defensive end Peanut Whitehead, who is 6-6 and 245 pounds but with weight-training and midnight snacking could become the next Julius Peppers or Mario Williams. Lots of Louisville players will make money in the NFL.
The Cardinals don't just look great. They're not pretending, not acting, not lying. They're bona fide contenders for the national championship.
Assuming they don't lose next week at Kansas State.
http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/9665046
