The Confidential

A Long Over Due Look Back

So now that the Christmas trees are down, the New Year’s ball has dropped and everyone has begrudgingly gotten back into the swing of that thing called work, the stage is set for the 2016 College Football National Championship game between Clemson and Alabama. And for the sake of the ACC conference’s post season reputation as a whole in 2015, thank goodness Clemson beat favored Oklahoma to gain a spot playing for all the marbles.

Why?

Allow me to be transparent and painfully blunt: the ACC kinda sucked this bowl season. Yes, Virginia Tech sent Frank Beamer out as a winner as they hammered a hapless Tulsa team. Kudos to the Hokies on their win. Also deserving of props would be Duke who edged out a pesky Indiana team and Louisville, who rallied behind an amazing performance by true freshman QB Lamar Jackson to defeat SEC West member Texas A.M.

BUT, as for the rest of the ACC’s performance this past bowl season?

And here is how the dominos of negative on field performances fell: Miami continued to disappoint all those that watched them this past season by getting beat by a less talented Washington State squad. Pittsburgh capped off another lackluster year by virtually laying an egg against Navy (all due respect, the Midshipmen were not too shabby) in route to losing by more than two touchdowns. North Carolina proved yet again that deciding to play virtually no defense for 60 minutes will inevitably always lead to defeat by falling to Baylor by double digits. NC State was simply outmatched against their SEC West opponent, Mississippi State, and ended up getting hammered by 23 points. And lastly, and perhaps most disappointing, Florida State never got on track against Houson in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl In lieu of losing starting QB Everett Golson before the game and lost decidedly.

In a nutshell, it’s been hard to talk much smack the last few weeks if you are an ACC Football backer. Clemson can somewhat right the ship, however, by beating Alabama next Monday. It kinda reminds me of the scene from Star Wars when early in the film R2-D2 plays a video for Skywalker & Kenobi that states “Save us Obi Wan, you’re our only hope.” In this instance, ACC fans should be looking to the Tigers and thinking, “Win this game Clemson, you’re all we have left to protect us from epic SEC trash talk until September.” Question is, can Dabo & Co. actually pull it off? I watched Clemson in person earlier in the 2015 regular season when they dodged OT at Louisville thanks in part to a short missed FG by the Cards late in the 4th quarter. Thus by comparative ways, one might say that Clemson would have little chance against Bama. But after watching the Tigers take down Boomer Sooner and the likes of Notre Dame and FSU, I think they have a great shit at keeping the national title trophy in the ACC. Deshaun Watson’s ability to make plays with his feet & Clemson’s stout defensive line might be enough to put them over the top.

Beating the likes of the Crimson Todd won’t be easy regardless. I would expect Nick Saban to have his team meticulously prepared and it’s no secret that Heisman award winner Derrick Henry is a beast. For entertainment sake, I hope the game is nip and tuck. Unable to ever hide my homeristic nature, I’m going…..

Clemson 27  Alabama 23

Dabbin’

Before ending, I did want to throw in my two cents about Louisville, the school I normally and primarily cover and blog about. I came away really satisfied with the Cards win over A&M in the Music City Bowl. And frankly, I don’t give a damn if UofL’s victory came at the hands of the Aggies’ 10th string quarterback – a win is a win, particularly in the post season. Lamar Jackson had the performance of a lifetime, good enough to make me wish I was already tailgating at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium for the 2016 season opener. And now knowing that the core of the Cards defense is all coming back to school (most notably Devonte Fields & Keith Kelsey), my expectations are pretty damn high. 18 out of 22 starters return for UofL and next season’s schedule is much more manageable than the one that just ended over a month ago. The key for UofL will be finishing off what looks to be a top 20-25 nationally ranked recruiting class. With Bobby Petrino returning 99% of his offensive starters, I especially like the odds of the Cards scoring points like a pinball machine in 2016. For now, Card Nation must impatiently wait, but at least there’s a lot to wait for.

GO CARDS

The Confidential’s Year in Review

It has been an interesting year for the Confidential.  The A.C.C. continues to be extremely interesting, with Florida State and Clemson representing the football interests very well over the past few years, and Duke, Virginia, and Syracuse all doing their share on the basketball court.  North Carolina and Duke are basketball schools with very good football teams now, while Notre Dame dabbles in providing the ACC with reasons to be at least part-time proud.  And all schools are doing a great job hiring new football and basketball coaches.  And that is just the revenue sports.  The non-revenue sports are dominating (see Learfield cup article).

For the Confidential, we are always looking for some additional school correspondents to provide a new flavor and humanize our rivals.  We have had some come and go, but special thanks to all those who contribute as correspondents or commenters.  The fantasy football season was awesome, as it went down to the final week.

It is always interesting to wonder what 2016 will hold for the ACC.  We can expect the usual suspects to dominate their respective sports, such as Duke basketball and Florida State football.  But will Babers or Mendenhall turn Syracuse and Virginia football around?  Will Richt and Fuentes restore Miami and Virginia Tech to their glory years atop the Coastal?  Will Buzz Williams and Danny Manning do wonders for Virginia Tech and Wake Forest hoops?  Nobody knows.  But it will be a fun ride.

Thank you for reading and contributing in 2015.  We look forward to seeing you in 2016.

The Confidential

Dream Game

Tomorrow marks the one day on virtually every Kentuckian’s personal calendar where a college sporting event takes precedence over literally all things excluding life and death. You see tomorrow It’s Louisville vs Kentucky. It’s state school vs city school. It’s ACC vs SEC. It’s Rick Pitino vs John Calapari. It’s good vs evil (depending on which side you support). But more than anything, it’s what people in The Bluegrass State talk about, blog about, argue about and deliberate on almost every day of the year until the actual game is played. Funny thing is, neither school has ever lost out on or solidified a post season NCAA Tournament berth by winning or losing this game. But, that matters not. Sometimes pride and the overall satisfaction of knowing you rule the roost of your own backyard means more than anything. And when a 10-1 Louisville squad invades Rupp Arena tomorrow to face off against a fellow nationally ranked Kentucky squad, that certainly will be the case.

The story lines as usual are endless. Whether it’s how soft UofL’s schedule has been this far, how disappointing UK’s front line has shown to be, or simply whether or not Madame extroardanaire Katina Powell will be in the stands (betting she is not) for the tip, all that will matter throughout and in the end is who owns the final tally. Bragging rights matter if you hadn’t heard.

Even as an adamant UofL fan, I along with other fellow die hard Cardinal faithful have to begrudgingly be transparent by saying that in terms of head to head matchups, John Calapari has placed a strong hold on Rick Pitino and the Louisville program since his arrival in Lexington.

Ironically, that very strong hold has surprisingly not devoured or consumed UofL basketball and it’s recent success on the hard wood. In a strange way, some would argue that Calapri’s overall success and obvious disdain for Louisville has revigorated Pitino late in his coaching career. The last national title to come out of this state, after all, belongs to Louisville and the Cards have managed to hold their own in overall post season performance by reaching the Final Four two of the last four years. Last season they were one made free throw away for going back to another one.  In comparing, UK obviously has set the standard for recent post season success by making the Final Four a practical vacation home.

So what does this game really boil down too after you sift through all the predictions and individual/team numbers? In my opinion, it comes down to the same things it always has: which team gets out of the gate the fastest, which head coach can persuade the whistle most favorably for his team to avoid foul trouble (rarely an issue for UK as of late due to their staggering depth), and which team shoots the ball well from behind the three point line.

Shooting, quite frankly, has often been the nemesis for previous UofL teams in this series. Last year there were stretches of the game where one had to wonder if UofL was ever going to actually score at all. Even some of Rick Pitino’s best Louisville teams over the past decade have labored to shoot the ball well but have conversely been uber successful by playing terrific defense. This year’s UofL team has shown, thus far, to be a team that actually CAN shoot the ball well. Fifth year seniors Trey Lewis (photo above) and Damion Lee bring a bevy of talents to this Cardinal squad, one being the ability to fill it up from behind the arc. UofL will need both of them, along with vastly improving point guard Quentin Snider to find the bottom of the bucket often and early against UK for the Cards to escape with a win.

In summation (I could blog about this rivalry/series/game for days on end) I go into this game, as one who bleeds RED, cautiously optimistic. This game eerily reminds me of the matchup from 2013 when the Cards came to Lexington with a group of seasoned players (Luke Hancock, Russ Smith), a national ranking and a ton of confidence only to succumb to a UK team who appeared to want it just a little more and one that played directly off the energy injected into it by the 23K+ Kentucky fans in attendance that Saturday afternoon.

Often times you will hear coaches tell their players in the most intimidating and daunting of games and atmospheres to “just play”. I think that is exactly what you will see Pitino do in this situation as his team looks to be one of the more impressionable, selfless team-oriented squads he’s assembled since he stepped foot on UofL’s campus back in the early 2000’s. But being cohesive and likable won’t be enough to win on Saturday. Guys simply have to make plays, and they’ll need to make them in the clutch.

So here’s to hoping that Chinanu Onuaku doesn’t collect his second personal foul before the first under 16:00 minute TV timeout, that Ashley Judd wears deodorant for the sake of the cameras, that nobody on either team gets injured and that, most importantly, Louisville beats Kentucky.

GO CARDS!

Catching Up

They always say that if life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. But, in my personal life, if life gives me added work responsibilities (and a time consuming youth basketball team to coach), I don’t make anything.  Instead, I put my blog on hold until I can catch my  breath. But now that my professional and personal life has returned to some sort of normalcy just in time for my favorite holiday of the year, I’m taking the opportunity to get back into the swing of things. Saying that quite a bit has happened in the world of Louisville Football since my last blog entry would be an epic understatement. So, in looking back I would probably summarize as such: First, the Cards went down to Tallahassee and played toe to toe with the FSU Seminoles until halftime. The second half would prove to be one of the most disastrous defensive performances in UofL Football   history as Dalvin Cook would run wild and the Cards would succumb yet again to the Noles for a second straight year after leading at half time. After the Florida State game, the Cards would take care of business by beating (albeit not pretty in most instances) everyone left on their schedule with the exception of PITT, which would be the last game before the annual showdown with in-state rival Kentucky.

THE BATTLE OF THE BLUEGRASS

As in most years passed, I made the rainy trek to Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington to watch my beloved Cards tangle with the Cats. Riding a four game winning streak in the series and coming into the game as the favorite and already being bowl eligible, UofL had very little to gain but instead more to lose in this game. Kentucky, on the other hand, would be playing with house money……sort of. In some instances UK had nothing to lose being the underdog, but being that Mark Stoops had failed to get his team to a bowl game the previous two seasons, this game actually meant more to UK than one might have anticipated. Win, and you finally get that coveted sixth win and a third year bowl game. In addition, beating Louisville would end the Wildcats’ losing streak to a program they feel is inferior and open the flood gates for more stripper jokes.

I sat in amazement for the first two quarters as I watched UK pummel and pounce on UofL, burying them in a 24-7 halftime deficit. Give UK credit. But in the 2nd half something unexpected happened. That occurrence was the untapped potential known as Lamar Jackson coming to life and blossoming at the most opportune time. The freshman QB ran anywhere he wanted and helped flip the scoreboard in favor of the Cards. James Quick erupted for some long over due big plays as well and the Louisville defense finally put the clamps on UK’s offense making QB Drew Barker wish he were back in a dormitory lobby in Richmond during late night hours.

Lamar Jackson score against UK

I admit, as a UofL fan and alum it was awfully satisfying being at the game. Despite the weather being less than desirable, the last 30 mins made all the rain I endured well worth it. The UK fans in my section were, I presume, shocked that the Cards had gone on a 31-0 run. But the shock had by games end morphed into what I would categorize more as demoralization. UK, for the second straight year, had blown a double digit lead and a chance to become bowl eligible by beating their hated rival and in the process put their fan base in a position of being antagonized and feeling pissed on. Not sure the future looks any better for the Cats in ’16 with the recent transfer of Patrick Towles and a daunting SEC schedule next season, but I will allow others to debate that topic.

I can definitively say that being a UK Football fan would have to be one of the more agonizing and frustrating things on Earth to be. Reversely, I couldn’t be happier to be a Cardinal Football fan as of today. With a looming Music City Bowl game coming up against Texas A&M and the school’s highest collectively rated recruiting class in school history almost in the fold, my hopes and expectations for the Cardinals in year 3 (2nd tour) under Bobby Petrino are lofty. If Devante Fields and DeAngelo Brown turn down the possibility of entering the 2016 NFL Draft, and the Cards keep their current recruiting class intact then I see no reason that the Cards cannot compete for an ACC Divisional title next season. Keeping stud recruits like Jawon Pass, P.J. Blue and Seth Dawkins committed until they sign on the dotted lines will be key.

Myself and QB commit Jawon Pass

But, first things first. UofL needs to not overlook a talented and underachieving Texas A&M squad in Nashville next week and force their 3rd string QB to make mistakes aplenty. I feel confident in the UofL defense and Todd Grantham’s ability to make in game adjustments. I just hope that Lamar Jackson can prove that his dominating  2nd half performance against Kentucky was not a fluke but instead the beginning to something special. I am hoping to see 30,000+ Cardinal fans in the seats in Nashville proving once again how well UofL’s fan base travels and supports it’s teams.

In my blog entry for tomorrow, I will discuss the upcoming Dream Game on the between the Cards and Cats which will take place on Saturday. But for now I have a hyper 7 year old little boy who I need to corral pronto if there is any chance in Hades that Santa will be visiting our place this evening!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone! It’s good to be back on the blog! GO CARDS!

Hunt to Appeal NCAA Decision Denying 6th Year

The NCAA strikes again.