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Archive for the tag “louisville”

23 Aug 2016
2 Comments

Around the A.C.C.: August 23, 2016

As we all patiently and not-so-patiently await the start of the college football season, there is not much actual news to report.  Every blog and newspaper covering every A.C.C. school is knee-deep in their articles about why each and every player is going to surprise everyone this year, giving hope (and often false hope) to fans.  So be it.  That is what makes college sports so fun.  The hope is legitimate.  Anyway, here is what is happening at several schools:

So there it is… August 23, 2016.  Football is coming, folks.  Hang in there.

 

Posted by acaffrey in Today in the ACC and tagged , , , , , , , ,
07 Jun 2016

The Confidential’s 2016 Football Over-Under: Louisville

Last year, the Confidential unveiled over-unders for each ACC school.  For Louisville, the over-under was set at 9.5 regular season wins.  Ultimately, Louisville ended up with 7 regular season wins, with the losses to Houston and Pittsburgh being relative “surprises.”  But now it is on to 2016.  The Confidential sets the over-under for Louisville at 7.5 regular season wins.

Here is the schedule for 2016:

  • 9/1/16: Charlotte
  • 9/9/16: @ Syracuse
  • 9/17/16: Florida State
  • 9/24/16: @ Marshall
  • 10/1/16: @ Clemson
  • 10/14/16: Duke
  • 10/22/16: NC State
  • 10/29/16: @ Virginia
  • 11/5/16: @ Boston College
  • 11/12/16: Wake Forest
  • 11/17/16: @ Houston
  • 11/26/16: Kentucky

Very likely wins: Charlotte, Wake Forest, Kentucky

Very likely losses: Florida State, @ Clemson

Verdict: With OOC trips to Marshall and Houston, Louisville has scheduled outside of the P5 conferences, but challenged itself significantly.  Throw in trips to Syracuse, Boston College, and Virginia, and three “very likely home wins” become three very challenging road conference games.  Duke and NC State will not be pushovers from the home slate either.  A sweep of all seven of those games is not impossible, but realistically not likely either.  In fact, it is certainly plausible for two or three of those games to be losses.  All in all, this is looking like a tough year for Louisville compared to the expectations of the fan base.  It is hard to envision wins over Florida State and Clemson.  Even assuming significant success beyond those two games, that does not give much cushion in an improving conference.  The over/under, therefore, is set at 7.5 wins.

What do you think?  Will Louisville go over or under 7.5 regular season wins?

Posted by acaffrey in Football, Opinion, Over/Under, Schedule and tagged , , ,
09 Oct 2015
2 Comments

Louisville fans and the 6 stages of grief

An open letter to Louisville Fans in the wake of your NCAA investigation.

Dear Louisville Fans:

As a lifelong Syracuse basketball fan, I completely understand the pain, frustration, and anxiety you are currently experiencing with the allegations that Louisville basketball paid skanky hookers to strip for recruits. The NCAA has had Syracuse under a microscope for years, searching and probing for any violations that can amount to a serious infraction and now you are going through the same.

We’ve been conference-mates in the Big East, and now in the ACC, so on behalf of the Confidential, allow me to help you as you navigate through the six emotional stages that go with an NCAA investigation.

Read more…

Posted by Vinnie Saltine in Sarcasm and tagged ,
13 Jul 2015
13 Comments

The Football Over-Unders for 2015: Louisville

This article is another in a series of articles in which the Confidential opines regarding the over/under for football wins in 2015.  We’ll take a cursory look at the schedule and determine what we think is the point where folks will struggle to select “over” or “under.”  We hope people will share their comments as to “why” they are going over/under.  If you disagree with our over/under choice, of course, feel free to let us know too.  The next team up: Louisville.  We are going with an over/under of 9.5 regular season wins.

  1. September 5 vs Auburn (Atlanta, GA)
  2. September 12 vs Houston
  3. September 17 vs Clemson
  4. September 25 vs Samford
  5. October 3 @ NC State
  6. October 17 @ Florida State
  7. October 24 vs. Boston College
  8. October 30 @ Wake Forest
  9. November 7 vs Syracuse
  10. November 14 vs. Virginia
  11. November 21 @ Pittsburgh
  12. November 28 @ Kentucky

Likely losses: Auburn, @Florida State

Likely wins: Samford, @ Kentucky, Syracuse, @ Wake Forest

Summary:  Could you imagine if Louisville beats both Auburn and Clemson in the first three weeks of the season?  It would be difficult to envision Louisville not being in the top 5.  This is a fairly difficult schedule, as trips to NC State and Florida State also loom in the first six weeks.  If Louisville is 3-3, they can still get back to 9-3 by sweeping the second-half.  If Louisville is 4-2, then 10-2 is the upside.  The heart may say wins over Auburn, Florida State, and Clemson.  The brain says two out of those three are losses… or two are wins and then a surprise loss elsewhere.  The Confidential goes with an over-under of 9.5 wins.

What do you think?  Over or under?  Let us know.

Prior discussions: Florida State Georgia Tech Wake Forest Pitt Virginia Virginia Tech

Posted by acaffrey in Football, Over/Under, Poll, Predictions and tagged , , , , , ,
07 May 2015
3 Comments

The Confidential’s All School Teams Poll: Ranking The Top

UPDATE: Final Voting in Poll:

  1. North Carolina 41.03%
  2. Louisville 36.32%
  3. Syracuse 16.24%
  4. Duke 3.47%
  5. NC State 1.28%
  6. Ga Tech and ND .85%

Thanks to all for voting!  Congrats to the Tar Heels and their fans!

The Confidential has spent several weeks determining the best 12-player teams that could be put together for each ACC school.  Here is a list of those teams.  Yesterday’s task was to determine which school’s team is the worst.  Today’s task is to determine which school has the best team!

Duke:

Center: Christian Laettner, Mike Gminski

Power Forward: Shane Battier, Danny Ferry

Small Forward:  Grant Hill, Art Heyman

Shooting Guard: JJ Reddick, Johnny Dawkins, Dick Groat

Point Guard: Bobby Hurley, Jason Williams, Tommy Amaker

Georgia Tech:

Center: John Salley, Matt Geiger

Power Forward: Malcolm Mackey, Rich Yunkus

Small Forward: Dennis Scott, Matt Harping

Shooting Guard: Stephon Marbury, Tom Hammonds, Roger Kaiser

Point Guard: Mark Price, Kenny Anderson, Jarrett Jack

Louisville:

Center: Wes Unseld, Pervis Ellison

Power Forward: Rodney McCray, Charlie Tyra

Small Forward: Derek Smith, Junior Bridgeman

Shooting Guard: Darrell Griffith, Butch Beard, Peyton Siva

Point Guard: Milt Wagner, DeJuan Wheat, Russ Smith

North Carolina:

Center: Tyler Hansbrough, Bob McAdoo

Power Forward: James Worthy, Sam Perkins

Small Forward: Lennie Rosenbluth, Billy Cunningham, Antawn Jamison

Shooting Guard: Michael Jordan, Walter Davis, Charlie Scott

Point Guard: Phil Ford, Kenny Smith

North Carolina State:

Center: Tom Burleson, Ronnie Shavlik

Power Forward: David Thompson, Tom Guggliota, Thurl Bailey

Small Forward: Lorenzo Charles, TJ Warren

Shooting Guard: Derek Whittenburg, Julius Hodge

Point Guard: Sidney Lowe, Chris Corchani, Monty Towe

Notre Dame:

Center: Bill Laimbeer, Troy Murphy

Power Forward: Tom Hawkins, Pat Garrity, John Shumate

Small Forward: Adrian Dantley, Orlando Woolidge, Kelly Tripucka

Shooting Guard: Austin Carr, John Paxson

Point Guard: David Rivers, Chris Thomas

Syracuse:

Center:  Rony Seikaly, Roosevelt Bouie

Power Forward: Derrick Coleman, Louis Orr

Small Forward: Carmelo Anthony, John Wallace, Rafael Addison

Shooting Guard: Dave Bing, Lawrence Moten, Gerry McNamara

Point Guard: Pearl Washington, Sherman Douglas

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, All-Time Teams, Basketball, Opinion and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
19 Jan 2015

Will The Cards Fly South From Here?

First off, hello to all the subscribers to ACC Confidential.  My name is Kevin Wright and I will be the new and second contributor to this blog representing the University of Louisville.  With that said, I will get right to the point with my first blog entry……..

After attending the UofL/Duke tilt this past Saturday at the Yum Center, my biggest fears as a long-time die hard Cardinal fan became a reality: the Cards may have deficiencies this season that cannot be overcome by X’s and O’s or the good ole post game “players only” locker room meeting.  The fact is, this UofL basketball team simply labors to put the ball in the basket.  Back in December when UofL played in-state rival Kentucky, one was left to wonder if the Cardinal’s abysmal shooting performance that day was due to UK’s astounding length and defensive prowess.  Not to take anything away from Kentucky, but after watching the Cards miss numerous well manufactured open mid-range jumpers and attempts from beyond the arc on Saturday (mind you against a make shift zone defense orchestrated by Duke and Coach K), the hard truth hit home.

Through the years Rick Pitino has built his offensive systems around multi-dimensional players who could score in all facets of the game.  I don’t need to remind other UofL fans of the likes of former players such as Luke Hancock, Russ Smith, Kyle Kuric, Taquan Dean and so on……all reliable perimeter players who consistently made their teammates better by making open shots when they were afforded to them.  This year’s Rick Pitino team, his 14th since coming back to The Bluegrass State, is unique in the fact that there are no real true shooters on the roster.  One could argue that Terry Rozier is a good perimeter player, and while I could agree with such an assertion I would not list that as his biggest offensive strength.  Other perimeter players on the Cardinal roster have proven to be unreliable, erratic and at times downright bad.  The same can be said for Louisville’s lineup of frontcourt players which is hampered by a lack of offensive skill and playing experience.

Luckily for the Cards they have a some time to lick their wounds following a convincing loss to the hands of the Blue Devils.  Upon return, however, will they be able to continue to win games while finding ways of off setting their lock of scoring by being meticulous in all other facets?  March has been a kind and rewarding month for Louisville basketball teams in the past several years.  Getting to the end of the regular season finish line this season may be more taxing and trivial for this current groups of players.  The ACC needs UofL to thrive in the same vein that the Cards needs their conference mates to help maintain conference strength.

Hopefully UofL fans will see their Cards rising and flying high in the weeks to come.

Posted by klw0408 in ACC only, Basketball, Louisville Correspondent and tagged , , ,
30 Oct 2014
7 Comments

Cards & Noles Frightnight Showdown

Ok, the game is tonight instead of Friday night but it’s close enough to Halloween. The #2 Florida State Seminoles bring their incredible 23 game winning streak into Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium to face the Cards for the 15th time. FSU will be playing for their 13th win in the sereies. With the new playoff selection committee releasing their rankings Tueasday night, the ACC has 4 teams ranked without counting Notre Dame. The Louisville Cardinals #25 ranking only adds to the excitement of this game.
Read more…

Posted by lenvillecards in ACC only, Football, Louisville Correspondent, Predictions, Weekend Preview and tagged , , , , ,
26 Oct 2014

“Rules to Build a Rivalry”

With the recent addition of Louisville to the ACC many have wondered, “What rivalries will the Cardinals develop in the conference?” It is difficult to say, as many general factors can go into developing a rivalry. Clearly you would think that things like being near each other regionally help, along with cultural similarities, and level of competition must play major roles in the development of rivalries.  Yes, they do, but those terms are vague, and by no means certain.  Consider FSU and UGA, they are closer together than most schools, yet other than the Dawgs poaching FSU assistants like it is their favorite past time, they are not real rivals.  Of course I am sure that frequency of play has a lot to do with the lack of a rivalry between the two today, but even if they played regularly there is no guarantee a healthy rivalry would develop.

Read more…

Posted by brianfsu9 in ACC only, Football, FSU Correspondent, Opinion and tagged , , , ,
08 Oct 2014

Cards struggle to 5-1 start

Midway through the season schedule the Louisville Cardinals are still looking for answers. With just four returning starters on defense they were the unit that was expected to struggle while installing the new 3-4 scheme but it has been the offense that has been disappointing. The Cards have started 2 rookie QB’s due to injury, So Will Gardner & true freshman Reggie Bonnafon. Both have struggled settling into the position. To add to their struggles the OL has played poorly while the WR’s have struggled in running the correct routs or plays. Bonnafon was informed of his starting against Wake Forest just two days after returning to practice after attending his fathers funeral.
Read more…

Posted by lenvillecards in ACC only, Football, Louisville Correspondent, Opinion, Schedule and tagged , , ,
30 Aug 2014

Black Monday

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This Monday, September 1, Labor Day, will be Black Monday. The Louisville Cardinals will make their ACC debut in Papa Johns Cardinals Stadium against the Miami Hurricanes at 8 p.m. on ESPN. An Orange-out might be passe in Syracuse but the Cards fans and team are excited to be back in black. The traditionalist Charlie Strong refused the teams request to let them wear the black uni’s during his tenure, opting instead to stick with their more traditional red and white uniforms. One of the first things Bobby Petrino did upon his return was to bring back the black, and why not, he introduced them in the first place.
Read more…

Posted by lenvillecards in ACC only, Football, Louisville Correspondent, Opinion, Predictions and tagged , , ,

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