The 2007 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team, led by Steve Kragthorpe in his first year at the school, played their home games in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and were in their third year in the Big East Conference. With the stunning upsets, the team has missed a bowl game for the first time in a decade (since 1997).
| 2007 Louisville Cardinals football | |
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| Conference | Big East Conference |
| Record | 6–6 (3–4 Big East) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Charlie Stubbs (1st season) |
| Offensive scheme | Multiple |
| Defensive coordinator | Mike Cassity (4th season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Home stadium | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 West Virginia $+ | 5 | – | 2 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connecticut + | 5 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 Cincinnati | 4 | – | 3 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Florida | 4 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 3 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisville | 3 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pittsburgh | 3 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Syracuse | 1 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pre-season
The Cardinals finished the 2006 season with a 12–1 record, including a win in the Orange Bowl. After the win, they were ranked fifth in the nation. Returning fourteen starters from their 2006 team,[1] including quarterback Brian Brohm[2] the team was picked, by the Big East media, to finish second in the conference,[3] and were ranked between five and 13 in various preseason polls.[4][5][6][7][8]
Coaching changes
Almost a week after their victory in the Orange Bowl, head coach, Bobby Petrino, was offered and took the head coaching position with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.[9] Two days later, Steve Kragthorpe, former head coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, was hired for the position.[10] Though five assistant coaches were retained, five new assistants were hired in the off-season, three of which came with Kragthorpe from his staff at Tulsa.[11]
Roster changes
Although returning 14 starters from 2006, the team lost four players to the 2007 NFL Draft. From the offense, running back Michael Bush was taken in the fourth round by Oakland and running back Kolby Smith was taken in the fifth round by Kansas City. From the defense, tackle Amobi Okoye was taken tenth by Houston while cornerback, William Gay was taken in the fifth round by Pittsburgh.[12]
Recruiting
The Cardinals signed 15 recruits for the new class, including three junior-college transfers. Included in the top-50 class were one five-star recruit on defense, three four-star recruits on offense and another four-star recruit on defense. Also entering in with the class was 2006 recruit Josh Chichester, who wasn't able to enroll with his recruiting class.
| US college sports recruiting information for 2007 recruits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
| Victor Anderson RB | Louisville, KY | St. Xavier HS | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 176 lb (80 kg) | 4.44 | Jan 28, 2007 |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 74 | ||||||
| Doug Beaumont WR | Louisville, KY | Male HS | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 176 lb (80 kg) | 4.45 | Sep 17, 2006 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 | ||||||
| Michael Fennerty TE | Olympia, WA | Olympia HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 4.86 | Feb 24, 2007 |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40 | ||||||
| Patrick Grant DE | Lauderdale Lakes, FL | Boyd H. Anderson HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 218 lb (99 kg) | 4.6 | Feb 7, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 74 | ||||||
| Zach Kiernan OT | Newport, KY | Newport Central Catholic HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 242 lb (110 kg) | NA | Oct 10, 2006 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40 | ||||||
| Dale Martin RB | Bolingbrook, IL | Bolingbrook HS | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 4.5 | Jan 6, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77 | ||||||
| Josh Miller WR | Palatka, FL | Palatka HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 182 lb (83 kg) | 4.5 | Jan 25, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40 | ||||||
| C.J. Peake S | Trotwood, OH | Trotwood-Madison HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 212 lb (96 kg) | 4.55 | Jan 26, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76 | ||||||
| Bilal Powell S | Lakeland, FL | Lake Gibson Senior HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 4.5 | Jan 24, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40 | ||||||
| Matt Simms QB | Ramsey, NJ | Don Bosco Prep School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 4.8 | Jan 29, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 70 | ||||||
| Chaz Thompson CB | Weed, CA | College of the Siskiyous | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 4.35 | Jan 21, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NA | ||||||
| Greg Tomczyk OT | Princeton, NJ | The Hun School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 290 lb (130 kg) | 4.88 | Jan 17, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 60 | ||||||
| Woodny Turenne DB | Visalia, CA | College of the Sequoias | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 4.34 | Jan 25, 2007 |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NA | ||||||
| Mark Wetterer OG | Cincinnati, OH | Anderson HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 292 lb (132 kg) | 5.3 | Dec 2, 2006 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 74 | ||||||
| Willie Williams LB | Culver City, CA | West Los Angeles | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 232 lb (105 kg) | NA | Jan 25, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NA | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #47 Rivals: #41 | ||||||
Sources:
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Pre-season honors
Three Cardinal players were honored as part of pre-season watchlists for national awards.
- Brian Brohm – Manning Award and Maxwell Award[13]
- Adrian Grady – Bronko Nagurski Trophy[14]
- Eric Wood – Outland Trophy[14]
In addition to the honors, Brohm was also named to the Playboy pre-season All-America team.[15]
Season
Roster
Sources: http://www.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/lou/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/07-fb-guide-44-59 http://louisville.scout.com/a.z?s=17&p=8&c=2&nid=696&yr=2007 |
Coaching staff
The 2007 Cardinal team was coached by Steve Kragthorpe and his staff. Much of the coaching staff from 2006 remained, but Kragthorpe brought in other to fill out the staff, including, initially, three from his previous position.[11][16] Keith Patterson was originally brought in from Tulsa as defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach, however returned to Tulsa before the season began for personal reasons.[17] Patterson was quickly replaced by Mike Mallory.[18]
| Name | Position | Year at Louisville | Alma Mater (Year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Kragthorpe | Head coach | 1st | West Texas A&M (1988) |
| Jeff Brohm | Quarterbacks | 5th | Louisville (1993) |
| Mike Cassity | Defensive coordinator Safeties | 4th | Kentucky (1976) |
| Reggie Johnson | Inside linebackers | 5th | Louisville (1996) |
| Mark Nelson | Defensive line Special teams | 1st | East Central (1980) |
| Greg Nord | Tight ends Recruiting coordinator | 13th | Kentucky (1980) |
| Charlie Stubbs | Offensive coordinator Wide receivers | 1st | Brigham Young (1978) |
| Brent Myers | Offensive line | 1st | Eastern Washington (1982) |
| Tony Alford | Running backs | 1st | Colorado State (1992) |
| Mike Mallory | Secondary | 1st | Michigan (1985) |
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | 7:30 pm | Murray State* | No. 10 | ESPNU | W 73–10 | 42,185[19] | |
| September 6 | 7:00 pm | Middle Tennessee* | No. 8 |
| ESPN2 | W 58–42 | 40,882[19] |
| September 15 | 7:30 pm | at Kentucky* | No. 9 | ESPN Classic | L 34–40 | 70,857[19] | |
| September 22 | 12:00 pm | Syracuse | No. 18 |
| ESPN+ | L 35–38 | 40,922[19] |
| September 29 | 3:30 pm | at NC State* | ESPNU | W 29–10 | 56,487[19] | ||
| October 5 | 8:00 pm | Utah* |
| ESPN | L 35–44 | 40,894[19] | |
| October 13 | 7:00 pm | at No. 17 Cincinnati | ESPNU | W 28–24 | 35,097[19] | ||
| October 19 | 8:00 pm | at Connecticut | ESPN | L 17–21 | 40,000[19] | ||
| October 27 | 12:00 pm | Pittsburgh |
| ESPN+ | W 24–17 | 34,792[19] | |
| November 8 | 7:30 pm | at No. 6 West Virginia | ESPN | L 31–38 | 60,992[19] | ||
| November 17 | 8:00 pm | at South Florida | ESPNU | L 17–55 | 57,288[19] | ||
| November 29 | 7:30 pm | Rutgers |
| ESPN | W 41–38 | 39,612[19] | |
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