Louisville Cardinals vs Utah Utes Recap

Life is simply unfair for the Louisville Cardinals right now.

The kids from the Commonwealth are competing hard, and they're playing with pride for a coach whose position is increasingly tenuous, but the results just aren't emerging for a team that's up against a tough schedule.

Considering that the Utah Utes were coming off their first loss in their last 17 games, it was reasonable to expect last year's Mountain West Conference champions and Sugar Bowl victors to thoroughly demolish Louisville on Saturday evening in Salt Lake City. It wouldn't have caused too much of a stir in the college football world if the Utes had decked the Cards by 25, 35 or even 45 points. In light of this portrait of potential peril, Louisville and Coach Steve Kragthorpe didn't discredit themselves with their performance at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

This game could have gotten very ugly when Utah scored two first-quarter touchdowns in just 18 seconds of clock time. A devastating 1-2 punch could have caused every Cardinal to fold the tent and call it a day in Utah's capital city; many other teams drowning in on-field misery have been known to give up when a nasty season feels as though it's only getting worse.

Yet, if there was any possibility that a team would quit on its season and its coach, the Cards proved the doubters wrong. Strong defensive stands in the second quarter kept the game within reach. After absorbing a steady stream of completions from Utah signal caller Terrance Cain (who was 17-of-22 on the night), Kragthorpe's defense shut out the Utes in the third quarter and enabled the visitors to creep within only nine points, at 23-14, with just under nine minutes left in regulation. Yes, Cain and Utah restored order for the home team by mounting an 80-yard touchdown march to round out the scoring, but the sight of Louisville's athletes rallying to their coaching staff--and just as importantly, to each other--should fill Kragthorpe's crew, up and down the line, with considerable pride.

No, wins aren't arriving for the U of L. Yet, this team--up against credentialed foes--continues to win admiration for the way it's competing in the face of daunting obstacles and grim circumstances. That ought to count for something in the cutthroat world of big-time collegiate sports.

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By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer