Louisville Cardinals vs West Virginia Mountaineers Recap

The Louisville Cardinals continue to fight with uncommon resolve in 2009, but on a Saturday in Appalachia, a familiar theme played out for a team that's still searching for a Big East victory.

This arduous season, which never had particularly lofty expectations to begin with, has been marred by the loss of UL's top two quarterbacks, week one starter Justin Burke and number two man Adam Froman. Yet, through the injuries and limitations that have affected them on both sides of the ball (but especially under center), the Cards have continued to compete for themselves and for Steve Kragthorpe, the coach who, as early as late September, appeared headed for temporary unemployment.

In a wrenching, late loss at Kentucky; in a hard-fought battle at Utah; and in a sloppy but spirited slugfest at Connecticut, Louisville has played extremely hard, yet not grabbed a scoreboard victory. On some occasions they've pulled out victories, and at other times, they were simply outclassed, as was the case at Cincinnati, but it's been those hard-fought losses that have represented the truly tough portion of a largely luckless campaign in which effort level has generally not been rewarded.

Now Kragthorpe and Co. have another bitter pill to swallow, after a fruitless visit to Morgantown, W. Va.

Once again, UL laced its shoes and strapped on the pads with purpose and poise, only to fall short against a talented opponent on the road. Louisville held West Virginia to just 273 yards of total offense, allowed the Mountaineers to convert only three third downs, surrendered just 10 completed passes, and conceded just 17 points. Most of West Virginia's opponents would gladly take such numbers, given the athletic ability of WVU quarterback Jarrett Brown, but on this Saturday at Mountaineer Field, those stats didn't add up to a win. Louisville, despite a marvelous performance from its defense, fell 17-9 on an afternoon when quarterback depth - or lack thereof - caught up with an increasingly shorthanded club.

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Make no mistake (and that's a literal truth), UL third-string quarterback Will Stein performed capably and calmly amidst the roar of a hostile crowd. The youngster didn't throw a single interception and managed the game at an appreciably high level, given the circumstances that confronted him. Stein's pick-free performance is made all the more remarkable by the fact that he was sacked five times. UL's Darius Ashley starred for the Cards by rolling up 164 yards on 33 carries in place of starting running back Victor Anderson, but whenever Louisville had to pass the ball, Stein's health was on the line, as the Mountaineers' front seven went wild.

It's a testament to this team's grit that with only the running game functioning, a limited offense was still able to possess the ball for 33 minutes and keep the Cards' defense fresh enough to hold the Mountaineers in check. Louisville fans might be upset by yet another loss, but given the resources at their disposal, Kragthorpe's kids did far more than what should have logically been expected of them.

Exceeding diminished expectations. That's what this season has come to for Louisville. Players and coaches might not want moral victories, but that's what they'll have to settle for as the home stretch approaches.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer