2007 Louisville Cardinals football team

Last updated

2007 Louisville Cardinals football
Louisville Cardinals text logo.svg
Conference Big East Conference
Record6–6 (3–4 Big East)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Charlie Stubbs
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinator Mike Cassity
Base defense 4–3
Home stadium Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
(Capacity: 42,000)
Seasons
←  2006
2008  →
2007 Big East Conference football standings
ConfOverall
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  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

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).

Contents

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
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeight40‡Commit date
Victor Anderson
RB		Louisville, KYSt. Xavier HS5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)176 lb (80 kg)4.44Jan 28, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 4 stars.svg     Rivals: 3 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 74
Doug Beaumont
WR		Louisville, KYMale HS5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)176 lb (80 kg)4.45Sep 17, 2006 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 4 stars.svg     Rivals: 3 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 78
Michael Fennerty
TE		Olympia, WAOlympia HS6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)210 lb (95 kg)4.86Feb 24, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 2 stars.svg     Rivals: 2 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 40
Patrick Grant
DE		Lauderdale Lakes, FLBoyd H. Anderson HS6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)218 lb (99 kg)4.6Feb 7, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 3 stars.svg     Rivals: 3 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 74
Zach Kiernan
OT		Newport, KYNewport Central Catholic HS6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)242 lb (110 kg)NAOct 10, 2006 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 3 stars.svg     Rivals: 3 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 40
Dale Martin
RB		Bolingbrook, ILBolingbrook HS5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)195 lb (88 kg)4.5Jan 6, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 4 stars.svg     Rivals: 4 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 77
Josh Miller
WR		Palatka, FLPalatka HS6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)182 lb (83 kg)4.5Jan 25, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 2 stars.svg     Rivals: 3 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 40
C.J. Peake
S		Trotwood, OHTrotwood-Madison HS6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)212 lb (96 kg)4.55Jan 26, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 3 stars.svg     Rivals: 4 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 76
Bilal Powell
S		Lakeland, FLLake Gibson Senior HS6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)200 lb (91 kg)4.5Jan 24, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 2 stars.svg     Rivals: 2 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 40
Matt Simms
QB		Ramsey, NJDon Bosco Prep School6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)200 lb (91 kg)4.8Jan 29, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 3 stars.svg     Rivals: 3 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 70
Chaz Thompson
CB		Weed, CACollege of the Siskiyous6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)195 lb (88 kg)4.35Jan 21, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 2 stars.svg     Rivals: 3 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: NA
Greg Tomczyk
OT		Princeton, NJThe Hun School6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)290 lb (130 kg)4.88Jan 17, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 3 stars.svg     Rivals: 3 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 60
Woodny Turenne
DB		Visalia, CACollege of the Sequoias6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg)4.34Jan 25, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 4 stars.svg     Rivals: 5 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: NA
Mark Wetterer
OG		Cincinnati, OHAnderson HS6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)292 lb (132 kg)5.3Dec 2, 2006 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 3 stars.svg     Rivals: 3 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 74
Willie Williams
LB		Culver City, CAWest Los Angeles6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)232 lb (105 kg)NAJan 25, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 4 stars.svg     Rivals: 3 stars.svg     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: NA
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #47   Rivals: #41
  • ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Louisville Commit List 2007". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  • "Scout.com Football Recruiting: Louisville". Scout.com. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  • "2007 Player Commitments - Louisville". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  • "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 14, 2007.

Pre-season honors

Three Cardinal players were honored as part of pre-season watchlists for national awards.

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]

NamePositionYear at
Louisville		 Alma Mater (Year)
Steve Kragthorpe Head coach1st West Texas A&M (1988)
Jeff Brohm Quarterbacks5thLouisville (1993)
Mike CassityDefensive coordinator
Safeties		4th Kentucky (1976)
Reggie JohnsonInside linebackers5thLouisville (1996)
Mark NelsonDefensive line
Special teams		1st East Central (1980)
Greg NordTight ends
Recruiting coordinator		13thKentucky (1980)
Charlie StubbsOffensive coordinator
Wide receivers		1st Brigham Young (1978)
Brent MyersOffensive line1st Eastern Washington (1982)
Tony Alford Running backs1st Colorado State (1992)
Mike MallorySecondary1st Michigan (1985)

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:30 pm Murray State *No. 10
 ESPNU W 73–1042,185 [19]
September 67:00 pm Middle Tennessee *No. 8
  • Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
  • Louisville, KY
 ESPN2 W 58–4240,882 [19]
September 157:30 pmat Kentucky *No. 9
 ESPN Classic L 34–4070,857 [19]
September 2212:00 pm Syracuse No. 18
  • Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
  • Louisville, KY
 ESPN+ L 35–3840,922 [19]
September 293:30 pmat NC State *
ESPNUW 29–1056,487 [19]
October 58:00 pm Utah *
  • Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
  • Louisville, KY
ESPNL 35–4440,894 [19]
October 137:00 pmat No. 17 Cincinnati
ESPNUW 28–2435,097 [19]
October 198:00 pmat Connecticut
ESPNL 17–2140,000 [19]
October 2712:00 pm Pittsburgh Dagger-14-plain.png
  • Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
  • Louisville, KY
ESPN+W 24–1734,792 [19]
November 87:30 pmat No. 6 West Virginia
ESPNL 31–3860,992 [19]
November 178:00 pmat South Florida
ESPNUL 17–5557,288 [19]
November 297:30 pm Rutgers
  • Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
  • Louisville, KY
ESPNW 41–3839,612 [19]

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References

  1. ↑ "2007 Louisville Cardinals Football Preview". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  2. ↑ "Louisville quarterback Brohm to return for senior season". Archived from the original on January 18, 2007. Retrieved January 16, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Cards Picked to Finish Second in BIG EAST in 2007". Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  4. ↑ "No. 13: Loaded Cardinals welcome Kragthorpe". athlonsports. Archived from the original on May 19, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2007.
  5. ↑ "SI.com - Writers - Stewart Mandel: Spring Power Rankings". SI.com. April 24, 2007. Archived from the original on April 27, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2007.
  6. ↑ "Schlabach: Revised early look at the top 25 for 2007". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  7. ↑ "Rivals.com College Football - Rivals.com 2007 Preseason Top 25". Rivals.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
  8. ↑ "Spring Top 25: Dear Mr. Dellins -- your Bruins are here". Sportsline.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
  9. ↑ "Falcons lure Louisville's Petrino to NFL with five-year deal". USA Today. January 8, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  10. ↑ "Louisville, Tulsa's Kragthorpe have agreement" . Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  11. 1 2 "Kragthorpe Announces Cardinal Coaching Staff". Archived from the original on January 16, 2007. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  12. ↑ "Four Cardinals Selected in the NFL Draft". Archived from the original on August 18, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  13. ↑ "Brohm Named to Manning Watch List". Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
  14. 1 2 "Wood and Grady Named to Preseason Watch Lists". Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
  15. ↑ "Brohm Named to Preseason All-American Team". Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
  16. ↑ "Alford Named as Kragthorpe Completes Coaching Staff". Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  17. ↑ "Patterson Leaves Louisville; Returns to Tulsa". Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  18. ↑ "Mallory Hired to Coach the Secondary". Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Cumulative Season Statistics". University of Louisville. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
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