For all their bluster, Louisville didn’t look ready to play.
Man, I hate using the line that every single radio host will surely use to describe the Cardinals, but they truly seemed like they didn’t want to win. Their normally solid line was porous, receivers dropped passes, they had false start penalties, their defense broke down in rollout scenarios, the whole nine yards. Petrino didn’t seem to care either. Their penalty ineptitude bordered on performance art, it was beautiful in a brutally ugly was. It was an infamous game for Louisville in every sense of the word.
Louisville OL be like… pic.twitter.com/n5OdvdXDiz
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) November 18, 2016
The Cards spent all week talking about how the playoff committee screwed them over. Maybe they should’ve been preparing mentally for a team that was very obviously prepared for them.
Hello, Big 12.
Now there’s a precedent for the Big 12 to sneak back into the playoff. This weekend’s game between Oklahoma and West Virginia will be crucial for each team, the winner will likely be in the driver’s seat in the conference, and they need just a few more things to fall into place to get back in the conversation.
11 sacks.
Not good for the Cardinals. What an absolute dominating performance by a Houston defense that definitely didn’t see Louisville’s plays. The Cougars dominated in every facet of the game, and it showed on the scoreboard and in the box score
There are no words to describe how dominant Ed Oliver is.
He’s a terror. A man-child. A Viking berserker. A freak. You can’t pigeonhole him into one aspect, because he’s honestly all of them. He’s the best player on the field everywhere he goes. He’s more than solid against the run and he was amazing in the pass rush in this game.
He’s also only a true freshman. That alone should scare the rest of the AAC. Two more years of possibly the best defensive tackle prospect in this decade. Good luck, y’all.
No, this doesn’t mean Houston is playoff bound.
The Cougars still have losses to Navy and SMU and a weak schedule outside of their two dominating wins against good teams. Those other wins against “lesser competition” are going to devalue their resume, no matter how good they played tonight.
It’s not going to happen. They lost to the wrong people. Houston is still having a fantastic season. Enjoy it, runs like this don’t come along often.
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