University of Louisville tight end Pete Nochta surveyed the Atlantic Ocean view from his Trump Hotel balcony on New Year's Eve 2006 feeling like royalty.
U of L football was king and on the verge of its crowning moment playing in the 2007 Orange Bowl. Nochta believed the program was positioned for a prolonged stretch of more Bowl Championship Series and other big postseason games.
Their reign on top was short-lived, but Friday represents a chance to take a step in that direction.
Nochta is one of 13 current fifth-year seniors trying to get back to a bowl game — the first they would get a chance to play in — when the Cardinals (5-6, 2-4 Big East) travel to Rutgers (4-6, 1-4).
It's a must win for the Cards, who need it to become bowl-eligible.
“All I can tell the young guys, from my personal experience, is you can't take anything for granted,”
Nochta said. “I thought I was going to go to five bowls and have all these rings.”
So did Brandon Heath, who remembered the Orange Bowl not only for being arguably the biggest win in program history, but the highlight of his career.
“I was telling the freshmen, it's the best experience of my life,”
Heath said, “when you go to a bowl game and they shower you with gifts and you're playing while a lot of teams at home are wanting to be in that position.”
The seniors who know what it's like all want to be back in that position.
Until now, all they have are their Orange Bowl game jerseys and a commemorative ring as reminders of what a bowl experience is like. Some players like defensive end Rodney Gnat and cornerback Johnny Patrick still wear their rings to this day.
That's why Gnat said it's so important the Cards earn a bowl trip this season.
“It will give the seniors a little taste of something we thought we would have the whole time we were here,”
Gnat said. “It would be a nice reward, especially since we're almost in the same situation that we were two years ago, going to Rutgers trying to be 6-6. To me it will be a little redemption.”
It would mean something else to the Cards' current class of freshmen. U of L played 10 true freshmen this season, and the 11 who haven't played would suddenly become the focus of practice.
