NCAA ESPN Football: Rutgers at Louisville
November 29, 2007
The University of Rutgers travel to Louisville to take on the Cardinals on a Thursday Night ESPN game. The oddsmakers have installed Louisville as two point favorites.
Though many Rutgers fans hoped there would be a little more at stake heading into this final bye week of the season, at least the Scarlet Knight fans can take solace that it could be worse. It could be Louisville.
The Cardinals, who the Scarlet Knights will face in the regular-season finale tonight, were also expected to be in contention for a BCS berth. Instead, quarterback Brian Brohm and the rest of the Louisville squad will miss the postseason with a losing record, victims of a year that has gone horribly wrong.
So if the Scarlet Knights were so inclined, they could have spent the Thanksgiving off week counting their blessings.
First and foremost, the Rutgers faithful are thankful for Ray Rice, the junior running back who is poised to rewrite the school record book for the second year in a row. He's also one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award honoring the best collegiate running back. Everyone would be even more thankful if he decided to return for his senior season.
The defense has also done much to be thankful for in recent weeks, making up for a scoring punch that has been less potent. Senior defensive tackle Eric Foster leads a unit that shut down Pittsburgh a week ago to save the team from an embarrassing loss.
Finally, everyone can be thankful that the Scarlet Knights are going bowling for the third year in a row. Destinations like Charlotte, Toronto or Birmingham may not be what the team hoped for in August, but things could be worse. Just look at Louisville.
DE Peanut Whitehead's career was ended last week when he was diagnosed with congenital cervical spinal stenosis. It's the same career-ending disorder that OG Mike Donoghue was discovered to have after last month's Cincinnati game; Donoghue's career is over, too.
The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Whitehead played in 22 games during his Louisville career, recording 41 tackles and six sacks. He was one of the most decorated defensive recruits ever to sign with the Cardinals, whom he chose over Auburn and Alabama out of West End High School in Birmingham.
Brohm threw three interceptions against South Florida, the most picks in a game he's ever thrown — in high school or college. But two of the interceptions went through receivers' hands, and another came on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half.
Brohm became the Big East's all-time passing leader with 9,719 career yards, passing Miami's Ken Dorsey despite playing just three seasons in the conference. His touchdown pass against South Florida was his 29th this season, tying him for the single-season school record shared by Chris Redman.
QB Hunter Cantwell saw his most significant action of the season when he played the entire fourth quarter. The junior, who's considered a top NFL prospect, had only thrown two passes all season, both of them coming in the season opener against Murray State. At South Florida, Cantwell was 6-for-12 for 60 yards and an interception.
