After facing one of the most difficult schedules in college football, the Florida Gators are expected to be heavy favorites when they face the upstart Louisville Cardinals in the Sugar Bowl.
The Gators (11-1) had four wins against teams currently in the top 12 of the BCS standings, beating two of them on the road, and won at Tennessee when the Volunteers were ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press poll.
Louisville, meanwhile, barely has played anyone. It is the only Big East school in the top 25 of the BCS, and Florida will be its lone ranked opponent this season.
“You’re facing a better football team and you don’t have to say much,” Cardinals coach Charlie Strong said of the Gators, who are third in the BCS. “Our players have respect for that program and they know how good that program is.”
Despite a fairly soft schedule, the Cardinals (10-2) looked like a legitimate BCS team early. They opened with nine consecutive wins before losing to Syracuse and Connecticut in back-to-back weeks. Those teams are a combined 12-12.
Louisville rebounded with a 20-17 win at Rutgers to clinch the conference title and landed at No. 21 in the BCS standings. For all the outrage over Northern Illinois busting into the Orange Bowl, the Huskies are six spots ahead of the Cardinals.
Florida and Louisville will meet Jan. 2 at the Superdome. With nearly a month until the game, the Gators will practice this week and the week before Christmas, then fly to New Orleans on Dec. 27.
During that time, they will prep for one of the country’s most successful passing attacks. Louisville averaged 298.6 yards per game through the air, more than 150 yards better than Florida. The Gators counter with a defense that ranks No. 15 in passing yardage and No. 1 in pass efficiency defense.
They will target Cardinals quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who starred at Northwestern High School in Miami. As a sophomore, he ranks in the top 25 in all major passing categories and has completed 69 percent of his passes, sixth in the nation.
He also averaged 5.2 yards per carry, not counting sacks, which presents an issue for the Gators, who struggled at times with mobile quarterbacks the past two seasons .
“He’s very accurate with the football and he’s a winner,” UF coach Will Muschamp said of Bridgewater. “A guy that can hurt you with his legs is tough to defend because of the off-rhythm plays those guys are able to make that you can’t account for within the scheme.”
Five Cardinals caught at least 30 passes this season, led by Damian Copeland with 48 receptions for 597 yards and a touchdown.
Louisville rushes for 127.1 yards per game, which is in the bottom 20 nationally, and is facing the country’s No. 6 run defense. UF is one of eight teams holding opponents under 100 yards per game.
Strong, Florida’s defensive coordinator from 2003 through ’09, turned Louisville into one of the Big East’s top defenses. It is 25th in the nation in total defense (344.8 yards allowed per game) and 37th in scoring defense (23.8).
He has indelible ties to the Gators and admitted he watches them almost every week. He recruited and coached several of the veterans, including Jon Bostic, Jelani Jenkins, Omar Hunter and Lerentee McCray.
“Every now and then, you get a call from a Lerentee or a Bostic and they say, ‘Hey Coach, I’m excited for you, happy to see you guys playing the way you’re playing,’ ” Strong said. “Anyone that you’ve ever recruited, you like to watch their success and see how well they are doing.”
Whether Strong will make it to New Orleans for a reunion is in question. He is linked to openings at Auburn, Arkansas and other schools. If he takes a new job, he probably will not coach in the Sugar Bowl.
About the Author
