Louisville has been one of the surprise teams in college football this season, remaining undefeated after seven games. The team is right behind Rutgers for first place in the Big East, but they face a big challenge on Friday night against the third place Cincinnati Bearcats.
The Cardinals enter the game following a tough 27-25 win against South Florida last Saturday, while the Bearcats are coming off of a disappointing loss to unranked Toledo 29-23.
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has put up great numbers for Louisville, throwing for nearly 1,700 yards and 11 touchdowns with only three interceptions.
"He just continues to get better," coach Charlie Strong said. "If you watch each game, he just continues to develop more."
Bridgewater's improvement from last season has helped the team stay undefeated and he is completing 73 percent of his passes, good for third in the nation.
"I have high expectations of myself," Bridgewater said. "My goal every game is to be at 80 percent (completion percentage) or higher."
Bridgewater was huge in Saturdays win against South Florida. Down 25-20 with less than two minutes left in the game, the quarterback threw a perfect 11-yard touchdown to Eli Rogers to give the Cardinals the lead with 1:35 left in the game. The defense held strong and gave the Cardinals the win.
The play of junior running back Senorise Perry has been crucial in Louisville's' biggest games, including the Oct. 13 win against Pittsburgh. Perry had 101 yards and four touchdowns against the Panthers.
"We have to be able to run the football," Strong said.
The Cardinals are playing well offensively and rank in the top half of the country in rushing and passing offense. The team is also scoring 32 points per game, one of the highest in the Big East.
But some critics see Louisville's unblemished record as more of a result of their schedule rather than how good their team is. So far this season all but one of the teams wins has come against opponents whose records are under .500, according to ESPN.com.
Louisville will have a chance to silence the doubters against Cincinnati.
The Bearcats enter the game at 5-1 after a crushing 29-23 loss at Toledo last Saturday. The team didn't do itself any favors, falling behind 13-0 early in the second quarter.
Cincinnati quarterback Munchie Legaux had a rough game against Toledo, throwing for just 227 yards and two interceptions. Legaux will have to play much better if the Bearcats hope to win Saturday.
The multi-talented quarterback has shown off his skills this season in Cincinnati's five wins, including a three touchdown performance against Virginia Tech on Sept. 29.
"We're going to have to play pretty good defense, because I know their quarterback is a runner and a thrower," Strong said.
The team has played well on defense, but allowed a season-high 229 yards rushing against Toledo. If the team doesn't come together on Saturday, Louisville running back Senorise Perry could have a big day. Against Toledo the Bearcats kept the offense out of the end zone, but allowed an interception return and kick return go for a touchdown.
"If you would have told me that our defense would hold the explosive Toledo offense scoreless in terms of touchdowns, I would feel pretty confident that we would win the game," Cincinnati coach Butch Jones said.
Cincinnati's offense has been high-powered all season and will be a challenge for the Cardinals. The team has averaged 467 yards per game, which is the best in the Big East, and running back George Winn has been stellar this season, rushing for 607 yards and four touchdowns.
Last season when the two teams faced off Louisville fell 25-16 on the road in Cincinnati. This time the game is in Louisville and gives Bridgewater a chance to make up for last year's performance when he was shut out of the end zone.
WATCH the Cincinnati Vs. Louisville LIVE STREAM by clicking HERE.
(**Sports World Report does not endorse the live streaming of the games of the sites it has linked to. It has no control over the content of the website and thus does not warrant that it is error or virus free or free of other harmful components.)
