Rutgers football drops chance to win Big East Conference championship

Ahead by two scores entering the second half Thursday, Rutgers lost to Louisville, 20-17, in the de facto Big East Conference championship game.

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Well, this is the big one.

By the time the final whistle sounds in tonight's Big East matchup between Rutgers (5-1, 9-2) and Louisville (4-2, 9-2) we'll have a league champion and a BCS bowl bid for one squad. The other squad won't have much more than a finished season to their name.

When they came up with the phrase big-game, they were thinking about tonight's game.

Both Rutgers and Louisville are coming off disappointing losses last week, but for the Scarlet Knights, who lost to Pittsburgh in their greatest point margin all season might just have a little bit more on the line in today's 7:31 kickoff.

The Scarlet Knights have never won a Big East championship outright.

A victory tonight would ensure that, as well as Rutgers third 10-win season in 143 years of Scarlet Knight football. A win would make Kyle Flood the only first-year coach to rack up 10 victories and would set a school record for most Big East victories in a single season.
This is big.

But don't expect the Scarlet Knights to approach tonight's matchup any differently than they have all season long.

"I think you've got to block it all out," Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said. "The thing we talk and we preach to the players is we need to approach this game the exact same way we approached the first 11 games and do everything we can to prepare, practice as well as we can, execute our offense."

The Scarlet Knights are going to have to find some kind of spark in their offense if they hope to take down Louisville tonight.

Despite hitting the 1,000-yard mark on the season - and adding extra four yards for good measure - Jawan Jamison was severely limited last Saturday, rushing for just 14 yards on nine carries.

Starting quarterback Gary Nova meanwhile, who has 13 interceptions to his name this season , was picked off once in last week's loss, finishing 18-of-37 for 157 total yards.

"We're going to attack on offense in every game," Flood said. "Unfortunately if you don't execute, it doesn't look very good. Last Saturday we didn't have enough plays really to get much done, and that's unfortunate."

The Scarlet Knights will presumably get an offensive bump from Jamison who, after being hindered by an ankle injury in the past few games, is expected to be back at full speed and total health in tonight's Big East matchup.

On the Cardinals' side of the ball, starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, suffering from a broken wrist on his non-throwing arm, is fully expected to start under center tonight, although the offense will certainly have to shift to accommodate his injury.

"He is one of the premier offensive players in our conference," Flood said of the opposing QB. "He really is the total package at quarterback."

Louisville will also be without running back Senorise Perry, who was injured in the loss to Syracuse two weeks ago and did not play in last Saturday's game against Connecticut.

Junior Jeremy Wright will take over the starting spot, following up on a 43 yard performance last week. Meanwhile wide receiver Scott Radcliff is questionable with an undisclosed condition, while defensive end B.J. Dubose is also questionable due to a suspension.

Tonight's matchup will be nationally broadcast on ESPN, with game streams also available on WatchESPN.c.om and ESPN3

As of Wednesday, Rutgers was the three-point favorite over Louisville.

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It was the game that would not end.

The No. 23 Louisville (4-2, 9-2) football team simply could not get off the field last Saturday, dropping a 23-20 triple overtime loss to Connecticut; the second straight loss for the Cardinals.

But going into this Thursday's final game of the season against No. 25 Rutgers, a game Louisville has to win if they want to keep their BCS bowl hopes alive, the Cardinals are feeling anything but a lack of confidence.

"You always want to talk about confidence, because when you go on the road, it's a confidence thing," Louisville coach Charlie Strong said. "You have to walk in there knowing that you are going to win the football game. Confidence isn't shaken right now."

The big question for the Cardinals going into the mid-week matchup is the overall health of their starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

The sophomore suffered a broken left wrist - his non-throwing hand - in Saturday's overtime loss and while the injury obviously won't affect the way he throws the ball, the Cardinals are still going to have to make some offensive adjustments.

The short practice schedule also makes recovery time difficult, forcing Bridgewater and the Cardinals offense into a very limited group of options.

"He cannot go underneath center and take a snap," Strong said. "Everything is from the shotgun, so he can catch the snap. The thing we have to do is protect Teddy."

Of course, Bridgewater's injury opens a brand-new avenue of options for the Scarlet Knights defense; a squad that has been the crux of Rutgers' nationally ranked success all season.

"I think as you get into the game, if you find he's a little less mobile, probably means they won't run him as much, and possibly your play calling could change a little bit defensively," Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said of the injured quarterback.

After giving up the most points in a single game all season in last week's loss to Pittsburgh, the Rutgers defense is almost certainly going to be gunning for the Cardinals.

And Louisville knows it.

"If you watch them, they bring a lot of pressure," Strong said. "(Khaseem) Greene is probably one of the best defensive players in the conference. They like to pressure you a lot."

In a game that both teams need to win if they want to keep their bowl hopes alive, hopes that would be record-making for both programs, the Scarlet Knights and the Cardinals are going to have to move past the losses and the injuries and find the confidence that has led them both all season long.

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