Top 10 Moments of 2010: Number 2

Number 2: Patrick Hampton's 4th-and-1 tackle vs. Louisville

Louisville was looking brand new with the debut of new coach Charlie Strong. Their defense was more powerful and they looked more like a respectable football team. USF came to town coming off conference wins against Cincinnati and Rutgers and was looking to build on their momentum. The Cards and Bulls battled it out, exchanging highlight reel plays for the duration of the game. But Louisville made one mistake: sending the game into overtime.

USF was undefeated in overtime games at this time, but Louisville had momentum. Right from the start, the Cards were driving up until they got inside the 10 yard line. Several empty attempts at one more first down left Louisville with a 4th-and-1 inside the 10. Strong had a decision to make, and its result could potentially seal this game for either team. Louisville sent out their offense to the surprise of Bulls fans and Cardinals fans alike. Running back Bilal Powell got the ball to plunge forward in the direction of the goal line. In mid-air, and mid-line of scrimmage Powell was met by USF lineman Patrick Hampton and was stopped. Every fan watching the game held their breath. Was it Powell's momentum, or Hampton's leverage that would win the battle for one yard? The officials took out the chains for an official measurement, only to determine that Powell was stopped for no gain. The ball now belonged to USF, and the Bulls wasted no time getting into field goal range and kicking a 38-yarder to win yet another overtime game.

Big East Football Preview: Louisville

Let's continue down our path of Big East football teams today with Louisville. In new head coach Charlie Strong's first year, the Cardinals finished 7-6 with a win over their old Conference-USA rival, Southern Mississippi. Since then, Strong has hit the recruiting trail hard and has been pulling some major commitments from some of the top high school players in the nation.

2010 Record: 7-6

Much of Louisville's quick turnaround can be credited to the defensive play that Charlie Strong brought from his days as defensive coordinator at Florida. Offensively, Louisville was consistent, but nothing really stood out. Led by QB Adam Froman and RB Bilal Powell, Louisville didn't have too hard of a time putting points on the board, and four of their five losses were within a touchdown, including their overtime loss to USF, which was a thriller up until the very end. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, those two star players that led the team to their success have now left. Powell got drafted by the Jets (yay!) and Froman is waiting for the lockout to subside. As of now, the season appears unclear for Louisville, as their passing game may very well rest on the shoulders of freshman Teddy Bridgewater is junior Will Stein can't produce. Their non-conference schedule is manageable, but they'll have a rough time getting prepared for conference play afterward. FIU is their first FBS opponent, and they shouldn't be taken lightly. After that, they travel across the state to rival Kentucky, and they close out their non-conference schedule with North Carolina. They also have to play away from home against two of the three toughest teams in the conference.

This year will be successful if: Louisville can get above .500 in conference play. They'll get a good shot at that, with likely chances at victories over Cincinnati and Rutgers to open their conference schedule. I consider their games against Syracuse and Pittsburgh both toss-ups. I don't see them beating West Virginia, and they'll have a lot of trouble with USF. If they can win one of those toss-up games, they can finish with a 4-3 conference record and a good standing going into the postseason.

2011 Record: 8-5. I think they'll get those four Big East wins, and win four of their five non-conference games. As long as they can get one of those two BCS wins, Louisville will be on their way to a decent bowl game with an 8-4 record, but I think their lack of seniority will cost them the bowl win. An 8-5 season is an improvement on last year, and I'd consider that a success at this point in Louisville's building process.

End of Spring Top 25

With the conclusion of spring practices last weekend, we fans have a long summer of anticipation ahead of us with no football talk until summer practices begin. I spent last summer on the couch every day looking for recruiting news and waiting for ESPN to start talking college football. Take my advice: don't do that. Sure, you'll be well-informed and know pretty much everything there is to know around the world of college football, but you'll lose your mind with the anticipation of football season. Of course, there are just 112 days until USF kicks off in South Bend, but if I don't learn to be patient, I don't think I'll even make it to September 3rd. The best way we here at TBR had to cope with the suffering of waiting was to compose our own Top 25. By the beginning of the season we're going to have input from bloggers all around the Big East, but for now we're going solo. So, without any more delay, check out where we placed the Top 25 teams in the nation after the jump.