Strong Previews Friday's Home Game Against FIU
September 05, 2011 | Football
Sept. 5, 2011
• Game Day Central
FREE VIDEO
Charlie Strong
FREE AUDIO
Charlie Strong | Alex Kupper
PRESS QUOTES
Charlie Strong Quotes 
| Alex Kupper Quotes
GAME NOTES
Louisville vs. FIU
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville head coach Charlie Strong and junior offensive lineman Alex Kupper met with reporters on Monday to preview the Cardinals' upcoming home game against Florida International. The Cardinals and Panthers will kick off on Friday at 7 p.m. at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN.
The Game
Junior Will Stein made his third career start at quarterback and threw for 226 yards and a pair of scores in the Cardinals' season-opening win over Murray State last Thursday. The 5-foot-10 signal-caller completed 17-of-32 passes and tossed a touchdown pass of four yards to junior Scott Radcliff and a 39-yarder to true freshman DeVante Parker. All 21 points were scored by players who hail from the city of Louisville. Radcliff scored the first points of the year with his touchdown reception and senior Victor Anderson made it 14-0 with a two-yard run. Parker closed out the scoring for the Cardinals with his long-scoring reception.
Anderson carried nine times for 61 yards and caught three passes for 23 yards, while Parker caught three passes for 55 yards in his first collegiate game. Senior Josh Bellamy was the Cards' leading receiver with four receptions for 37 yards.
The Cardinals totaled 385 yards of total offense, but were victimized by four turnovers, including one on the Murray State 18-yard line.
Louisville's defense was stellar, allowing just 291 yards of total offense and just 148 through the air. Louisville picked off Casey Brockman three times, the first career picks for Dexter Heyman, Anthony Conner and Mike Evans. The Cardinals also registered a pair of sacks.
Making his first career start at linebacker, Preston Brown recorded a career-best 12 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Heyman also recorded a double-digit tackle game with 12 stops, 1.5 tackles for loss and his first career interception.
The Panthers opened the 2011 season with an impressive 41-16 conference win at home over North Texas. The Panthers raced out to a 28-0 first quarter lead and never looked back. T.Y. Hilton recorded seven receptions for 132 yards and one score, while Wesley Carroll was 16-of-22 passing for 193 yards and one touchdown.
The Series
fnThe Cardinals and Panthers are meeting for the first time in school history when the two schools face each other on Friday, Sept. 9. Louisville owns a 34-24 all-time record against teams from the Sun Belt Conference.
The Coaches
Louisville: Charlie Strong is in his second season as head coach of the Cardinals. Strong owns an 8-7 overall record after going 7-6 in his first year as head coach of the Cardinals. He went 0-1 as interim coach at Florida in 2004. Strong is 3-4 vs. the BIG EAST; 5-2 vs. non-conference opponents; 4-4 at home; 3-2 on the road.
FIU: Mario Cristobal is 23-39 in five seasons as head coach at FIU and in his career.
GAME FACTS - Louisville (1-0) vs. FIU (1-0)
Date: Friday, Sept. 9
Time: 7:02 p.m. ET
Site: Papa John¡¦s Cardinal Stadium (55,000), Louisville, Ky.
TV: ESPN will televise the game live with Bob Wischusen (play-by-play) and Bob Davie (analyst) calling the action
Radio: Paul Rogers (play-by-play), Tony Stallings (analyst) and Doug Ormay (sideline) will call all the action on the Louisville Sports Radio Network, available in Louisville on WHAS 840 AM/WKRD 790 AM. Live audio of the game is also available online at UofLsports.com and on SIRIUS satellite radio on channel 91.
Rankings: Both teams are unranked in this week's national polls.
