Grantham, Cardinals Prepare for Kentucky and Senior Day
November 26, 2014 | Football
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville football team will welcome arch-rival Kentucky to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Saturday for the 27th Battle for the Governor's Cup.
Preparing for a game against your biggest rival is never an easy task, but it's even harder when your team is just a handful of days removed from arguably its most high-profile victory of the season. Last Saturday, the No. 22 Cardinals journeyed to South Bend, Ind., where the team earned an emotional 31-28 victory over Notre Dame.
The win was big in more ways than one, as the Cardinals not only began a series that will meet three more times in the next six seasons with a victory, but also continued to position themselves for the postseason.
For defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, it is the lessons learned from their victory over the Irish that will prove helpful when the Cards take the field against the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.
Referencing the 22 second half points scored by Notre Dame in the third and fourth quarters last weekend, Grantham stated that moving forward, "I think the big thing is, we need to come out in the second half and finish, play a little more consistent right there."
On the other end of the spectrum, Grantham did find things the defense will need to carry over from the win in order to be successful against Kentucky. Despite the furious push by the Irish to, at one point, swing the 17-6 Louisville lead into a 20-17 Notre Dame advantage, the Cardinals showed the heart to recapture and maintain a late lead.
"I think we showed some mental toughness and resolve to kind of come back and get control of the game, and then find a way to stop them there to win the game," Grantham said. "They were a talented team, there were some battles in there."
The Cardinals will face another talented team in the Wildcats, who despite their 5-6 record, have shown the ability to be explosive on offense. While averaging 28.2 points and 389.5 yards of offense per game, the Cats have scored 40 or more points three times, including a 59-point showing against UT-Martin to open the season, and a 45-point output versus South Carolina.
"The biggest thing right now, obviously, is just looking forward to playing Kentucky," Grantham said. "It's a huge game. It's one that can get us to another win, get us to nine wins."
Voicing concern about the potentially powerful Kentucky offense, Grantham referenced Wildcat sophomore quarterback Patrick Towles. Taking over this season as the full-time starter, Towles has been impressive. Completing 58 percent of his throws, Towles has posted 14 touchdown passes and has racked up more than 2,542 yards. A threat on the ground as well, Towles leads the Wildcats with six rushing scores.
"He's a really competitive guy, an excellent quarterback," Grantham said of Towles. "He has talented guys around him, he makes plays both throwing the ball and running. Any time your quarterback is a competitive guy, it enhances the players around him. We understand we have a challenge in their offense."
In addition to facing their rival, the Cardinals will also be saying goodbye to a handful of seniors. Along with being one of the winningest senior classes in Louisville football history, the 2014-15 class has responded to a coaching change this offseason to capture a fourth-straight winning season.
"They've established an identity for this program, they got it moving in the right direction. When we came in, they really embraced what we were doing and bought in to our system. It's allowed us to be successful and to do the things that we've done."
Surely, a win over a rival would be the perfect endnote to a great four years.
"It's important that we continue to work hard and prepare, because we need to send those guys out the right way."
