Petrino Previews Senior Day and Virginia
November 09, 2015 | Football
A total of 13 seniors will play their final game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Senior class owns a 37-11 overall record.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino has only been with this current group of seniors for two seasons, but he understands the impact these 13 players have had on the program over the last four years.
The class has been one of the most successful in the history of the school posting a record of 37-11 and have had an immeasurable impact on the football program. Under this group the Cardinals won two big bowl games, defeating third-ranked Florida in the 2013 Sugar Bowl and hammering Miami in the 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl.
"Those guys have done a great job here, two years or some of them three years when Charlie was here and won a lot of games, set a lot of standards and they have been great leaders since I have got here," Petrino said. "A lot of them produced and did a great job last year, certainly they have been the leaders of the team this year. What I always tell the seniors is that this is their last home game, we need to find a way to win the game, it is up to them to prepare and it is up to all the coaches and underclassmen to do everything that we can do to so the seniors can go out with a win in their last game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. It is certainly one of those things that it is amazing how quick time flies and nobody really believes that until this is their last game they get to play."
Junior running back Brandon Radcliff also wants to see this class play their final game at home as winner.
"Coach Petrino stresed to us the importance of winning this game for the senior," Radcliff said. "He said they meant so much to this program and he wanted to make sure we did  everything we can to send them out as winners."
Winners is what the Cardinals have been since a difficult 0-3 start. Since losing the first three contests, the Cardinals have won five of their last six games to move to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in the ACC. Louisville dominated Syracuse 41-17 on Saturday behind one of the most complete performances of the season. The Cardinals totaled a season-high 579 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers to secure their third-straight win.
"Well it challenges your beliefs that is for sure," Petrino said of the team's 0-3 start. "You just have to keep talking with myself and the coaches and people that I have relied on for a lot of advice in my life and you really need to stick to what you believe and believe that the system will work. My dad used to always tell me that if you keep changing everything, you will never get good. So you have got to be able to believe in what you believe in and keep working at it but it was hard, there is no question that it was hard but we also got beat by some really good teams."
The Cardinals were balanced offensively passing 36 times and running 31 times, which is what Petrino hopes to do each week with his game plan. This was the first time this season the Cards showed balance and it really paid off.
"That is what you strive for and really what I try to do is be 50 percent run to pass on first and 10," Petrino said. "I really try and work at hard and then I just let the situations play out a little bit. Sometimes it always gets off a little bit because of two-minute drives because you are probably going to throw the ball often and that is one of the things I am really proud of is the last two games the two minute drives before half, our offense has really produced and got the ball in the end-zone and they have been real critical series for us. So we have been doing a really good job executing at that tempo."
Washington Named Defensive Back of the Week
Head coach Bobby Petrino likes big cornerbacks, but sometimes he sees something in players that makes him throw the statistics out the window, and he did that with sophomore Trumaine Washington. At 5-foot-9, 183 pounds, Washington is smaller than Petrino would like, but he loves what he has in the second-year cornerback. A native of Miami, Fla., Washington was named the ACC Defensive Back of the Week after his 12-tackle performance and  also returned an interception for a touchdown.
"He is like Terrell Buckley," Petrino said of Washington. "He is a little guy with a big heart and thinks he is tougher than anyone else in the room. That is why he can play and that is why he came here and played right away as a true freshman was because how much he believes in himself so it is a real credit to him."
Cards Close Home Season Versus Virginia
The Cardinals will face Virginia this weekend in the final home game of the season. Head coach Bobby Petrino, who is 10-0 in Senior Day games, will try to get his team to avenge last season's 23-21 loss to the Cavaliers on the road. Ian Frye booted a field goal in the last thre minutes to hand the Cardinals their first loss of the season in 2014.
"Yeah they are talented, when you watch them on video you go wow these guys are talented and we knew that last year when we played them last year," Petrino said. "They have lost a couple of their rush guys that we really had a hard time with last year and they have been a little bit up and down with their consistency. We watched as an offensive coach, we watched their offensive last week against Syracuse and they have a good scheme, they have some speed and it certainly is going to be a good challenge for us."
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The class has been one of the most successful in the history of the school posting a record of 37-11 and have had an immeasurable impact on the football program. Under this group the Cardinals won two big bowl games, defeating third-ranked Florida in the 2013 Sugar Bowl and hammering Miami in the 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl.
"Those guys have done a great job here, two years or some of them three years when Charlie was here and won a lot of games, set a lot of standards and they have been great leaders since I have got here," Petrino said. "A lot of them produced and did a great job last year, certainly they have been the leaders of the team this year. What I always tell the seniors is that this is their last home game, we need to find a way to win the game, it is up to them to prepare and it is up to all the coaches and underclassmen to do everything that we can do to so the seniors can go out with a win in their last game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. It is certainly one of those things that it is amazing how quick time flies and nobody really believes that until this is their last game they get to play."
Junior running back Brandon Radcliff also wants to see this class play their final game at home as winner.
"Coach Petrino stresed to us the importance of winning this game for the senior," Radcliff said. "He said they meant so much to this program and he wanted to make sure we did  everything we can to send them out as winners."
Winners is what the Cardinals have been since a difficult 0-3 start. Since losing the first three contests, the Cardinals have won five of their last six games to move to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in the ACC. Louisville dominated Syracuse 41-17 on Saturday behind one of the most complete performances of the season. The Cardinals totaled a season-high 579 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers to secure their third-straight win.
"Well it challenges your beliefs that is for sure," Petrino said of the team's 0-3 start. "You just have to keep talking with myself and the coaches and people that I have relied on for a lot of advice in my life and you really need to stick to what you believe and believe that the system will work. My dad used to always tell me that if you keep changing everything, you will never get good. So you have got to be able to believe in what you believe in and keep working at it but it was hard, there is no question that it was hard but we also got beat by some really good teams."
The Cardinals were balanced offensively passing 36 times and running 31 times, which is what Petrino hopes to do each week with his game plan. This was the first time this season the Cards showed balance and it really paid off.
"That is what you strive for and really what I try to do is be 50 percent run to pass on first and 10," Petrino said. "I really try and work at hard and then I just let the situations play out a little bit. Sometimes it always gets off a little bit because of two-minute drives because you are probably going to throw the ball often and that is one of the things I am really proud of is the last two games the two minute drives before half, our offense has really produced and got the ball in the end-zone and they have been real critical series for us. So we have been doing a really good job executing at that tempo."
Washington Named Defensive Back of the Week
Head coach Bobby Petrino likes big cornerbacks, but sometimes he sees something in players that makes him throw the statistics out the window, and he did that with sophomore Trumaine Washington. At 5-foot-9, 183 pounds, Washington is smaller than Petrino would like, but he loves what he has in the second-year cornerback. A native of Miami, Fla., Washington was named the ACC Defensive Back of the Week after his 12-tackle performance and  also returned an interception for a touchdown.
"He is like Terrell Buckley," Petrino said of Washington. "He is a little guy with a big heart and thinks he is tougher than anyone else in the room. That is why he can play and that is why he came here and played right away as a true freshman was because how much he believes in himself so it is a real credit to him."
Cards Close Home Season Versus Virginia
The Cardinals will face Virginia this weekend in the final home game of the season. Head coach Bobby Petrino, who is 10-0 in Senior Day games, will try to get his team to avenge last season's 23-21 loss to the Cavaliers on the road. Ian Frye booted a field goal in the last thre minutes to hand the Cardinals their first loss of the season in 2014.
"Yeah they are talented, when you watch them on video you go wow these guys are talented and we knew that last year when we played them last year," Petrino said. "They have lost a couple of their rush guys that we really had a hard time with last year and they have been a little bit up and down with their consistency. We watched as an offensive coach, we watched their offensive last week against Syracuse and they have a good scheme, they have some speed and it certainly is going to be a good challenge for us."
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