The Louisville Cardinals Case For The BCS Title

Teddy Bridgewater. Photo courtesy of www.CBSSports.com

The last seven BCS national champions have come from the Southeastern Conference. Florida (2006, 2008), LSU (2007), Auburn (2010), and most recently and frequently, Alabama (2009, 2011, 2012). Most college football fans ask the question, "who can be the next non-SEC team to reign supreme on top of the BCS?" Look no further than the Louisville Cardinals.

The Cardinals have all the ingredients to make a BCS title run in 2013. They are led by Heisman hopeful Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater is coming off a sensational sophomore season. He threw for 3,718 yards along with 27 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions. Most fans shrug off those numbers because he was playing in what most fans believe is the weakest BCS conference top to bottom. 

A true test for the sophomore quarterback would come on January 2, 2013 when he led his Louisville Cardinals into New Orleans for the 2013 Sugar Bowl against the Florida Gators. The Gators were nearly a 14 point favorite. 

The Gators were 11-1 with their only loss coming to the Georgia Bulldogs who were literally yards away from playing for and maybe even winning the BCS national championship. The Gators had a fierce defense only giving up 14.5 points a game which ranked fifth in the nation. On paper, there was no way Florida could lose this game. That's why we play the game folks.

On Florida's first play from scrimmage, Gators QB Jeff Driskel threw a pick six and never recovered. Louisville would go on to win the game 33-23 with an MVP worthy performance from Teddy Bridgewater throwing for 266 yards and two scores.

Now let's talk about 2013. The Big East no longer exist. Louisville is now apart of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Charlie Strong is entering his fourth season as head coach. Strong has already won national titles with Urban Meyer at Florida. He has his star quarterback returning. His top four targets from 2012 are returning in Damian Copeland, Eli Rogers, Jeremy Wright, and All-conference receiver DeVante Parker. Also returning for the Cardinals is nearly the entire defense. They may not have statistically been the best defense, but experience will be the key for them this season.

There is also a huge addition to this offense that could take a little pressure off of Bridgewater. His name is Michael Dyer. For those of you who don't remember Michael Dyer, he was the MVP of the 2011 BCS national championship game that included one Cam Newton. He is a little more famous for the play that essentially won them the game where he was tackled but was never down. Everyone in the building thought he was down, but Dyer kept on running down the field after he rolled over the defender without his knees touching the turf.

Louisville will undoubtedly be favorites in every game this season. If they land a 12-0 regular season, then I don't see why they shouldn't be playing for a national championship in Pasadena. I personally expect to see the Louisville Cardinals playing for the BCS title come January. Who will they play in the BCS title game? Alabama? Ohio State? Georgia? Maybe even Texas A&M if Johnny Manziel maintains his eligibility. Only time will tell. That's why we play the game.