Louisville opens with romp against archrival Kentucky

LOUISVILLE – Watching Teddy Bridgewater direct the University of Louisville's offense Sunday in a 32-14 victory against Kentucky before a record 55,386 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium gave the impression he could do whatever he needed to do.

By Jamie Rhodes,, U.S. Presswire

Teddy Bridgewater moved above .500 (6-5) as a starter in his second season at Louisville.

By Jamie Rhodes,, U.S. Presswire

Teddy Bridgewater moved above .500 (6-5) as a starter in his second season at Louisville.

When Kai Dominquez muffed a punt, forcing the Cardinals to begin their opening possession from their 1-yard line, Bridgewater simply directed a 99-yard touchdown drive. It was the first time since 2007 that the Cards scored on their first series of a season.

The play that might have summarized Bridgewater's nearly flawless game came on that first drive. One third-and-9 from the 2, he threw a 23-yard strike to Damian Copeland. The Cards faced only one more third down on that drive.

"Last year I felt I was just playing football just to play, just to be out there," Bridgewater said. "Now I'm playing with a purpose. And playing quarterback you have to be the manager; you have to be the leader of the team. So I did a great job managing the game."

The sophomore was 19-for-21 (a school-record 90.5% completions) for 232 yards and sat out the fourth quarter. Coach Charlie Strong replaced him for the final series of the third quarter with senior Will Stein, who was the starter last year before getting hurt in the UK game.

It might have seemed early to go with Stein, considering the Wildcats marched to Louisville's 5 on their first possession of the fourth quarter. But that threat ended when CoShik Williams lost the Wildcats' second fumble of the game.

But even if Kentucky had pulled within 11 points, the Cards were confident Bridgewater could have come back in to erase any of their mistakes. Strong, however, said he was certain Stein would finish the game.

"Once I took Teddy out I was going to leave Stein in the game," Strong said. "They turned the ball over, so I guess I'll never be able to find that out."

But Bridgewater has the confidence of his teammates.

"He's been on all summer and all camp," center Mario Benavides said, later adding, "Obviously, there are areas for improvement, but knowing he's back there really helps a lot."

Bridgewater led touchdown drives on the Cards' first three series — marches of 99, 85 and 93 yards —and they never trailed en route to their first home victory against Kentucky since 2006.

"You can't give up 76 yards on four-plus drives," Wildcats coach Joker Phillips said. "You can't do that, and we are better than that on defense."

Maybe, but Bridgewater made it seem otherwise.

As a freshman last season, he filled in against UK after Stein was hurt, and he lived up to the recruiting hype by leading the Cards to a 24-17 victory in Lexington. His first game as a sophomore made another statement.

"A year ago I don't know if he was really locked in," Strong said. "He wanted to be the quarterback, but it's almost he didn't want to study the game to go be the quarterback. So now it's just a totally different ballgame."

It certainly helped that the Cards' running game proved to be better than it was last season. They produced two 100-yard rushers in a game for the first time since 2010, with Senorise Perry gaining 108 yards —including a 47-yard score — and Jeremy Wright running for 105 yards and three touchdowns.

"A lot of times you just don't know with the first game," Strong said. "You just don't know how well they will play together. … We were able to stay in sync, and we were able to just move the ball up and down the field."

The Cards outgained UK 219-93 on the ground, marking the 17th consecutive time in the series that the team with more rushing yards won.

Kentucky defensive coordinator Rick Minter pointed to the Cats' inability to stop the run for Bridgewater's success.

"I've always said as a head coach or as a coordinator: When you can run the ball, you can do whatever you want to," Minter said. "If you can run the ball, you can throw the ball. Because then all of the sudden you quit rushing (the passer), your guys are tired, they're beat up, they're demoralized, they're no longer putting pressure on the quarterback."

Louisville didn't put much pressure on the passer, either. Maxwell Smith completed a career-high 35 passes in 50 attempts for 280 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cats' no-huddle offense kept the Cards on their heels, but despite 373 yards of offense, they didn't take advantage of all their opportunities.

Phillips surprised Louisville with an onside kick to start the second half. The Cats recovered and marched to Louisville's 24, but Craig McIntosh missed a 42-yard field goal attempt.

Raymond Sanders fumbled after the Cats drove to the Louisville 39 in the second quarter.

"We obviously have to do a better job finishing drives," UK offensive coordinator Randy Sanders said. "That was probably the biggest thing today: We didn't finish."

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Michigan carries B1G banner against Bama

Leon Halip/Getty ImagesBrady Hoke and the Wolverine have a big challenge Saturday night against Alabama.Jim Delany has never suppressed his desire for Big Ten members to test themselves outside the conference.

It's why the commissioner puts together unquestionably the nation's toughest bowl lineup each year. It's why he spearheaded the short-lived scheduling alliance with the Pac-12.

Even as the Big Ten's losses in nationally significant games pile up and its last national title in football gets smaller in the rear-view mirror, Delany wants teams to measure themselves against the best.

Michigan has gotten the message, loud and clear.

The Wolverines open the season Saturday night against defending national champion Alabama in Arlington, Texas. Alabama has hoisted the crystal football in two of the past three seasons. The Tide boast a 55-12 record under coach Nick Saban and haven't dropped a nonconference game since the 2007 season, Saban's first in Tuscaloosa.

The big blue banner isn't the only one Michigan will carry onto the field Saturday night. The Wolverines are playing for their beleaguered conference, too.

"Saban is probably the coach of the decade, and Alabama's probably the team of the decade with two national championships in the last three years," Delany told ESPN.com on Monday morning. "Michigan's trying to re-establish a program and a team, and Saban has done a fabulous job of returning Alabama to its programmatic height. So for us, it's a big game. I don't think you can minimize it. It's an important game, a big game, a big stage, and those are the kinds of games we want to play."

Delany caused a stir in Tide Country during the playoff negotiations this summer when he appeared to take a shot at Alabama, telling the Associated Press that he didn't have much regard for teams that didn't win their division (Alabama failed to win the SEC West in 2011 but shut out LSU in the national title game). While he later explained he wasn't targeting the Tide, the damage had been done.

But the commissioner made it clear Monday that Alabama is the standard bearer in college football. The Tide provide Michigan with an excellent barometer and opportunity following an 11-2 season in coach Brady Hoke's first year.

"Alabama has put its stamp by winning two championships in the last three years, and Saban has won three in the decade with his win at LSU," Delany said. "I would call him the dominant coach of the decade. Alabama is at the very top of its prowess, and the SEC has won six [championships] in a row. You're dealing with a program that's in total full throttle.

"We're hoping to be competitive, we're hoping to have some success, but quite honestly, it's the biggest challenge you can possibly take on at this time for a coach who's going into his second year, a program that was just a couple years away from losing seasons."

Still, Michigan is embracing the opportunity. The Wolverines made major strides under Hoke last season, transforming their historically poor defense into one of the Big Ten's best. They boast a Heisman Trophy candidate in senior quarterback Denard Robinson, a strong secondary, a core of talented young players and a team that has adjusted to Hoke and his staff.

Although Hoke and his players scoff at the notion that Michigan is back -- Michigan never left, they insist -- the Wolverines must show they can compete with the nation's best. A Sugar Bowl win against a Virginia Tech team many thought didn't belong in New Orleans doesn't cut it. Dramatic victories against perpetually overrated Notre Dame teams don't, either.

Michigan's last win against a top-10 opponent came in the 2008 Capital One Bowl, as the Wolverines sent coach Lloyd Carr out a winner by beating Urban Meyer, Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators, the defending national champs. The Big Ten hasn't recorded many marquee wins since, and very few against the SEC's elite. The league's best win against the SEC -- Ohio State's victory against Arkansas in the 2011 Sugar Bowl -- was later vacated because of NCAA violations.

The Wolverines and the Big Ten are joined at the hip Saturday night. Will they sink or swim?

"You hear a lot of hoopla about the SEC and stuff like that," Michigan safety Thomas Gordon said last week. "I'm not taking nothing away from it, it's a great conference. But we're representing our conference against theirs. We're looking forward to a good game."

So is Delany, who will tune in Saturday night. He sees Michigan on the rise once again under Hoke, but he's also aware of what Saban has created in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama has made Big Ten teams look bad in recent years. The Tide crushed Michigan State 49-7 in the 2011 Capital One Bowl and recorded easy wins against Penn State the past two seasons.

"Michigan has got a great historic program," Delany said. "It dipped, and Brady Hoke has done a fabulous job of re-establishing it, but it's a program that's re-emerging. It's probably a couple years away from being everything it's going to be in terms of recruitment. ... Going into that game, you're hoping for the best, but you realize these programs are in very different stages of development. This is two coaches and 85 players, and they'll decide what happens. But it's pretty clear that Alabama has separated itself, not only from the rest of the country, but also from people in the SEC."

At some point, the Big Ten needs to start closing the gap to regain relevancy. Conferences get two opportunities to make national statements -- the nonleague portion and the bowl season. The latter carries far more weight, and a Michigan win against Alabama won't mean much if the Wolverines struggle in Big Ten play.

But it will shock the college football world and shift the spotlight away from the mighty SEC, if only temporarily.

"It's the biggest challenge you can possibly have if you're Michigan," Delany said.

And if you're the Big Ten.

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