UL 24 Wake Forest 13

[H]

Brohm didn't sound very convincing on coming back... did he?

 

I didn't think so. He had a great game, no INTs and great yardage. Brohm's numbers would have been even better had Urrutia not dropped so many passes. Scouts will recognize that. Great way to close out the season on a high note and erase any lingering questions about the knee and the thumb. If Brohm is predicted high in the first round, I just don't see how he could risk another injury or a let-down season by coming back.

[The Professor]

Congratulations to the Cards.:thumb: :dancingpa

[Original Rookie]

It looked like this game would come down to the last play but UL eventually found a way to pull away. The fumbles by Wake killed them. I was impressed with them tonight though. I heard the story about them holding five fingers up every time the 4th starts a couple weeks ago and it makes me tear up each time I hear about it. Wake has 16 starters back, they are legit. Congrats to the Cards! Huge win for their program and the state in general. When asked about coming back I thought Brohm would jump on it and say he'd be back, he sure left a lot of people wondering tonight. If him and Bush come back, watch out.

[RockPride]

I was squeamish about this game for a bit, and Wake had all the intangibles in their corner. U of L took their best punch, counter punched, and knocked them out. I though Brian was simply brilliant in this game, no TD's but we, as fans, have grown accustomed to that nowadays....I hope he comes back, though I feel he is gone....U of L is ready for the top spot in college football, now they have to go get it.

[Original Rookie]

U of L is ready for the top spot in college football, now they have to go get it.

Someone has HUGE shoes to fill at QB for that to have a chance, assuming BB is gone.

[RockPride]

That's my issue with next season, if he doesn't come back...Bobby has pulled no punches in that Hunter needs to be a better student of the game...he needs to recognize blitzes and coverages better, and if he does so...they will be fine...he throws a harder ball than Brian...just needs some polishing.

[gametime]

One fact has been lost in translation. The ACC raided the BEast, and left them to fight for their BCS status. The BEast went to UL/UC/USF, and they picked up where some serious names left off...

[lcdawg4life]

IMO, Brohm is gone but UL has had a great season. GO CARDS!!! CONGRATS!!!

[CatchMeIfYouCan]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=270020154

 

"Right now, coming back and trying to win a national title looks very appealing," junior quarterback Brian Brohm said.

 

Brohm threw for 311 yards and Anthony Allen scored two touchdowns, one on a trick play, to help Louisville finish 12-1 and clinch its highest end-of-season ranking ever.

 

"This is a big win for our program," said Harry Douglas, who made 10 catches for 165 yards. "We're becoming a national power. It had to start with this game."

 

Brohm directed the drives, finished 24-for-34 and was chosen the game's most valuable player. He said he's leaning toward returning for his senior season next fall.

 

"We've got a great team coming back, and it'd be hard to pass up," Brohm said.

 

His yardage total was the third-highest in Orange Bowl history, behind only Michigan's Tom Brady and Southern Cal's Matt Leinart.

 

"He's a smart guy," Douglas said. "He throws the ball where we need to have it and puts us in great position, and I love him."

 

 

Brohm

24 completions / 34 attempts

311 Yards

0 TD

0 INT

[CatchMeIfYouCan]

Q. We didn't get to hear you out on the field. Are you coming back next year?

Brian Brohm: "I said it would be really hard to turn down. I haven't been thinking about it before this. I haven't been looking at anything. We'll let everything settle down, I'll sit down with coach and my parents and my family and see what the best thing to do is. Right now coming back trying to win a national title looks very appealing."

 

 

Q. Brian, it was mentioned you had the third most passing yards in Orange Bowl history. No. 1 I think was Tom Brady and No. 2 was Matt Leinart. How does it feel to be running in company such as that?

 

Brian Brohm: "That's a great feeling. Those guys are great quarterbacks and have done a great job playing the position, and just to be mentioned with those guys' names is a special thing."

 

Q. I know it's really early but talk about next year and the foundation that you have built for not just next year but in terms of the future about this continuing momentum.

 

Bobby Petrino: "We're going to miss the senior class. It's a special group, the first group we went out and recruited. To watch them grow and mature and go from being guys that played as true freshmen and guys that were already here that were red shirted, we were really fortunate to be able to add a couple junior college players in Nate Harris and Zach Anderson that became leaders for us and came right in and did everything right on and off the field. So we're really sad about seeing them go."

 

"We have to do a good job of recruiting. We've got some holes to fill."

 

"I really liked what I saw as we were preparing for the Bowl game and practicing in the Trager Center from a lot of our red shirts. They've got about eight days of spring practice in already, so that was good for us."

 

Q. Coach, you mentioned about next year and a lot of people are going to look at this as a springboard for being a contender for a National Championship, but how important is having Brian back to making that happen? Not to put too much pressure on him?

 

Bobby Petrino: "Go ahead, put pressure on him. It's fine with me (laughter)."

 

"We'd love to have Brian come back and Michael come back, there's no question about that. But the one thing we did before we started practicing before the Bowl game is I brought Brian in, we talked a little bit, we said, let's just not even discuss it, not talk about it until after the Bowl game. They really just need to find out where their draft status is, and then sit down and see what the best decision is to make. You certainly don't want to take an opportunity away. I'd love for then to come back and see if we can win one more game."

 

Q. And one follow up, was the Gatorade bath premature?

 

Bobby Petrino: "I thought it was premature. I was a little upset about that, then I found out who did it and let it slide. I did say after he did it, "You're coming back."

 

 

Q. What did you think about Brian's performance tonight and just his performance over the year with all the adversity, the injury and then he plays and then the other injury and then this?

 

Bobby Petrino: "It shows how tough and competitive Brian is because we started the season out, and he wasn't playing as well as he would like to, simply because he didn't have his legs, wasn't able to condition like everybody else in the month of July because he developed shin splints from the knee injury. It doesn't matter what you say and what the trainers say about the pull and the swim acts and all that, when you're not out there conditioning like you need to for football it's just not the same."

 

"Then we got to Miami, Brian is hot and feeling sharp and right on the money, and I didn't know what the heck he was talking about when he kept going like this in the game. I said, "No, we're not calling option." And then the thumb goes down."

 

"He probably played sooner than maybe a lot of guys would have when he came back for the Cincinnati game, and certainly didn't play as well as he would like in Cincinnati and Syracuse, but the whole idea was, let's get that out of your system and get ready for the West Virginia game."

 

"You just can't say how well he's played the last four games. He's been as sharp as you can be."

 

Q. Your brothers both played on that Fiesta Bowl team. What's your sense what this Orange Bowl win means for the U of L football program?

 

Brian Brohm: "This is huge. It's just another step in the direction of ultimately reaching the goal of a national title. We not only got to a BCS Bowl game but I think it's huge that we came in here and we won it. It's good for all the guys on the team to come back. We all know how to do it now. We've been here and been on the big stage, and it's a great experience for everybody."

 

Q. Did you include yourself with all the guys?

 

Brian Brohm: "Yeah (laughing)."

 

 

Q. Big deal down here has been Nick Saban's link to the University of Alabama job. I wonder if there's been any contact between yourself and the University of Alabama or vice versa?

 

Bobby Petrino: "No, we're in Miami, and the rules in Miami are what? I'm just kidding (laughter). No, there's been absolutely no contact whatsoever."

 

http://uoflsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/010307aad.html

[CatchMeIfYouCan]

QB Brian Brohm completed 24-of-34 for 311 yards, his third straight game passing for more than 300 yards and marked the third highest total accomplished in the Orange Bowl. He boosted his season total to 3,049 yards, becoming only the fourth quarterback in school history to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season.

 

Head coach Bobby Petrino improved to 2-2 in bowl games as head coach of the Cardinals. He defeated Boise State, 44-40, in the 2004 Liberty Bowl. He lost to Miami (OH), 49-28, in the 2003 GMAC Bowl and 35-24 in the 2006 Gator Bowl

 

Wake Forest was the fourth ranked opponent that the Cardinals played this season, the second-most by any team in the BIG EAST Conference (Cincinnati played five). Louisville went 3-1 against ranked foes this season.

 

The Cardinals improved to 6-7-1 all-time in bowl games. U of L's victory improves the BIG EAST Conference's bowl record this season to 4-0 with one game remaining.

 

http://uoflsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/010307aac.html

[THEGREENDANDY]

Great win Louisville. I still remember the "Red Rage". Kentucky football has come a long,long way. Lets keep it rolling:ylsuper:

[THEGREENDANDY]

That's my issue with next season, if he doesn't come back...Bobby has pulled no punches in that Hunter needs to be a better student of the game...he needs to recognize blitzes and coverages better, and if he does so...they will be fine...he throws a harder ball than Brian...just needs some polishing.

 

Brohm will be back.

[75center]

Great season Cards. With all the talk about Brohm and Bush, how many starters on each side of the ball do they lose next year?

[98NCCalum]

I didn't think so. He had a great game, no INTs and great yardage. Brohm's numbers would have been even better had Urrutia not dropped so many passes. Scouts will recognize that. Great way to close out the season on a high note and erase any lingering questions about the knee and the thumb. If Brohm is predicted high in the first round, I just don't see how he could risk another injury or a let-down season by coming back.

See Matt Laeinart.