2012 Louisville Cardinals football team

2012 Louisville Cardinals football
File:Louisville Cardinals.svg
Big East Conference Co–Champions Sugar Bowl Champions
Sugar Bowl vs. #4 Florida, W 33–23
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
BCS	No. 21
Coaches	No. 13
AP	No. 13
2012 record	11–2 (5–2 Big East)
Head coach	Charlie Strong (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Shawn Watson (1st full as coordinator, 2nd overall season)
Defensive coordinator	Vance Bedford (3rd season)
Home stadium	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (Capacity: 55,000)
Seasons

2012 Big East football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#22 Louisville †§		5	–	2					11	–	2
Cincinnati §		5	–	2					10	–	3
Rutgers §		5	–	2					9	–	4
Syracuse §		5	–	2					8	–	5
Pittsburgh		3	–	4					6	–	7
Connecticut		2	–	5					5	–	7
Temple		2	–	5					4	–	7
South Florida		1	–	6					3	–	9
† – BCS representative as champion § – Conference co-champions As of January 5, 2013 • Rankings from AP Poll

The 2012 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinals were led by third year head coach Charlie Strong and played their home games at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. They were a member of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 11–2, 5–2 in Big East play to finish in a four way tie for the Big East championship. As the highest rated of the four Big East champions in the final BCS poll, the Cardinals received the conference's automatic bid into a BCS game. They were invited to the Sugar Bowl where they defeated Florida.

Previous season

They finished the 2011 season 7–6, 5–2 in Big East play to share the conference championship with Cincinnati and West Virginia in 2011. Due to tie-break rules, the Cardinals did not receive the Big East's automatic bid into a BCS bowl (West Virginia received the bid). The Cardinals were instead invited to the Belk Bowl where they were defeated by North Carolina State 24–31.

Personnel

Coaching Staff

Name	Position	Seasons at Louisville	Alma mater (Year)
Charlie Strong	Head Coach	3rd	Central Arkansas (1983)
Shawn Watson	Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks	2nd	Southern Illinois (1982)
Vance Bedford	Defensive Coordinator	3rd	Texas (1981)
Clint Hurtt	Associate Head Coach, Defensive Line and Recruiting Coordinator	3rd	Miami (FL) (2001)
Ron Dugans	Wide Receivers	3rd	Florida State (1999)
Brian Jean-Mary	Linebackers	3rd	Appalachian State (1998)
Tommy Restivo	Secondary	3rd	Georgetown College (2006)
Dave Borbely	Offensive Line and Running Game Coordinator	3rd	DePauw (1981)
Kenny Carter	Running Backs and Special Team	3rd	The Citadel (1989)
Sherrone Moore	Tight Ends	4th	Oklahoma (2008)
Reference:

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2*	3:30 PM	Kentucky	#25	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY (Battle for the Governor's Cup)	ESPN	W 32–14	55,386
September 8*	3:30 PM	Missouri State	#23	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	WHAS	W 35–7	47,553
September 15*	3:30 PM	North Carolina	#19	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	ABC/ESPN2	W 39–34	53,334
September 22*	7:00 PM	at FIU	#20	FIU Stadium • Miami, FL	ESPN3	W 28–21	12,318
September 29*	8:00 PM	at Southern Miss	#19	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS	CBSSN	W 21–17	23,492
October 13	11:00 AM	at Pittsburgh	#18	Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA	ESPNU	W 45–35	42,432
October 20	3:30 PM	South Florida	#16	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	ABC	W 27–25	50,167
October 26	8:00 PM	Cincinnati	#16	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY (Battle for the Keg of Nails)	ESPN	W 34–31 OT	53,271
November 3	12:00 PM	Temple	#10	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	ABC/ESPN3	W 45–17	44,609
November 10	12:00 PM	at Syracuse	#9	Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY	ABC	L 26–45	40,312
November 24	12:00 PM	Connecticut	#19	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	Big East Network	L 20–23 3OT	45,618
November 29	7:30 PM	at Rutgers		Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	ESPN	W 20–17	52,798
January 2*	8:30 PM	vs. #4 Florida	#22	Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ESPN	W 33–23	54,178
*Non-Conference Game. †Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

See also: 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	25	23	19	20	19	19	18	16	16	12	11	20	19	13
Coaches'	RV	20	18	17	16	16	14	14	10	10	18	18	23	18	13
Harris	Not released						18	16	14	10	10	17	18	24	19	Not released
BCS	Not released							16	16	10	9	19	20	Not released

Roster

2012 Louisville Cardinals
Running Back 36 Bo Eggers - Redshirt Senior 10 Dominique Brown - Junior 32 Senorise Perry - Junior 20 Corvin Lamb - Redshirt Freshman 28 Jeremy Wright - Redshirt Junior 30 Kamal Hogan - Redshirt Sophomore 48 Nick Heuser - Redshirt Senior 49 Jarel McGriff-Culver - Redshirt Sophomore Wide Receiver 2 Michaelee Haris - Redshirt Sophomore 3 Charles Gaines - Redshirt Freshman 4 Robert Clark - Redshirt Sophomore 7 Damian Copeland - Redshirt Junior 9 DeVante Parker - Sophomore 14 Andrell Smith - Senior 29 Stephen Goodwin - Redshirt Junior 31 DeMarcus Topp - Redshirt Senior 82 Eli Rogers - Sophomore 84 Aaron Nace - Redshirt Sophomore 84 Matt Milton - Redshirt Sophomore 87 Kai Dominguez - Redshirt Sophomore 88 Jarrett Davis - Junior 89 Scott Radcliff - Senior Offensive Line 53 Jake Smith - Redshirt Sophomore 54 Mike Romano - Redshirt Freshman 55 Mario Benavides - Redshirt Senior 59 Zach Perkins - Redshirt Junior 63 Josh Stearns - Redshirt Freshman 64 David Noltemeyer - Sophomore 64 Brandon Bramer - Redshirt Freshman 66 Alex Kupper - Redshirt Senior 68 Kamran Joyer - Redshirt Junior 69 Chris Walker - Redshirt Junior 70 John Miller - Sophomore 71 Chris Acosta - Redshirt Sophomore 72 Hunter Stout - Redshirt Junior 74 Ryan Mack - Redshirt Freshman 76 Chase Petersen - Redshirt Freshman 78 Aaron Epps - Redshirt Freshman 79 Jamon Brown - Sophomore		Quarterback 4 Will Stein - Redshirt Senior 5 Teddy Bridgewater - Sophomore 12 Luke Brohm - Redshirt Freshman 19 Jerry Arlinghaus - Redshirt Freshman Tight End 32 Gerald Christian - Redshirt Sophomore 80 Stephon Ball - Redshirt Senior 81 Chris White - Redshirt Junior 83 Ryan Hubbell - Redshirt Sophomore 85 Nate Nord - Redshirt Senior 77 Tyler Mabry - Redshirt Senior Defensive Line 17 Marcus Smith - Junior 44 B.J. Butler - Junior 47 Malcolm Mitchell - Redshirt Junior 48 Deiontrez Mount - Sophomore 57 Jordan Tennyson - Redshirt Sophomore 90 B.J. Dubose - Sophomore 92 Brandon Dunn - Junior 93 Roy Philon - Redshirt Junior 94 Lorenzo Mauldin - Sophomore 98 Dominique Dishmon - Redshirt Freshman 99 Jamaine Brooks - Redshirt Sophomore Defensive Back 8 Gerod Holliman - Freshman 15 Andrew Johnson - Sophomore 18 Titus Teague - Reshirt Junior 19 Terell Floyd - Sophomore 21 Adrian Bushell - Redshirt Senior 22 Jordan Paschal - Redshirt Sophomore 25 Calvin Pryor - Sophomore 26 Zed Evans - Reshirt Junior 27 Jermaine Reve - Redshirt Freshman 29 Hakeem Smith - Reshirt Junior 30 Anthony Branch - Redshirt Junior 41 Stephan Robinson - Redshirt Sophomore 45 Mitchell Nelson - Redshirt Freshman		Linebacker 1 Keith Brown - Freshman 2 Preston Brown - Junior 13 James Burgess - Freshman 24 Daniel Brown - Redshirt Senior 27 Mike Adessa - Redshirt Junior 31 Champ Lee - Reshirt Junior 32 Alex Witcpalek - Reshirt Junior 34 George Durant - Reshirt Junior 37 Tyon Dixon - Redshirt Sophomore 38 Thaddeus Franklin - Redshirt Sophomore 40 Chris Zelli - Reshirt Senior 42 Jalen Harrington - Reshirt Freshman 43 Deon Rogers - Junior Special Teams 18 Matthew Nakatani - Redshirt Sophomore (K) 33 Grant Donovan - Redshirt Sophomore (LS) 35 Andrew Fletcher - Redshirt Freshman (K) 38 Ryan Johnson - Redshirt Sophomore (P) 45 John Wallace - Redshirt Freshman (P/K) Head Coach Charlie Strong Assistant Coaches Shawn Watson – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Vance Bedford – Defensive Coordinator Kenny Carter – Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs Coach Dave Borbely – Offensive Line Coach Ron Dugans – Wide Receivers Coach Clint Hurtt – Recruiting Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach Brian Jean-Mary – Linebackers Coach Larry Slade – Secondary Coach Pat Moorer – Strength & Conditioning Coach