Cardinals still looking for respect in Kentucky series

Posted 1:49PM on Friday 30th August 2002 ( 22 years ago )

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - If any Louisville Cardinals feel overconfident heading into Sunday's opener with Kentucky, all they have to do is look around town, according to quarterback Dave Ragone. ``Every day in this city, you see UK flags. That gets to you a little bit. We're in our own town seeing this,'' said Ragone, touted as a Heisman Trophy candidate. ``We still feel we're the underdog in this state and people look at us as the red-headed step-child. ``That's fine. We use that as motivation.'' Outside of the Bluegrass State, the Cardinals have never been more respected. The two-time defending Conference USA champions are ranked 17th in The Associated Press Top 25 - their highest position ever this early in a season - after going 11-2 in 2001. They've won three straight in the Kentucky series and are expected to easily tack on a fourth over a program coming off a second straight 2-9 season and now under NCAA sanctions. But the opener makes Ragone nervous. ``It scares me. I don't care what anybody says, I don't care what their record is, I don't care if everybody's giving us the victory already,'' he said. ``This game is not about wins and losses and records the year before. It's about who wants it more.'' The Cardinals beat Kentucky 36-10 in Lexington last season, although Louisville only led 10-7 at halftime and 16-10 after three quarters. Louisville coach John L. Smith said that's not the Kentucky team he's preparing for anyway. He's more interested in the Wildcats who battled Southeastern Conference powers LSU and Tennessee to the wire last season. ``That's the one you're going to show your players. You tell them, 'Take a look at these guys. They made strides all year long. They got better. So you better be ready to go,''' said Smith, whose only loss to Kentucky came in 1998, his first game as Louisville coach. Ragone remembers it well. He was a freshman when the Wildcats hammered Louisville 68-34 to tarnish the opening of the Cardinals' stadium. ``Kentucky could've put 100 points on us. I wanted to get off that field quicker than anyone else,'' said Ragone. ``I had never gotten beat like that before. They pretty much embarrassed us.'' It's the Cardinals who've done the embarrassing lately, winning the last three meetings by an average of 20 points. Kentucky junior quarterback Jared Lorenzen lost his starting job to Shane Boyd in last year's game, going 12-for-31 with an interception. He regained his spot by midseason and threw for 1,298 yards and 19 touchdowns in Kentucky's final six games. Smith is impressed with Lorenzen, despite his 6-foot-4, 275-pound frame. ``Forget about him being a little bit overweight. The guy can flat throw it,'' Smith said. Protecting Lorenzen from Louisville's pass rush may be Kentucky coach Guy Morriss' top concern. The Cardinals lead the nation with 96 sacks over the past two seasons. Ten defensive starters are back from 2001, including Conference USA defensive player of the year Dewayne White, who had 15 sacks and a school-record 23 tackles for loss last season. The job of stopping White falls to sophomore Matt Huff and junior Antonio Hall, the starting tackles on an offensive line with just one senior. ``We have to be disciplined enough at the tackle position to execute our technique,'' said Morriss, UK's former offensive line coach. ``Both of our tackles are going to have to bring their 'A' games and be conscious of his ability.'' Morriss made his coaching debut against the Cardinals last season. He said his players will have a lot less on their minds for this year's Louisville game. ``We can't be so tight that we can't execute our offense and defense. That was part of our problem last year,'' Morriss said. ``We were so pent up with emotion that we couldn't relax and play football.'' Ragone threw for a career high 368 yards and three touchdowns against the Wildcats last season. He'll see much the same secondary he shredded last year, including cornerback Derrick Tatum, who Ragone saw when the two played in high school in Cleveland. Morriss said the game will indicate how far the Cats have come under his leadership. But Smith said there's more pressure on the Cardinals. ``This is when you find out if you're worth a darn,'' he said. ``Last year, we thought that was great getting the target put on your chest. We've preached and preached that's where we want to be, that's our goal. ``Nobody can say they're overlooking you; they're all taking shots at you. We'll find out soon how mature we are.''

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