GAME
NOTES: The 79th annual Sugar Bowl will kick off Wednesday night at
the Mercedes-Benz Superdome when the Louisville Cardinals take on the
Florida Gators.
Louisville
got off to a red-hot start to the season with wins in each of its
first eight games, highlighted by a 45-35 road triumph over
Pittsburgh on Oct. 13 and a 34-31 overtime victory versus Cincinnati
on Oct 26. Despite dropping back-to-back November games to Syracuse
(45-26) and UConn (23-20 in OT), the Cardinals were able to clinch
their third Big East title in the regular-season finale with a 20-17
road win over Rutgers. This is the fifth 10-win season for the
Cardinals, who have made one previous appearance in a BCS bowl game,
beating Wake Forest in the 2007 Orange Bowl, 24-14.
"We're
really excited to be here and represent the Big East Conference at
the Sugar Bowl," head coach Charlie Strong said. "If you
look at our season, it's a tribute to our players and the resiliency
they've had all season long. We started three years ago building a
foundation for this team and we're really excited about the direction
it's headed. We know we're playing an excellent team in the
University of Florida, but we're happy and we're excited. It's great
for the University of Louisville, the city of Louisville, and for our
administration."
Florida's
outstanding season included wins over nationally-ranked foes Texas
A&M (20-17), LSU (14-6), South Carolina (44-11), and Florida
State (37-26). It faced a treacherous road in the SEC, meaning its
lone loss to Eastern Division rival Georgia (17-9) on Oct. 27
prevented it from participating in the conference championship game.
Still, the Gators boasted the strongest at-large resume in the
country, which allowed them to qualify for their seventh BCS bowl
appearance, their first since the 2010 Sugar Bowl, which they won
51-24 over Cincinnati.
"We
have a special team and they deserve a special night," head
coach Will Muschamp said. "You're talking about being the sixth
team in (UF) history -- which has a pretty good tradition -- (with a
chance at) 12 wins, which is huge. It's an opportunity to be ranked
in the top five or three in the country. We understand those things
are very important to our program as we continue to move forward."
Florida
has defeated Louisville in both previous meetings between the
programs, claiming home matchups in 1980 and 1992.
Louisville's
offensive attack, which scores 31.0 ppg, is heavily reliant on the
passing game, which racks up more than 298.6 ypg (24th in the
nation).
Spearheading
the offense is the Cardinals' star quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who
has emerged as one of the country's best signal-callers in his
sophomore season. The Big East Player of the Year is completing an
outstanding 69 percent of his pass attempts for 3,452 yards, throwing
for 25 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. His 161.6 passing
efficiency is tops in the Big East and eighth in the nation.
Bridgewater
spreads the ball out to several receivers, with five players grabbing
at least 30 receptions. Damian Copeland (597 yards) leads the corps
with 48 receptions, while DeVante Parker made the most of his 38
receptions, piling up 712 yards (18.7 ypc) and nine touchdowns, which
was enough to earn him First Team All-Big East honors.
Louisville
is more than just a passing team. In fact, it has a near perfect
split between passing (424) and rushing (426) attempts. Sharing
duties in the backfield is Jeremy Wright (740 yards) and Senorise
Perry (705 yards), who have combined for 20 touchdowns.
