Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/416910
GAME PREVIEW: LOUISVILLE BY LOU SOMOGYI THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNS From 2003‑06, Bobby Petrino estab‑ lished himself as one of the nation's fastest rising star head coaches while at the University of Louisville. With a top level passing attack, the Cardinals finished 11‑1 and No. 6 in the final 2004 Associated Press poll, and 12‑1 with a No. 5 ranking in 2006 before he bolted for the NFL. Similar to previous elite college coaches such as Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, and even Lou Holtz from way back in 1976, Petrino did not find the NFL to his liking and returned to the college game after one season. Like Holtz in 1977, Petrino's stop in the NFL lasted less than a year and his return to college also came at Arkan‑ sas, where by his third season he had the Razorbacks in a BCS bowl (Sugar, the same as Holtz in his third year) and in his fourth year finished No. 5 in the AP poll, with his 2012 team considered bona fide national title contenders. A motorcycle accident in the offsea‑ son while riding with his mistress, and the ensuing cover‑up, temporar‑ ily derailed Petrino's career and led to his firing at Arkansas prior to the 2012 season. Coaching purgatory then was served in 2013 at Western Kentucky, where he led the Hilltoppers to an 8‑4 mark. When Louisville head coach Charlie Strong accepted the head coaching post at Texas at the end of last season, the Prodigal Petrino returned to Louisville. His first departure was not received well by Cardinals athletics director Tom Jurich, but bygones became by‑ gones. "If it was the same Bobby that was here 10 years [ago], I wasn't interested," Jurich said of hiring Petrino again. "He TOP STOrylineS Bobby Petrino, who posted a 41-9 mark at Louisville from 2003-06, said he has learned from his past mistakes and intends to make the most of his second stint as the Cardinals' head coach. PHOTO COURTESY LOUISVILLE