Coach K (minus the goatee) addressed the media monday, after having the weekend to get over another bad loss at the Big Papa. Louisville again looked lost and unprepared in the first half against Utah. Coach K continues to put a positive spin on things, saying they are looking at what went right in the 2nd half. He did say he wants to "get things fixed" as bad as anyone. Kragthorpe also said his team can still compete for the Big East title. The crazy thing is..he's right! Louisville has just one loss in the conference, just like West Virginia, just like Rutgers. And they still play everybody, so in reality they control their own destiny. Of course, right now they've shown no indication that they can beat anybody.

Of course the defense continues to look like a major problem. Coach K said giving up the big plays has been a troubling issue, and some of the mistakes are repeat errors. That tells me some of the guys just aren't getting it, or their just not good enough.

Other tidbits: Coach K says running back George Stripling has served his one-game suspension, and he'll be back Saturday. That's good because running back depth is an issue with Anthony Allen banged up.

He also dropped the news that JuJuan Spillman's indefinte suspension means he's out for the rest of the season. He did leave the door open for a possible return next year.

On a positive note, Kragthorpe talked about how great linebacker Lamar Myles has played. He's been about the only playermaker on defense so far.

You might have noticed, when the Louisville players took the field Friday night, they didn't run out like normal. They were linked arm-in-arm and walked out with a more unified presence. Coach K says they got that idea from former Cardinal Tony Stallings who talked to the team before the game.

Wide Receiver Harry Douglas says once again he hopes to play. He thought he might be able to go against the Utes. But he was experiencing too much pain in his injured ankle during pre-game warm-ups. There was a report during the ESPN broadcast that Douglas shouted expletives because he wasn't able to play.
Douglas set the record straight, saying the only shouting he did was too encourage the rest of the team during the game.
Douglas seemed annoyed at all the rumors and speculation flying around about the team, saying "no one outside the program, knows what's going on."

Finally, center Eric Wood says not only can the Cards still make a bowl, but they can win the Big East. He says people want to blame the coaches for what's wrong, but it's up to the players. Wood was the player who gave Coach K the ball after the NC State win and he says they are standing behind him and have confidence in what he's doing.

Feel free to leave your comments about where the Cards are headed this season.