U of L and Big East hope

In theory, I agree with everything my respected colleague, Rick Bozich, said about the University of Louisville’s Big East chances in his column this morning.

With a league that down, everyone has a chance.

Certainly, I think that’s what coach Steve Kragthorpe is selling his team.

But here’s where I differ. Kragthorpe was selling his team on that before the Connecticut game, in which U of L gave up a lead to lose to an inferior opponent on its home field.

The team you saw on the field that night is not going to win the Big East, no matter how down the league is.

Maybe the Cards turn it around from there. If Scott Long returns strong, it could add a dimension to the offense. They’re going to have plenty of opportunity. But if U of L is going to contend even in a watered-down Big East, it is going to have to do some things it has never done under coach Kragthorpe —

— Win back-to-back conference games

— String together a winning streak of at least three games.

Maybe those things happen. Hope is a wonderful thing. Had U of L beaten UConn, I’d have started talking about the possibility of winning the Big East. At 0-1 in the league with conference games , perhaps the more realistic goal is just getting back above .500.