By Russ Brown
KyForward correspondent
LOUISVILLE — It’s not only the University of Louisville football players who are unaccustomed to coping with an 0-3 record. This is also alien territory for their highly-successful coach.
So, coach, how are you handling a winless September?
Asked that question by yours truly during his weekly press conference Monday afternoon, Bobby Petrino showed that at least his sense of humor is intact in relating an anecdote from his neophyte days as a coach.
It was the early 90s and Petrino was coaching the quarterbacks at Arizona State, which was playing heavily-favored UCLA in Los Angeles. Let Petrino take it from here, after chuckling at the question:
“I got into the elevator and (UCLA assistant, the late) Homer Smith got in with me. I was just standing there. I was young and I felt pretty good because
we were ahead of them and we weren’t expected to beat them. Homer got in there and turned his back to me and started pounding his head against the wall, and I said to the GA who was with me at the time, ‘Hey man, if I ever get like that just shoot me.
Pause.
“Well, I think he just loaded his gun, so that’s about where I’m at.”
Petrino was joking, of course (we think). He actually appears to be taking the first 0-3 start in his career, and an unprecedented four-game losing streak quite well, certainly better than one might expect of such an intense, competitive fellow.
Petrino has endured just one other three-game skid in his head coaching career, losing consecutively to Alabama, Texas and Florida in his second season at Arkansas in 2008.
There is no evidence available concerning how he reacted in Fayetteville, but he has treaded lightly with his current club during the adversity, perhaps recognizing the fragility of a young team paired with veterans who are used to winning.
After the latest loss, 20-17 against Clemson Thursday night, the Cardinals said Petrino was calm in the locker room, and his demeanor at the postgame press conference was the same.
“He said we competed well, we came out and played a hard, physical game. He told us he was outcoached,” wide receiver Traevon Samuel said. “He kind of took the blame for the loss, but it’s really not on him. He’s not out there playing. It’s on us, we need to get the job done and get a ‘W’.”
It’s not that Petrino doesn’t have a reason to be upset, or rather lots of reasons. Nothing seems to be going right for UofL, even though its three losses have come by a total of just 13 points and two have been against Top-25 teams.
The Cards are 12th or worse in 10 significant offensive and defensive categories in the ACC and near the bottom in numerous statistics in the FBS because they haven’t been able to generate a running attack, can’t stop opponents’ rushing, can’t protect the quarterback and have committed eight turnovers.
“One of the things you try to do when you lose a game is not let your emotions take over in the locker room after the game,” Petrino says. “So I’ve always found the best thing to do is to be short, to the point and then we come back in and have our team meeting the next day. I wasn’t real quiet Friday afternoon; maybe I should have been.”
Running back L.J. Scott, among others, say they haven’t noticed any difference in Petrino’s coaching style or temperament.
“He’s still going about his way of coaching as if we had won those three games,” Scott says. “He’s real soft-spoken with us because he understands those three losses hurt. When we came back (Friday) we expected to get chewed out, but he understood the losses really hit us hard. But he had a sense of urgency that we all had to grasp very quickly knowing that we’re off to a bad start.
“He’s not laid back — every coach comes back fired up after a loss — but he doesn’t get after you. Get after you is something he does in practice. I just feel like he knows that in order for us to keep a positive attitude he has to have a positive attitude, and getting after us isn’t really needed as of now.”
So instead of going ballistic, Petrino is trying to keep things upbeat and is relying on leaders like linebackers Keith Kelsey, James Burgess, defensive end Sheldon Rankins and offensive lineman Aaron Epps to help maintain a good attitude and work ethic among the team. But, with the quarterback situation still unsettled, Petrino is looking for more leaders to step forward on the offensive unit.
“Those guys, it means a lot to them,” Petrino said, referring to Kelsey, Burgess and Rankins. “They care tremendously. They work hard, so I think that’s the first big thing is, they show their teammates how hard they work. That’s part of the leadership right there.
“Offensively, Epps does a good job with trying to help us and keep the team together. Then we’re kind of searching. We’re kind of searching to see who else is stepping up because the guys really making plays are young, real young.”
Scott says he believes the players are responding to Petrino’s approach and are handling the adversity “pretty good” as they prepare for Saturday’s game against Samford (2-1), an FCS foe, at 6 p.m. Saturday in Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
“Starting 0-3 is the most uncomfortable position we could have been put in,” Scott says. “It’s something we didn’t plan for going into camp, and now that it’s here we just keep a positive attitude. It can’t get worse than this, so the morale of the team is to move forward, not go back. Last year we only lost three games during the regular season and we’ve already lost those three, so now our plan is to win out.”
Russ Brown has covered University of Louisville athletics for over 30 years, including 15 for The Courier-Journal in Louisville. He is senior writer/editor for the Louisville SportsReport, which he helped found, and also writes for Cardinalsports.com.