By Russ Brown
Special to NKyTribune
LOUISVILLE — University of Louisville football coach Bobby Petrino was sitting in the stands in Biloxi Indian Stadium in Biloxi, Miss., Sunday afternoon on a recruiting trip watching the junior college national championship game between Rochester and Northwest Mississippi when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
As he turned around, a fellow sitting behind him said, “Hey coach, you know you’re going to the Music City Bowl? I have it right here on my phone.”
Although from conversations between UofL officials, the ACC and the bowl, Petrino suspected that would be the Cardinals’ destination, that was the first indication he had gotten that it was official.
His reaction: “Awesome,” Petrino recalled during a teleconference Sunday evening.
Louisville (7-5) will face Texas A&M (8-4) of the Southeastern Conference at 7 p.m. EST on Dec. 30 (ESPN) in Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
“From the communication we had been involved in, I thought we might go to the Music City, but you never know until you get it done,” Petrino said. “I think it’s a great deal for all of us. It’s a great challenge, the team will be able to get on a bus and ride down and our fans will be able to come out and show great support like they always do.”
This will be the Cards’ first appearance in the 18-year history of the Music City and their closest bowl destination ever.
Scott Ramsey, executive director of the bowl, had said late last week that UofL was an appealing prospect for the game, which Notre Dame won last year by edging LSU 31-28.
“In general, with our tie to the ACC, I think Louisville has always been one of those teams that at some point in time we’ve hoped for and wanted and kind of wished to have in our game,” Ramsey said. “I think the fan base (will) have a great time here, obviously only a few hours up the road, which gives people a lot of great chances to follow the team and have some fun in Nashville. So we always thought that was going to be a great marriage.”
Although the game will have no national significance since both teams are unranked and have had unremarkable seasons, the Music City is considered one of the ACC’s Tier One bowl affiliations, the same as the Belk, Pinstriple, Sun and TaxSlayer bowls.
A&M’s season developed the opposite of Louisville’s. While the Cards started 0-3 before winning four in a row and seven of their last nine, the Aggies got off to a hot start at 5-0, but then slumped.
A&M rose as high as No. 9 in the AP poll, but fell out after losing three of its next four — to then-No. 9 Alabama (41-23), No. 23 Ole Miss (23-3) and Auburn (26-10). UofL also lost to Auburn, 31-24, in its season opener.
A&M dropped its season finale to No. 21/20 LSU 19-7. The Aggies have won four straight bowl games. UofL has won two of its last three, but fell to Georgia 37-14 last year in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C.
Louisville is 0-3 all-time against the Aggies, losing each game in a series scheduled by former coach Howard Schnellenberger. A&M won twice in College Station, 40-18 in 1992 and 42-7 in ’93, then beat UofL in old Cardinal Stadium in ’94, 26-10.
Petrino said he hasn’t seen A&M play this year.
“We don’t get to watch many games on TV,” he said. “I haven’t seen them at all, so certainly we have a lot of preparation to do, but we have time to do it.”
Unlike several times this season, Petrino wasn’t hesitant to name UofL’s starting quarterback for the bowl game, saying freshman Lamar Jackson had earned the job with his performance against Kentucky in the regular season finale. Jackson came off the bench late in the first quarter with the Cards trailing 21-0 and led them to a a 38-24 win.
“I was very impressed with the way Lamar came out and played, so I would anticipate Lamar being the starter,” Petrino said. “He played extremely well in a tough situation. He threw the ball well, made some great runs, executed our offense. His decision-making was good; he did some nice things at the line of scrimmage that helped us win the game.”
Several starters either suffered injuries against UK or were limited by earlier injuries — linebacker Keith Kelsey, running back Brandon Radcliff and wide receiver Jamari Staples. Petrino said all three have a chance to practice when the Cards start their bowl drills Friday, although none are locks.
Cards’ quarterback Gardner will transfer
University of Louisville quarterback Will Gardner’s father has told The Courier-Journal that his son has asked for and been granted his release to transfer to another school.
Gardner was UofL’s starter most of last season, but hasn’t played this year. Instead, the Cardinals have primarily used freshman Lamar Jackson and sophomore Kyle Bolin at the position.
Glenn Gardner said his son will graduate from U of L with a bachelor’s degree in sports administration on Dec. 18, so he would likely be able to play at another Football Bowl Subdivision program next season without having to sit out a year.
“He’s just looking for a new home for next year, a new place to play,” Glenn Gardner said. “He’s just going to transfer, going to move on in life.”
A fourth-year junior, Will started seven games for UofL in 2014, including the season opener, before suffering a season-ending ACL tear in a knee – the third time he’s had that same injury since his senior year of high school. He threw for 1,669 yards and 12 touchdowns with three interceptions last season.