| Louisville–West Virginia rivalry | |
| Teams | Louisville Cardinals West Virginia Mountaineers |
| Basketball Series | Louisville leads (8–4) |
| Last Winner | West Virginia (2011) |
| Football Series | West Virginia leads (10–3) |
| Last Winner | Louisville (2011) |
|
|
|
| Louisville | West Virginia |
The Louisville–West Virginia rivalry is a new rivalry football game between the University of Louisville and West Virginia University. The rivalry was introduced in 2005, as Louisville left Conference USA and moved into the Big East conference. Since then, it has become a marquee matchup in Big East football and basketball.[1]
West Virginia leads the current football series 5–2, and the all-time football series 10–3[2] while Louisville leads the current basketball series 5–2, and the all-time basketball series 8–3.[3]
Contents |
The Mountaineers and Cardinals first met on a football field in 1984.[2] In that game, the Cardinals were defeated at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown by a score of 30–6. The next year, 1985, the Mountaineers again defeated Louisville, this time by a score of 52–13, in front of 62,000 fans in Morgantown. In 1986, the first game was played in Louisville, but the Mountaineers won for the third-straight time, 42-19.
In 1989, the #9 Mountaineers came into Louisville to fans who were calling the game the "Game of the Century." Louisville legend Johnny Unitas and West Virginia legend Sam Huff were brought in on helicopter to watch the ceremonial coin toss in front of a CBS-televised audience. The Cardinals were winning the game going into the fourth quarter, before the Mountaineers rolled off 17 unanswered fourth-quarter points to win the game, 30-21.[4]
In 1990, the Mountaineers suffered their first loss to the Cardinals. In Morgantown, the Mountaineers fell to Louisville, 9–7.[2] The game was hailed as "The Rematch".[5] In 1993, the Mountaineers were down 21–10 going into the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers used Louisville turnovers to then come back and win by a score of 36–34.
In 2005, the Big East Conference opened its season with the arrival of three teams from the Conference USA: Louisville, Cincinnati, and South Florida. Louisville entered the season behind Heisman candidates Brian Brohm and Michael Bush. West Virginia entered the season with a young team. The Mountaineers lost early to Virginia Tech, but rallied behind freshman Pat White and Steve Slaton to have a 5–1 record for the matchup, while Louisville entered with a 4–1 record after being upset by South Florida. In the game, Louisville held a 24–7 record going into the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers rallied behind Slaton and scored three consecutive times to tie the game 24–24. The game went into three overtimes, and the Mountaineers held a 46–44 lead after Louisville scored a touchdown. Brohm tried to run on the ensuing 2-point conversion, but was tackled short of the endzone by Eric Wicks to win the game, 46-44, for the Mountaineers. Slaton scored a Big East record six times in this game, cementing his place in West Virginia lore. Controversy surrounded this game due to an onside kick in the fourth quarter by West Virginia, which fans determined was illegal. The Big East apologized for missing the call after the game.[6] The Mountaineers won the Big East championship and upset the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl, 38–35. Louisville lost to Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl, 35–24.
In 2006, the Mountaineers and Cardinals entered the game undefeated. The Mountaineers were ranked #3, while the Cardinals were ranked #5. The game ended with a 44–34 score in the Cardinals' biggest win in school history.[7] The Cardinals entered the game without Michael Bush, but relied on the arm of Brian Brohm and their defense to win the shootout. The Mountaineers committed three turnovers and the Cardinals took a punt and fumble back for touchdowns. Slaton ran for 156 yards and a score, but fumbled twice, and White threw for 222 yards and ran for 125 yards and 4 touchdowns. But Brohm was the star, as he threw for 354 yards and a touchdown against the poor Mountaineers' secondary.[7] The game set a new Big East record with 1,008 total yards in the game.[7] The Cardinals won the Big East crown and won in the Orange Bowl against the ACC champs, Wake Forest. The Mountaineers earned runner-up status in conference play and won in the Gator Bowl against Georgia Tech, 38–35.
In 2007, the #7 Mountaineers entered the match-up with a 7–1 record after losing to South Florida, who after the win was ranked #2 in the nation before losing three games in a row. The Cardinals entered the season with a new head coach, Steve Kragthorpe, and entered the game with a disappointing 5-4 record after an early season loss to Syracuse. The Cardinals, however, still had Brian Brohm, while Slaton and White were still juniors for the Mountaineers. The game looked good for the Mountaineers, who jumped out to an early 21–7 lead. However, Brohm had a one-yard touchdown run to make the score 21–14 at halftime. The Mountaineers added a field goal, and then forced Brohm to fumble on a sack that safety Eric Wicks took 44 yards for a score to make the game 31–14. The Cardinals answered with three straight scores - two touchdowns and a field goal - to make it 31–31 with 3:05 left in the game. However, freshman running back Noel Devine returned a kickoff for 41 yards, which led to Patrick White's 50-yard game-winning touchdown run.[8] West Virginia kicker Pat McAfee booted the ensuing kickoff down to the one-yard line as it rolled between the Cardinals' returners' legs, which sealed the 38–31 win. White racked up 328 total yards and 3 touchdowns, even though fumbling twice, while Slaton was held to 60 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Brohm had 345 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air, and a rushing touchdown, as he tried to lead the Cardinals to a comeback win.
In the 2006 matchup, the Louisville Cardinals announced that the game would be "Black Out Thursday". The Louisville fans showed up at the game in all-black, and the Cardinals' uniforms were black alternates. Additionally, in that game, the stadium lights on the east side of the stadium went out, causing a "black out". In 2007, the Mountaineers announced that the game would be a "Gold Rush", returning the favor. The Mountaineers sported all-gold uniforms.[4]
Louisville victories shaded in ■ red. West Virginia victories are shaded ■ blue. Games before the game was officially considered a rivalry are annoted with * by the date.
| Year | Winning Team | Losing Team | Site | Series | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984* | West Virginia | 30 | Louisville | 6 | Morgantown, WV | WVU 1–0 |
| 1985* | West Virginia | 52 | Louisville | 13 | Morgantown, WV | WVU 2–0 |
| 1986* | West Virginia | 42 | Louisville | 19 | Louisville, KY | WVU 3–0 |
| 1989* | West Virginia | 30 | Louisville | 21 | Louisville, KY | WVU 4–0 |
| 1990* | Louisville | 9 | West Virginia | 7 | Morgantown, WV | WVU 4–1 |
| 1993* | West Virginia | 36 | Louisville | 34 | Morgantown, WV | WVU 5–1 |
| 2005 | West Virginia | 46 | Louisville | 44 | Morgantown, WV | WVU 6–1 |
| 2006 | Louisville | 44 | West Virginia | 34 | Louisville, KY | WVU 6–2 |
| 2007 | West Virginia | 38 | Louisville | 31 | Morgantown, WV | WVU 7–2 |
| 2008 | West Virginia | 35 | Louisville | 21 | Louisville, KY | WVU 8–2 |
| 2009 | West Virginia | 17 | Louisville | 9 | Morgantown, WV | WVU 9–2 |
| 2010 | West Virginia | 17 | Louisville | 10 | Louisville, KY | WVU 10–2 |
| 2011 | Louisville | 38 | West Virginia | 35 | Morgantown, WV | WVU 10–3 |
West Virginia and Louisville first met on a basketball court in 1959, in which the Mountaineers picked up a 94–79 victory with Jerry West and Willie Akers. The two teams next met in 1978, 19 years later, in which Louisville picked up a 106–60 victory in Louisville, Kentucky. Two years later, 1980, the Mountaineers were defeated to the score of 90–78 in West Virginia. In the 2005 NCAA Tournament, the two teams met in the Elite 8 matchup, West Virginia was up by 18 at half time, but in the second half Louisville came back and the game went to over time.Louisville pulled away in overtime with a 93–85 victory on their way to a Final Four run.
The teams regularly met after the 2005 tournament game due to the Big East Conference and Conference USA re-alignments, in which Louisville became part of the Big East with West Virginia. The teams' first conference matchup was the 2006 game in West Virginia, in which West Virginia won 86–84. The two teams then met in the Big East Tournament in 2007, with Louisville taking the game 82–71. Louisville also won the 2008 matchup in Kentucky, 63–54. In January of the 2009, the two teams met up in Kentucky, in which Louisville won 69–63. Two months later, Louisville defeated the Mountaineers 62–59 in Morgantown, West Virginia in front of a record-crowd for College GameDay. On January 30, 2010, the 9th ranked Mountaineers and Cardinals met in Morgantown with a 77–74 West Virginia win.
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||