UM’s Golden backs UL’s Bridgewater
Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater entered this season with lofty expectations.
He was a Heisman candidate and widely presumed to be one of the top prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Sports Illustrated placed him on the cover, dubbing him Teddy Football.
Then Louisville stumbled late against UCF, watching the Knights claim the American Athletic Conference’s Bowl Championship Series bid.
Murmurs about Bridgewater’s value popped up, with some questioning whether Teddy Football wasn’t quite as good as advertised.
UM coach Al Golden dismissed the suggestion Bridgewater isn’t the elite playmaker many thought he could be at the beginning of the season.
“I don’t think that’s fair to him nor the team,” UM coach Al Golden said following one of the Hurricanes’ bowl week practices this week. “They were basically in a one-loss scenario based on what happened in the league. That’s not any of the young man’s fault. It’s a very, very good team. It’s an excellent team. It’s a team that has played and won a lot of football. They’ve been to bowl games the last three years.
“Our freshmen, sophomores and juniors haven’t had that experience. They have to trust us, they have to learn as we go, and they have to get themselves ready for a heck of a football game Saturday night.”
Louisville offensive coordinator Shawn Watson wasn’t happy to see Bridgewater’s popularity dip, either.
“It bothered me because I was seeing his level of play Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, center, has faced criticism after failing to reach another BCS bowl. and seeing all the little things he was doing at a high level, so it was very disappointing to me to see his name fall off the radar this year because of all the things that he accomplished,” Watson said.
Bridgewater admitted the negativity that followed the UCF loss had an impact.
“It bothered me a little,” he said. “But that’s college football. We can only control what we can. I just let my play continue to speak for itself and I continue to add to my résumé each week.”
Slowing Coley
The Cardinals have their eyes on Miami Hurricanes standout receiver Stacy Coley.
Coley has 30 catches for 559 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
He also leads the team with 10 punt returns for 220 yards and a touchdown and 15 kickoff returns for 398 yards and another touchdown.
“We have to key on Stacy Coley,” Louisville safety Calvin Pryor said. “He has speed. We have to slow him down and make him do something he doesn’t normally do.”
’Canes urged to focus on football
Louisville coach Charlie Strong and Miami’s Golden have been wary of the distractions that can go along with bowl week.
While they wanted their players to enjoy the bowl experience, they are eager to see them zone in on Saturday’s game.
“So far, so good,” Golden said Wednesday when asked how his players were handling the bowl week schedule. “Now it’s the tricky part because the reality is, as players, we have to calm down. ... We did all the fun things on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Now we have to get to the game mindset. Get our rest, have the discipline to stay out of the lobby, get off our feet, the things like that.
“That’s really the challenge now in trusting the schedule. They’ve done a great job up until now. The distractions now are going to increase. We need maturity and leadership to fight through this final 72 hours.”