Best Season: Louisville

Louisville is one of those team who seems to be great at playing the role of Cinderella. The Cardinals have never won a national title, but they have had magical runs towards conference titles, and even a Heisman winner in Lamar Jackson. Their best year did not come from that 2016 season though; that title is held by the team that played ten years earlier.

In 2006, the Cardinals returned 9 starters from a team that went 9-3 the year before. There was certainly some expectations, as the team had a chance to finish even better than 19th, as they did the year before. In their opening game of the season, the Louisville Cardinals faced off against their in-state rivals, the Kentucky Wildcats, with the Governor's Cup at stake. Despite Kentucky's four-year losing streak against Louisville, they entered the game with a strong offense led by quarterback Andre' Woodson and coached by Rich Brooks in his fourth year. The Cardinals dominated early, thanks to three touchdown runs by Michael Bush in the first half, along with a touchdown pass by Brian Brohm and a field goal by Art Carmody. Woodson managed to throw two touchdown passes before halftime, but the Cardinals still held a commanding 31-14 lead. However, early in the second half, Michael Bush suffered a broken leg that ended his season. Despite losing their star player, the Cardinals continued to score, adding four more touchdowns to their total, including two by Bush's replacement, George Stripling. Kentucky managed to score twice more, with Woodson throwing another long touchdown pass and Keenan Burton returning a kickoff for a touchdown.

In the end, the Cardinals emerged victorious, winning 59-28 and moving up to the 12th spot in the national rankings.

In their next game, the Louisville Cardinals traveled to face the Temple Owls, who were led by second-year head coach Al Golden and quarterback Adam Dimichele. From the beginning, the Cardinals dominated the game, scoring five rushing touchdowns in the first half and adding a 57-yard touchdown pass by Brohm to take a commanding 42-0 lead by halftime.

Unfortunately for the Owls, the second half was no better, as they failed to score and gave up two more rushing touchdowns and a pair of field goals by Art Carmody. When the game ended, the Cardinals had achieved an impressive 62-0 victory and had amassed 671 total yards of offense. Despite their decisive win, Louisville remained ranked 12th in the nation after the game.

Louisville's faced a tough opponent in their first major challenge of the season against the 15th-ranked Miami Hurricanes, who were led by head coach Larry Coker and quarterback Kyle Wright. The Hurricanes had previously beaten the Cardinals in all 10 of their previous encounters. Prior to the game, Miami players created a small altercation by stomping on the Cardinals logo at midfield. Louisville initially struggled against Miami's strong defense, which had only allowed an average of 200 yards per game. Miami took an early lead with a rushing touchdown, but was unable to score again. The Cardinals responded with a field goal and a long touchdown pass from Brohm to take a 10-7 lead into halftime. In the third quarter, Brohm injured his thumb and had to be taken out of the game, which was later reported to keep him out for four to six weeks. However, the Cardinals' offense continued to excel, with running back Kolby Smith scoring two rushing touchdowns in the third quarter and Brohm's backup, Hunter Cantwell, throwing another touchdown in the fourth. The game ended with a score of 31-7 in favor of the Cardinals. Despite being held to 382 yards, the Cardinals' performance was strong enough to defeat the Hurricanes. After the game, Louisville rose to the 9th spot in the national rankings, while Miami fell out of the polls for the first time since 1999.

The next opponent for the Cardinals was the Kansas State Wildcats, who were undefeated under first-year head coach Ron Prince and boasted a formidable defense ranked 14th in the nation in total yards. The Wildcats had not allowed an offensive touchdown since their first game, but the Cardinals quickly put an end to that streak with a 97-yard drive culminating in a 19-yard touchdown pass by Cantwell. Despite struggling to move the ball for the remainder of the first half, the Cardinals managed to extend their lead to 10-0 with a field goal by Carmody. In the second half, the Cardinals scored two rushing touchdowns to take a commanding 24-0 lead before Kansas State finally got on the board with a 69-yard run. However, a failed two-point conversion attempt meant the Wildcats could not mount a comeback. Although the Cardinals' offense, ranked first in the nation with an average of 563 total yards per game, was held to under 400 yards, they still won 24-6. The victory propelled them to eighth in the national rankings.

The next opponent for the Cardinals was the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, coached by Rick Stockstill, with Clint Marks as their quarterback. The Cardinals scored an early field goal, but soon lost the lead when the Blue Raiders' Damon Nickson returned the kickoff for an 88-yard touchdown. The Blue Raiders extended their lead to 10-3 with a field goal, but the Cardinals responded with two more field goals and two touchdown passes from Hunter Cantwell to Mario Urrutia. At halftime, the Cardinals were leading 23-10. In the second half, Cantwell threw another touchdown pass, and Kolby Smith and Anthony Allen both ran for touchdowns, extending the lead even further. Although Marks threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, it was not enough to stage a comeback, and the Cardinals won 44-17. With the victory, the Cardinals moved up to seventh in the national rankings.

The Cardinals began their Big East schedule by hosting the Cincinnati Bearcats in a homecoming game. Although the Bearcats had a 3-3 record, they had played tough games against number one ranked Ohio State and highly ranked Virginia Tech, taking early leads in both games. Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm returned from his thumb injury but struggled in the first half. The Bearcats took an early lead with a field goal, and after the Cardinals tied the game, they took the lead again with a touchdown pass by Dustin Grutza. However, the Cardinals managed to score twice at the end of the half, including a 1-yard pass by Brohm, to take a 13-10 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Cardinals scored on an Anthony Allen rush and another field goal by Art Carmody to take a 23-10 lead in the fourth quarter. Although Grutza threw another touchdown pass with four minutes left in the game and had a chance to win with another pass in the endzone, the pass was knocked down by Cardinal cornerback Gavin Smart, preserving the win for Louisville. With the 23-17 victory, the Cardinals extended their 15-game home winning streak and moved up to sixth in the national rankings.

The next opponent for the Cardinals was the Syracuse Orange, whom they faced in Syracuse. The Orange, coached by Greg Robinson in his second year, were seeking their first conference victory in two years, and were led by quarterback Perry Patterson. Both teams had a tough time moving the ball in the first quarter, but Syracuse managed to take the lead with two field goals in the second quarter. However, just before the end of the half, the Cardinals responded with an 80-yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by Anthony Allen, giving them a 7-6 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, the only score came from Kolby Smith's 5-yard touchdown run for the Cardinals. Allen scored his second touchdown in the fourth quarter, giving the Cardinals a 21-6 lead. Patterson and Mike Williams connected for a 37-yard touchdown, bringing the Orange within 8 points. With the Cardinals bobbled kickoff, the Orange had a chance to tie the game, but the Cardinals went on a 93-yard drive, capped off by another Smith touchdown run. The Cardinals won 28-13 and moved up to fifth in the national rankings.

The next game for the Cardinals was against the third-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, led by Rich Rodriguez, their sixth-year head coach, and quarterback Pat White, which was considered to be the Big East game of the year. Both teams were ranked in the top-5 in the country and were tied with Rutgers for the lead in the Big East, and the winner was expected to have national title hopes. The Cardinals started the game with an early lead after Art Carmody kicked a field goal, but Steve Slaton's 42-yard touchdown run gave the Mountaineers a 7-3 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Cardinals took the lead in the second quarter after Carmody kicked another field goal, and Anthony Allen scored a touchdown on the next drive. White scored a touchdown on the next drive, but Carmody kicked another field goal to give the Cardinals a 16-14 lead at halftime. The Cardinals started the second half strong, with a fumble returned by Malik Jackson for a touchdown, and Trent Guy returning a punt 40-yards for another touchdown. White scored his second rushing touchdown to bring the Mountaineers within nine points at the end of the third quarter, but Brian Brohm connected with Mario Urrutia to give the Cardinals a 37-21 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. White scored his third rushing touchdown, but Allen answered with his second touchdown to give the Cardinals a 17-point lead with 12 minutes left. After turnovers by both teams, White scored his fourth rushing touchdown with two minutes left in the game. The Cardinals won the game 44-34 and remained tied for the Big East Conference lead. West Virginia dropped to tenth in the rankings, and the Cardinals moved up to fourth.

The next game for the Cardinals was against the 14th ranked Scarlet Knights, who were undefeated and led by sixth-year head coach Greg Schiano and quarterback Mike Teel. The game was crucial for both teams, as the winner would take the lead in the Big East Conference. The Cardinals started strong with an Anthony Allen rushing touchdown, but the Knights quickly tied the game with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Teel. However, the Cardinals regained the lead with a 100-yard kickoff return by Jajuan Spillman. Brohm then led the Cardinals on two scoring drives, ending in a touchdown and a field goal, to take a 25-14 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Ray Rice scored his second touchdown of the game, and the Knights closed the gap to three points with a successful two-point conversion. After the Cardinals were unable to score on their first drive in the fourth quarter, the Knights tied the game with a Jeremy Ito field goal. The Knights then drove to the Louisville 16-yard line with 21 seconds left in the game. Ito attempted the game-winning field goal, but missed. However, the Cardinals were penalized for being offsides, and Ito made his second attempt to give the Knights a 28-25 win. After the game, Rutgers remained the only undefeated team in the Big East and took the lead in the conference, while the Cardinals dropped to 12th in the nation and second place in the conference.

The next opponent for the Cardinals was the South Florida Bulls, who had defeated the Cardinals in the previous year. Led by their eleventh-year head coach Jim Leavitt and quarterback Matt Grothe, the Bulls were hoping to continue their success against the Cardinals. However, both teams struggled to get their offenses going in the first half, and it was the Cardinals who took the lead with a touchdown pass from Brohm and a field goal by Carmody, going into halftime with a 10-0 lead. In the third quarter, the Cardinals extended their lead with two more touchdowns, one from Anthony Allen and another from Brohm. Although Grothe managed to throw a 44-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and complete a two-point conversion, the Cardinals responded with another touchdown run from Allen. The game ended with the Cardinals winning 31-8. With Rutgers losing to Cincinnati, the Cardinals found themselves in a three-way tie for first place in the Big East once again. After the win, the Cardinals rose to eleventh in the national rankings.

The following game for the Cardinals was against the Pittsburgh Panthers, with second-year head coach Dave Wannstedt and quarterback Tyler Palko at the helm. The Cardinals started strong with a 19-yard touchdown by Anthony Allen, but the Panthers responded with two touchdowns to take the lead. A field goal by Carmody brought the Cardinals within four points, and a Brohm touchdown pass early in the second quarter gave them the lead again. The Panthers tied the game midway through the quarter, but the Cardinals pulled ahead with Brohm's second touchdown pass to end the first half with a 24-17 lead. In the third quarter, the Cardinals scored two more touchdowns, extending their lead to 21 points. A Carmody field goal early in the fourth quarter further widened the gap. Although Palko managed a 21-yard touchdown pass for the Panthers, Brohm sealed the Cardinals' victory with a 75-yard touchdown pass, ending the game at 48-24. After this win, the Cardinals climbed to seventh place in the national rankings.

The Cardinals' final game of the regular season was against the Connecticut Huskies, who were led by eighth-year head coach Randy Edsall and quarterback Matt Bonislawski. The Cardinals got off to a good start, with an Allen touchdown run, and although the Huskies scored on a field goal, the Cardinals responded with a field goal of their own to maintain a 7-point lead. In the second quarter, Brohm threw a long touchdown pass, and although the Huskies answered with a Lou Allen run, the Cardinals scored twice more, with another touchdown pass by Brohm and a second field goal by Carmody. The Cardinals went into halftime with a 27-10 lead. In the second half, the Cardinals scored three more times, with two additional touchdown passes by Brohm and another running touchdown by Anthony Allen. Although the Huskies scored again late in the fourth quarter on a run by Terry Cauley, it was not enough, and the Cardinals won the game 48-17. This win, combined with Rutgers' loss to West Virginia, secured the Cardinals the Big East championship and the conference's spot in the BCS. Following the win, the Cardinals were ranked sixth in the BCS standings.

After winning the Big East, the Cardinals were extended an invitation to play in the Orange Bowl against the ACC champion, the No. 15 ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Deacons were coached by Jim Grobe in his fifth year, and had Riley Skinner as their quarterback. Although the Deacons got off to an early lead with a field goal, the Cardinals responded with a field goal of their own and a touchdown in the first quarter, which helped them secure a 10-3 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Skinner tied the game with a 30-yard touchdown pass and took a three-point lead in the fourth quarter after a 36-yard field goal. However, the lead was short-lived as the Cardinals quickly scored a touchdown on a rush by Anthony Allen and another one later in the quarter on a rush by Brock Bolen. With these two scores, the Cardinals won the game 24-13, marking their first-ever victory in a BCS bowl game.