With one month left in the 2012 regular season, there are four unbeaten teams on everyone’s BCS radar. Alabama, Kansas State, Oregon and Notre Dame will all play later today, with the Irish taking on Pitt right now.
Staying in the Big East, however, there’s another undefeated team getting less national recognition -- No. 12 Louisville.
The Cardinals are a long shot -- that’s putting it politely -- for a BCS championship appearance if they remain undefeated. Basically, imagine a scenario where every team in the BCS top nine loses at least once. That’s how Louisville makes it to Miami as one of the two “best” teams in the country.
But even if all of that is to happen, the Cardinals need to do what they’ve been doing week in and week out since the start of the season: win. That’s exactly what UL did today in a convincing 45-17 rout of new conference member Temple. While we agree it would have been hilarious and very Big East of the Owls, who were booted from the league and then invited back eight years later, to topple the conference’s only unbeaten, the perception of the Big East rides on UL’s success right now.
Things are setting up well for an end-of-season showdown between Louisville and Rutgers for the Big East title -- provided the Cards can handle Syracuse and UConn. The Scarlet Knights, meanwhile, still have road games against Cincinnati and Pitt.
Behind quarterback Teddy Bridgewater -- the sophomore is playing great football right now and had five touchdown passes today -- the Cardinals are in good position to at least be on the peripheral of the BCS conversation. All they need to do is keep winning.