Kragthorpe Pleased with Cardinals' Backfield
A little bit of grit in the running game has helped Louisville get back on track.
The Cardinals (1-1) rolled up 234 rushing yards against Tennessee Tech over the weekend, 114 of them by freshman Victor Anderson. Brock Bolen added two scores on the ground and Bilal Powell showed flashes in relief.
Asked on Monday if he's considering naming a starter, coach Steve Kragthorpe said there's no point. All three will continue to see playing time, and he feels all three can contribute regardless of the situation.
"We knew Brock and Bilal are good and now we've found that Vic is too, so I think it's a great situation,"
Kragthorpe said. "It's a bonus situation for us that we have three tailbacks of the quality we do. And we're going to need all three of those guys if we're going to be successful this year."
They each got their chances against Tennessee Tech. Anderson and Powell had 12 carries each while Bolen had 11. Kragthorpe said it wasn't by design, but speaks to the versatility of each player.
"The best thing about the three of those guys is when you put one of them into the game, from (an opponent's) defensive standpoint, you can't say, 'Well, this guy can't do this,"
' Kragthorpe said. "What I like about it is you're minimizing tendencies. All three can do everything we ask our running backs to do and do it with proficiency."
The Cardinals have the weekend off before hosting Kansas State (2-0) on Sept. 17.
Kragthorpe also announced on Monday that the Cardinals will begin a home-and-home series with former Conference USA rival Southern Mississippi in 2009. The Golden Eagles will play at Louisville in 2009, with the Cardinals going on the road in 2012. Louisville won the last meeting between the two schools 20-17 in 2002.
