Loser leaves town, Louisville leaves town with likely BCS bid

Martin: We didn’t think it would ever actually happen, but it did. Louisville is joining the ACC. I know you were sweating and struggling with how things were going to shake out, but walk us through how this all came to be from the Louisville perspective.

Mark: For Louisville folks, it really looked like conference realignment was done for a while. Having missed out on the Big 12 last year, and the ACC having rejected West Virginia last year as well, it was initially viewed as something of a lost cause from the outset. But the longer things went without the ACC making a decision, the better it looked like Louisville’s chances were.

It’s hard not to feel the love (and emotion) when you watch Teddy Bridgewater’s post-game response to Louisville’s win over Rutgers, 20-17.

Duke went 3-5 in the ACC and prrrrrrobably would’ve lost to Louisville. Florida State proponent Anthony Boone did tear up Virginia this year, though. Virginia probably would’ve lost to Louisville too.

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Following an interception, Louisville took the lead at 20-17 with a 29-yard field goal from John Wallace with under two minutes remaining, then sealed the win on Rutgers’ last drive with another pick.

Here’s Bridgewater’s drop-off to Wright:

Teddy Bridgewater can’t run, due to his hip injury. He also has a non-throwing arm injury. He can, however, still invent things that aren’t really supposed to work, like this score, which helped the Cardinals reclaim the lead from a Rutgers team that recently punted from the Louisville 31.

Bridgewater has 190 yards and two touchdowns despite splitting time with backup Will Stein.

On the other side, Rutgers has ... I mean, like nothing, except for those two big plays. The Cards have to feel great about their shape on defense, if they can prevent any more explosive scores, but will have to find a solution for the banged-up Bridgewater problem.

Other than those two plays, we’ve seen 224 yards worth of offense on the night so far.

Drastically improved as a decision maker over his freshman season, Bridgewater has already racked up 3,189 passing yards and 24 total touchdowns this year for a Louisville team with just two losses on its record. Although he will not open the evening as the Cardinals’ No. 1 quarterback on the depth chart, it’s difficult to imagine Bridgewater won’t still play a significant role in the passing game with a conference championship up for grabs.

If Rutgers wins at home, it will secure a Big East Conference title and a BCS bowl berth. The Scarlet Knights own a 5-1 record and would be the league’s only one-loss team. If Louisville wins, it would get the BCS berth, even though it could mean splitting the conference title with up to three other teams.

Neither team will be in the conference in a couple years, so this could be the last time either team has a shot at a BIg East title. The Scarlet Knights have committed to joining the Big Ten and the Cardinals announced Wednesday that they will move to the ACC.