The Cards started the year 0-3.  A comeback came up short vs. Auburn in Atlanta, turnovers stunned the crowd vs. Houston, and a missed field goal kept the Clemson game out of overtime.  But one thing about this Louisville team:  They never hung their heads.

You hear it from James Burgess, Brandon Radcliff, Kyle Bolin, Bobby Petrino. You can see it even now in Lamar Jackson and Reggie Bonnafon.  Louisville has rallied to win 6 of its last 7 games to become bowl eligible after its tough start because of one uncoachable trait:  ATTITUDE.

It’s human nature to lose 3 games (of 12 in a season) in a row and mentally check out.  For players to begin to play more individually and worry about ‘their season’ or ‘their stats’.  But you didn’t see that from this Louisville team.  Instead as Cole Hikutini said after beating Virginia:  “It’s a brotherhood in the locker room.  It’s family.  We never changed our approach.”

Bobby Petrino after losing a third consecutive team walked into the locker room after the Clemson game and didn’t rip his team.  He talked about looking into the faces of his team and understanding that they were hurt as much as he was by losing.   It was time to go to work, it was time to trust the process more than ever.

Samford.  NC State.  A setback vs. Florida State.  Then Boston College, Wake Forest, Syracuse, and Virginia.  Nothing came easy, but the attitude never changed.  Consistency has eluded this team in terms of execution…but the attitude is STEADY.

That says a lot.  Winning on Senior Day, rallying to get to a bowl, it’s huge.

The Cards won today with the inverse of how they lost to Virginia a year ago….with James Quick forcing a fumble on a punt.  A year ago Michaelee Harris bumped Quick causing James to mishandle the ball giving UVA a field goal to win by 2.  This year, poetic justice for James.  James Quick went full circle vs. Virginia and Louisville Football has done the same this season with its start and recent play.

We’ll see how the final two games of the regular season shake out for the Cards, but its because of leadership and attitude that there is a 3rd.

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@UofLSheriff50. Louisville native, University of Louisville Business School Grad c/o 2004. Co-Founder of TheCrunchZone.com

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