GAME NOTES: The sixth-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers try to keep their Big East and national title hopes alive this Thursday, as they entertain the Louisville Cardinals at Milan Puskar Stadium. The Mountaineers enter the contest on a roll, winning three straight games, including a convincing 31-3 triumph at Rutgers on October 27th. With the win, WVU improved to 2-1 in league play, leaving it just one game back in the loss column of first place UConn, which stands at a perfect 4-0. Now at a solid 7-1 overall and ranked a lofty sixth in the nation, the Mountaineers return back home, where they have gone 10-0 all-time in night games under head coach Rich Rodriguez. As for Louisville, it was last in play on October 27th as well, defeating Pittsburgh 24-17. It was the second win in three outings by the Cardinals, who improved to 5-4 overall and an even 2-2 in league play. The team now heads out to the road, where it has gone 2-2 and that includes a 28-24 victory over then 15th- ranked Cincinnati on October 13th. With regard to the all-time series, WVU owns a 6-2 edge over Louisville, but the Cardinals won last year's meeting, 44-34, at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

The Cardinals possess one of the most potent offensive attacks around and they ranks first in the Big East and sixth in the nation with an average of 510.4 total ypg. The offense, which is scoring a solid 37.0 ppg, has relied heavily on its aerial attack, ranking fourth in the country with 360.9 passing ypg. Quarterback Brian Brohm is one of the premier players at his position and he has completed an efficient 68.2 percent of his throws for 358.8 passing ypg, with 26 touchdowns against only seven interceptions. In the team's last game, Brohm didn't put forth his best effort of the season, but he still converted on 21-of-30 tosses for 236 yards and two scores in a 24-17 triumph over Pittsburgh. Harry Douglas was on the receiving end of six of those passes and he finished the game with 63 yards and a touchdown. On the year, Douglas leads the club in catches (55) and receiving yards (879), and he is tied with Gary Barnidge for the team-lead in receiving touchdowns with six. Speaking of Barnidge, he is one of the top tight ends in the Big East and he ranks second to Douglas with 41 catches and 505 receiving yards. In the backfield, Anthony Allen leads the club with 664 yards and seven scores, although the running game's production has steadily decreased as the season has worn on.

Louisville's defense has shown improvement in recent weeks, but overall the unit hasn't fared well in allowing 27.3 ppg and 411.3 total ypg. The defense is giving up 153.9 ypg on the ground and 257.4 ypg through the air and it has record a mere six interceptions thus far. In the squad's previous contest, the Cardinals put together one of their better efforts of the season on defense, as they held Pittsburgh to just 270 total yards. Louisville forced just one turnover, but that came in the closing moments when Pittsburgh was trying to tie the score. Lamar Myles led the charge with eight tackles and three TFLs in the win. For the year, Myles has clearly been the team's most productive player on this side of the ball, as his 93 tackles are nearly triple the next closest player on the roster.

There isn't many teams that can match Louisville's explosive offense, but WVU is one, as the Mountaineers lead the Big East in scoring (40.8 ppg) and rank second in total yards (470.9 ypg). Unlike the Cardinals though, the Mountaineers do most of their damage on the ground, where they are averaging 297.9 ypg to rank third in the nation. Of the team's 42 offensive touchdowns, 31 have come via the run. Heisman hopeful Steve Slaton has accounted for 13 of the team's rushing touchdowns this season and he also leads the club with 825 yards. Quarterback Patrick White, a Heisman candidate himself, ranks second to Slaton with 656 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, and he has also completed an efficient 70.0 percent of his throws, with nine more scores. In the club's prior outing, WVU racked up 398 total yards, including 254 on the ground, in a 31-3 win over Rutgers. White headed the charge, as he rushed for 156 yards and a score, in addition to completing 10-of-16 tosses for 144 yards. Slaton was limited to 73 yards on 16 carries, but he did end up scoring three touchdowns. He also hauled in a 51-yard pass. Another player worth mentioning in this potent attack is Darius Reynaud, the team's leading receiver with 39 catches, 461 yards and eight scores.

The biggest surprise for WVU this season has been its defense, which ranks fourth in the nation in total yards (262.1 ypg) and sixth in scoring (14.9 ppg). The defense has shown it can clamp down against both the run (101.1 ypg) and pass (161.0 ypg), and it has also done a good job in forcing turnovers (22). The unit is even coming off one of its finest performances of the season, as the Mountaineers allowed just 314 total yards and a season-low three points to Rutgers. WVU forced four turnovers in that contest and it was led by Reed Williams, who logged 13 tackles. Williams leads the club with 68 stops for the year, while Johnny Dingle leads the team with 10.5 TFLs and six sacks.

This was supposed to be one of the biggest games of the season for the Big East, but Louisville's struggles have put a damper on that. WVU has been flying under the radar since its lone loss to South Florida and that may not be a bad thing considering all the upsets in college football this season. The Mountaineers clearly have the better defense here and even if that unit gets torched a bit, WVU has plenty of weapons on offense to outlast the Cardinals in this contest.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: West Virginia 42, Louisville 27