Published: November 17, 2008 11:24 pm      

Kragthorpe impressed by defense

MORGANTOWN — “I think what gets lost a little bit in the West Virginia football story is how well they play on defense,” Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe said Monday on the Big East weekly media teleconference.

“Certainly (quarterback) Pat White is a great player. He’s a marquee player not only in our conference but in college football. But I think (defensive coordinator) Jeff Casteel has done a great job.

“They’re aggressive and they do an excellent job. They’re very sound schematically with different looks.”

But he said Saturday’s Big East clash between West Virginia (6-3, 3-1) and Louisville (5-5,1-4) shapes up as a tremendous challenge for the Cardinals, who will be playing their final home game of the season.

“We want to finish on a positive note here in our own stadium,” Kragthorpe

While the Mountaineers had an open date on the schedule last week, Louisville dropped a heartbreaking 28-20 decision to Cincinnati in a contest at home last Friday night.

“Give ’em credit. But we shot ourselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers when we were driving,” he said.

The coach thinks bye weeks could benefit both ways at times. In WVU’s case, his opinion is that it came at a good time to give the injured extra time to heal. “It helps them for a stretch drive,” he noted.

How big is Saturday’s game?

“I think it is a big game for both teams,” Kragthorpe said. “We want to get back on the winning side of the ledger and West Virginia wants to keep itself in the championship race.”

According to the coach, quarterback Hunter Cantwell and running back Victor Anderson are fine after having been forced to leave the Cincinnati game briefly. Both were shaken up when hit hard.

The Cardinals need one more victory to become bowl eligible.