University of Houston Athletics
Football Continues Preps for Louisville
11/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 7, 2001
HOUSTON, Texas - The University of Houston football team continued preparations Wednesday for this weekend's road contest at Conference USA leader Louisville.
The Cougars, who have dropped their first eight games of the season, meet the Cardinals in a 1 p.m. (CST) contest Saturday at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
"Our football team needs to go and play aggressively and enjoy the opportunity to play against a top 25 team, play well and do some good things to get a victory," said head coach Dana Dimel, following Wednesday's practice. "Each player must try to improve their level of play, and that will help our football team get better."
The Cardinals come into the game on a five-game winning streak and with a perfect 4-0 C-USA record. Dimel said it's no secret why Louisville has been successful enough this season to earn a national top 25 ranking.
"We're playing the best team in the conference right now and the most consistent," Dimel said. "They have big playmakers on offense and their defense has picked up down the stretch run. This will be a test."
Louisville faces C-USA co-leader East Carolina the weekend after the showdown with the Cougars in a pivotal league match-up that could go a long way in determining the league champion. With that in mind, now might be the best time to face the Cardinals, Dimel said.
"This is the first game in quite a while where a team is taking us lightly," Dimel said. "In other games, teams have been trying to right their ship when playing us. This is a team that we have a chance to sneak up on and surprise a little bit."
A year ago, the Cougars dropped a 32-13 decision at Robertson Stadium in a game played under cold, wet and windy conditions. Fortunately for Cougar fans making the trip to Kentucky, temperatures should be around 60 degrees at kickoff.
