CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2006 Louisville

12–⁠1 (6–⁠1 Big East), coached by Bobby Petrino, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Louisville in 2006, game by game: won vs. Kentucky 59–28; won at Temple 62–0; won vs. No. 17 Miami 31–7; won at Kansas State 24–6; won at Middle Tennessee 44–17; won vs. Cincinnati 23–17; won at Syracuse 28–13; won vs. No. 3 West Virginia 44–34; lost at No. 15 Rutgers 25–28; won vs. South Florida 31–8; won at Pittsburgh 48–24; won vs. UConn 48–17; won vs. No. 16 Wake Forest 24–13+62−3Won 59–28 vs. Kentucky+31KentuckyWon 62–0 at Temple+62TempleWon 31–7 vs. No. 17 Miami+24No. 17 MiamiWon 24–6 at Kansas State+18Kansas StateWon 44–17 at Middle Tennessee+27Middle TennesseeWon 23–17 vs. Cincinnati+6CincinnatiWon 28–13 at Syracuse+15SyracuseWon 44–34 vs. No. 3 West Virginia+10No. 3 West VirginiaLost 25–28 at No. 15 Rutgers-3No. 15 RutgersWon 31–8 vs. South Florida+23South FloridaWon 48–24 at Pittsburgh+24PittsburghWon 48–17 vs. UConn+31UConnWon 24–13 vs. No. 16 Wake Forest+11No. 16 Wake Forest
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsKentuckyW 59–⁠2884%
Sep 9atTempleW 62–⁠082%
Sep 16vs17MiamiW 31–⁠762%
Sep 23atKansas StateW 24–⁠662%
Oct 6atMiddle TennesseeW 44–⁠1775%
Oct 14vsCincinnatiW 23–⁠1785%
Oct 21atSyracuseW 28–⁠1380%
Nov 2vs3West VirginiaW 44–⁠3458%
Nov 9at15RutgersL 25–⁠2856%
Nov 18vsSouth FloridaW 31–⁠879%
Nov 25atPittsburghW 48–⁠2470%
Dec 2vsUConnW 48–⁠1791%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs16Wake ForestOrange BowlW 24–⁠1368%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Wake Forest 24–⁠13 in the Orange Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; Big East champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 82 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 13
  2. Wk 2: 13
  3. Wk 3: 12
  4. Wk 4: 8
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 8
  7. Wk 7: 7
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Wk 9: 6
  10. Wk 10: 5
  11. Wk 11: 3
  12. Wk 12: 10
  13. Wk 13: 8
  14. Wk 14: 6
  15. Final: 6

Big East champions6–⁠1 in the conference

Lou Groza AwardArt Carmody, K

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Big East
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 3
Points
491–⁠212
Coach
Bobby Petrino
Elo
1788 +152 this season
SP+ rating
27.3 No. 3 of 119; offense No. 2, defense No. 20, special teams No. 42
SRS
20.7 No. 2 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 24
Offensive coordinator
Paul Petrino
Defensive coordinator
Mike Cassity
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense2nd of 119
  • Defense22nd of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1849%0.962nd of 119
Defense-0.0137%1.0322nd of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 322% allowed
Defense0.0own 292% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2006 class

Deantwan Whitehead SDE★★★★No. 60
Brandon Heath S★★★★No. 132
Aundre Henderson DT★★★★No. 214
Josh Chichester ATH★★★No. 306
Kareem Crowell DT★★★No. 314

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2006 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.830
Receivers32.70.820
Offensive line52.60.793
Defensive line53.40.878
Defensive backs14.00.941
Athletes and specialists13.00.886
Whole class163.00.842

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2007

The 2007 draft
Rd 1Amobi Okoye DTHouston Texans
Rd 4Michael Bush RBOakland Raiders
Rd 5Kolby Smith RBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 5William Gay DBPittsburgh Steelers

2006 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Louisville6–⁠112–⁠16
Rutgers5–⁠211–⁠212
West Virginia5–⁠211–⁠210
South Florida4–⁠39–⁠4
Cincinnati4–⁠38–⁠5
Pittsburgh2–⁠56–⁠6
UConn1–⁠64–⁠8
Syracuse1–⁠64–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.