Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Hardly a day and never a week goes by when Steve Kragthorpe doesn't get asked about the "unfair catch."
But the Louisville coach and his players insist they're not out for for revenge for last year's controversial play when Connecticut comes to town on Friday night.
"It's hard because all the questions keep coming up," Kragthorpe said. "You know it's going to come up all week long. But you just have to move forward and keep going."
The play happened during last season's Oct. 19 game at Rentschler Field. With Louisville leading 7-0 in the second half, UConn's Larry Taylor raised his hand and waved it while preparing to return a punt. Cardinals gunner Bilal Powell saw the universal signal for a fair catch and stopped in his tracks, as did other Louisville defenders. Taylor then caught the ball and ran in 74 yards for a score as the officials never blew the play dead.
Taylor's gambit proved huge for both teams. UConn went on to win the game 21-17 and earned a share of the Big East conference title. Louisville finished 6-6 and didn't go bowling.
Taylor is now in the Canadian Football League. And as far as Kragthorpe is concerned, his play is history.
"Whether a call has gone for you or against you, those are things you can't control," Kragthorpe said. "So we're not going to spend time working to control those things.
"It's just one of those things that happen in the game of football. I'm sure they'll be talking about Ed Hochuli and the San Diego-Denver situation for the next year or two."
Louisville players said they won't have any extra oomph in this game because of what happened less than a year ago.
"The fair catch didn't beat us," quarterback Hunter Cantwell said. "Connecticut played a good game, they were physical and they beat us.
"We're not looking back to last year. As far as, we owe them one or anything like that, nah, not really."
The Cardinals are hoping to get some good health news this week. No. 1 receiver Scott Long, out since August with a broken foot, will practice and is a gametime decision, Kragthorpe said. Offensive linemen George Bussey and Mark Wetterer, who missed the Kansas State game with ankle injuries, will also be gameday calls, he said. Receiver Troy Pascley, who jammed his hip while making a touchdown catch versus K-State, is fine and should play.
Bennett joined ESPN.com in August 2008 after nine years at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., where he covered college sports and the University of Louisville beat. He lives in Louisville.
