# 2012 Louisville Cardinals football team

The 2012 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinals were led by third-year head coach Charlie Strong and played their home games at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. They were a member of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 11–2, 5–2 in Big East play to finish in a four-way tie for the Big East championship. As the highest rated of the four Big East champions in the final BCS poll, the Cardinals received the conference's automatic bid into a BCS game. They were invited to the Sugar Bowl where they upset the heavily favored Florida Gators.

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Seasons at Louisville | Alma mater (Year) |
| Charlie Strong | Head Coach | 3rd | Central Arkansas (1983) |
| Shawn Watson | Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks | 2nd | Southern Illinois (1982) |
| Vance Bedford | Defensive Coordinator | 3rd | Texas (1981) |
| Clint Hurtt | Associate head coach, Defensive Line and recruiting coordinator | 3rd | Miami (FL) (2001) |
| Ron Dugans | Wide receivers | 3rd | Florida State (1999) |
| Brian Jean-Mary | Linebackers | 3rd | Appalachian State (1998) |
| Tommy Restivo | Secondary | 3rd | Georgetown College (2006) |
| Dave Borbely | Offensive Line and Running Game Coordinator | 3rd | DePauw (1981) |
| Kenny Carter | Running Backs and Special Team | 3rd | The Citadel (1989) |
| Sherrone Moore | Tight ends | 4th | Oklahoma (2008) |
| Reference: ||||

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 3:30 p.m. | Kentucky* | No. 25 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, Kentucky (Battle for the Governor's Cup) | ESPN | W 32–14 | 55,386 |
| September 8 | 3:30 p.m. | Missouri State* | No. 23 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, Kentucky | WHAS | W 35–7 | 47,553 |
| September 15 | 3:30 p.m. | North Carolina* | No. 19 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, Kentucky | ABC/ESPN2 | W 39–34 | 53,334 |
| September 22 | 7:00 p.m. | at FIU* | No. 20 | FIU StadiumMiami | ESPN3 | W 28–21 | 12,318 |
| September 29 | 8:00 p.m. | at Southern Miss* | No. 19 | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, Mississippi | CBSSN | W 21–17 | 23,492 |
| October 13 | 11:00 a.m. | at Pittsburgh | No. 18 | Heinz FieldPittsburgh | ESPNU | W 45–35 | 42,432 |
| October 20 | 3:30 p.m. | South Florida | No. 16 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, Kentucky | ABC | W 27–25 | 50,167 |
| October 26 | 8:00 p.m. | Cincinnati | No. 16 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, Kentucky (Battle for the Keg of Nails) | ESPN | W 34–31 $^{OT}$ | 53,271 |
| November 3 | 12:00 p.m. | Temple | No. 10 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, Kentucky | ABC/ESPN3 | W 45–17 | 44,609 |
| November 10 | 12:00 p.m. | at Syracuse | No. 9 | Carrier DomeSyracuse, New York | ABC | L 26–45 | 40,312 |
| November 24 | 12:00 p.m. | Connecticut | No. 19 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, Kentucky | Big East Network | L 20–23 $^{3OT}$ | 45,618 |
| November 29 | 7:30 p.m. | at Rutgers | | High Point Solutions StadiumPiscataway, New Jersey | ESPN | W 20–17 | 52,798 |
| January 2, 2013 | 8:30 p.m. | vs. No. 4 Florida* | No. 22 | Mercedes-Benz SuperdomeNew Orleans (Sugar Bowl) (College GameDay) | ESPN | W 33–23 | 54,178 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 25 | 23 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 20 | 19 | RV | 22 | 13 |
| Coaches | RV | 24 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 23 | 18 | 13 |
| Harris | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 18 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 17 | 18 | 24 | 19 | Not released |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 16 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 20 | — | 21 | Not released |