The 0-3 start looked ugly.
Yet Louisville coach Bobby Petrino did not see anybody giving up. He saw hope. There were reasons: Those three losses came to teams that ended up making bowls and going a combined 34-8. Louisville had a chance to win all three. The Cardinals were just young everywhere and needed the game experience to grow up.
That is what happened in the second half of the season. The Cardinals overcame their worst start since 1984 to close with wins in six of their final seven games, including an important 27-21 win over Texas A&M in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl to finish 8-5.