European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 24, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday november 24,1990 the stars and stripes Page 23 a Snellenberger delivers for Louisville by Dave George Louisville by. A foghorn by nature make a bunely sound. Howard Schne Llenberger humanity a closest vocal approximation knows the feeling. Or knew i a i remember when we first got Here in 1985people it Louisville did no to know what a Pep rally was said Thandy Whitt recruiting coordinator for the suddenly credible cardinals 9-1-1 and headed for the fiesta bowl. A coach Schne Llenberger stood out there in the Larking lot in front of the football dorm on the night before Homecoming by himself. No band. No cheer Lead irs. There  have been More than 12 or 18 peo Lle there and two of them were drunks who just staggered up to get warm by the fire. Coach Sang the school fight song himself though he did no to know All the words ind when we were walking Back to the football office i asked him How he did it How he kept going. He said you be gotta Start  a a for somebody to be so totally dedicated to some Ling like that he really won me Over that  winning America will be a Little tougher but the Kamikaze coach who brought Miami its first National championship in 1983 is relentless. He left the Hurri lanes at their Zenith for a phantom Usel franchise that sever did More than rent South Florida office space Ihen returned to his Hometown of Louisville in 1985 to accept a Challenge that was More Concrete but More confounding As Well. 1 seemingly possessed with More syllables than sense Schne Llenberger vowed to take a Low octane Louisville program one that found Victory Over Eastern Kentucky beyond its grasp and claim for it dominance Over the Western world. A we Are on a collision course with the National championship the Only variable is time a was the Oft repeated Promise hemmed in As much by the nickers of outsiders As quotation Marks. Exactly what is in that pipe people wondered to Lake Schne Llenberger think he could Ever outrank Xii Seville basketball much less anybody else a football team Well it has happened a scan Ellenberger steam is it to. 20 in the associated press poll and Cardinal basketball coach Denny Crum could claim no higher than no. 23 m the preseason basketball poll. It also has happened by a wrinkle in arizonans social fabric that Louisville gained a new years Day bowl bid after 13 seasons without postseason play and nine seasons without a television appearance regional or otherwise. In terms of efficiency and unexpected achievement that Stike going to Mars on one tank of Gas. I a we can compete with anyone in the u.s.,�?� Schne Llenberger said from his office where such stirring policy statements Echo with increasing regularity. A we May hot be Able to beat the top teams in the nation whoever they May be two out of three times but we can beat them one out of three. And we re not too far from two put of  i if be res lighter now its coming from the Louisville locker room. If not for a loss to Southern Mississippi the cards also have a tie with san Jose state the cardinals could join Georgia tech As the Only unbeaten najor College team in the nation and have at least an outside claim to . Schne Llenberger however has kept the gloating to a Howard Schne Llenberger stays right on schedule minimum. An 11-game season has been completed run through like wind sprints without a scheduled off weekend. Still there is much to be done like pushing through a proposal for a downtown stadium and touching Down All Over the map to tout an Uptown program. In the space of three Days last week Schne Llenberger spoke m Birmingham Ala. Memphis tenn., and new York. Last weekend he was in Phoenix banging the fiesta bowl drum. This week he hit Atlanta and Macon a. While Louisville the team and the town spin wildly m this new orbit Schne Llenberger methodically plots further adventures. The Only goal that matters to him is a National title spoiled As he is by the experience of three no. 1 finishes As an Alabama assistant and one As Miami a head coach. Toss in the 17-0 season of the Miami dolphins in 1972, scan Ellenberger a third As an assistant to Don Shula and the bluster of a coach who used to skip around Miami in a helicopter begins to take on a More historical perspective. A when you re 50 years old scan Ellenberger Sage when he came to Louisville do you put your coaching ability to the Challenge and see if the Guy who won a National championship can come to a program where it has never been done and do it within the rules and regulations of the Mcaa a he asks. Questions amuse him now but Only because they Are his. Everyone else a piled High and Pithy As Louisville lost 24 of its first 33 games under Schne Llenberger have a been addressed and answered. Consecutive seasons of 8-3,6-5 and 9-1-1 shout the Success Story. Craig Swabek remains from the Early surly years when whispers were More in order. A when i was first Here it was As bad As you could Ever imagine a said Swabek who was one of Schne Llenberger s first Louisville recruits and continues the tandem climb As a graduate assistant coach. A a we a go out on saturday knowing deep Down that we did no to have a Chance to win. A by the eighth or ninth game of each season everybody was looking Forward to the season being Over with. You a turn on the radio and hear the coach getting ripped and people saying the players  Schne Llenberger seethed but  blame his Over matched players. After a 65-6 loss to Southern Mississippi in 1987, he said of Louisville a a they re a Doe football team but they re my  senior Browning Nagle Louisville a starting quarterback started his career at West Virginia but transferred after the mountaineers turned their offence Over to the More run oriented style of major Harris. Nagles Saddest memory of a lower Louisville is from 1986, when he came with West Virginia to the makeshift baseball Park known As Cardinal stadium. It Wasny to so much what Nagle saw in a 42-19 mountaineers Victory but what he heard. A there were Only 10,000 or 13,000 people Here and by the second half Louisville a fans were cheering for West Virginia Nagle said. A i look Back on that As my lowest Point now that in a a Cardinal because that a what i am now. A  the Zeal of the converted is scan Ellenberger a inspiration. Before he meets with Louisville reporters every tuesday he visits a Rowdy downtown restaurant to answer questions from the floor with a microphone. Football Pep rallies once almost funereal now draw 7,000 or so slap Happy fans. And Cardinal stadium crowds have averaged 36,189 this season 689 More than the stated capacity. Before Schne Llenberger Louisville did no to have a sellout m its history. In september when Tennessee comes m for a game the atmosphere will be As close to nearby Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day As any two legged sports figure can Hope to create. Louisville coaches try never however to let recruits see the stadium empty. With the grandstands designed to House the st. Louis cardinals class aaa farm team and the earthy ambiance of the Kentucky state Fairgrounds adjacent this is not a signature College football stadium but a scrawl. Schne Llenberger has claimed As much turf As possible at the teams off Campus Headquarters converting 10 acres of Swine and mule pens into immaculate Bermuda grass practice Fields. The cow town image of Louisville football has been shattered however by the fiesta bid Matching Louisville with the Southeastern conference runner up. The cardinals had been headed to the All american bowl in Birmingham a bowl that rejected them in 1988 m favor of a pair of 6-5 teams Florida and Illinois when Louisville was 8-3. Because of Arizona voters rejection of a paid state Holiday honouring or. Martin Luther King or. This month the fiestas first choices shied away from the controversy and went elsewhere. That gave Schne Llenberger the thrill of telling the All american committee As Well As those at the peach Aloha Copper and Liberty bowls thanks but no thanks. A Cox news service traditional rivalries Lack usual Impact by Rick Warner a football writer Ohio state Michigan. Notre Dame Southern Cal. For the first time in years neither of these College football classics will have an Impact on the National championship however they still mean a lot to the Jeams involved. Ohio state can gain a Rose bowl berth it beats Michigan and Iowa loses to Minnesota on saturday. No. 15 Michigan has a Chance to tie for the big ten title nut can to go to Pasadena under the eague s tie breaking procedure. I the 19th-ranked buckeyes Are the leagues hottest team with five straight ins but they be lost four of their last five against Michigan including two straight in Columbus. Footnote this will be the first time Pince 1950 that neither Woody Hayes nor to Schembechler will be on the sidelines for an Ohio state Michigan game. Michigan is favored by 2vi Points on the Road. Ohio state 24-21. Notre Dame has beaten Southern Cal seven straight times but the seventh ranked Irish May be missing their biggest weapon saturday at the los Angeles coliseum. Rocket Ismail will make the trip but is listed As doubtful because of a thigh Bruise that sidelined him in the second half of notre Dames 24-21 loss to Penn state a defeat that knocked the Irish out of the National title picture. But Ismail a Hole Isnit the Only one the Irish have to plug. A we have some problem with depth have Many backups who Are freshman. But the reason you see comebacks from other teams is that you done to dominate on defense a Irish coach Lou Holtz said. A you must dominate the other teams offence eliminate their will to  no team has been Able to do that consistently this season. A a you la never win a championship unless you re great defensively and you be got to be great in the secondary a Holz said. No. 18 Southern Cal which is coming off a last second 45-42 Victory Over Urcla is a one Point underdog. Notre Dame 32-28. Syracuse plus 20 at no. 2 Miami the hurricanes have won 37 straight games at the Orange bowl. Miami 3821. Utah st. No line at no. 4 by to Detmer is the first Junior to top the 10,000-Yard Mark in passing. By 52-28. No. 6 Texas minus 8vi at Baylor the longhorns can Clinch their first Southwest conference title since 1983. Texas 20-17. Pittsburgh plus 17 at no. 11 Penn state the Kittany Lions have won eight straight while Pitt is 1-6-1 in its last eight games. Penn state 28-14. No. 13 Iowa minus 14 at Minnesota a Victory sends the Hawk eyes to the Rose bowl. Iowa 35-21. Kentucky plus 28 at no. 14 Tennessee the vols have won 10 of the last 12 meetings. Tennessee 42-10. No. 17 Virginia no line at Virginia tech Junior Matt Blundin replaces injured Qushawn Moore for the Cavaliers. Virginia tech 20-17. Mississippi st. Plus 5vi is. No. 21 Mississippi at Jackson Ole miss rebounds from big loss to Tennessee. Mississippi 28-27. Northwestern plus 30 at no. 22 Illinois the leagues second Best passing team against the leagues worst pass defense. Illinois 46-14. Wisconsin plus 29 at no. 24 Michigan state the spartans Tico Duckett leads the big ten in Rushing. Michigan state 42-7. Last week 17-3 straight 8-10 spread. Season 167-47 straight 94-101 spread