Petrino Out?

After another blowout loss, Petrino’s seat gets hotter and hotter. The Cards suffered a 56-35 loss to Wake Forest, which knocks them out of bowl eligibility. The game attendance and tv ratings decrease because of the apathetic feeling of the fans. The fanbase is ready for a new beginning to occur and want a coach who will bring a ton of success to make the program the best it’s ever been. Cards fans are leaning towards Jeff Brohm because of how he has boosted recruiting and has gotten Purdue eligible to play in bowl games. In Brohm’s first season at Purdue, he led the Boilermakers to an overall record of 7-6 and a conference record of 4-5. Purdue also got a 38-35 win over Arizona in the Foster Farms Bowl. This season, the Boilermakers started out the season 0-3. They turned things around by winning four straight games including a win over 2nd ranked Ohio State 49-20. Purdue is currently in fourth place with a 3-2 conference record in the Big Ten West and an overall record 4-4. They’re also in a race for a spot in the Big Ten Championship game with Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The Boilermakers will face number 22 Iowa in a must win game to go to the Big Ten Championship. This will be a huge accomplishment for Brohm and Purdue if they’re able to get to the Big Ten Championship.

Brohm is a native of Louisville and played at Trinity High School. Brohm played at the quarterback position for Louisville from 1989-1993 for coach Howard Schnellenberger. During his college career, he led the cards to the fiesta bowl in 1990 by defeating Alabama to earn the program’s second bowl win in program history. Brohm served on the staff from 2003-2008 for Petrino and Steve Kragthorpe. After Petrino’s departure in the following season, he became the Offensive Coordinator for the Cards under coach Steve Kragthorpe. His brother, Brian Brohm, was the starting quarterback at the time and led the cards to multiple bowl wins throughout his career. They won the Liberty Bowl in 2004 against Boise State and the Orange Bowl in 2006 against Wake Forest. His brother also played for Trinity High School and got inducted into the the KHSAA Football Hall of Fame. He is currently the offensive coordinator for Purdue. When Petrino took the head coaching job at Western Kentucky, Brohm served as the offensive coordinator for the hilltoppers and then head coach from 2014-16 after Petrino returned to Louisville.

On the other hand, Petrino, who is in his 9th overall season and 5th straight season as the head coach of the Cards, has them sitting in last place in the ACC Atlantic Division with an overall record of 2-6, and a conference record of 0-5. The Louisville fan base is frustrated with Petrino over the last couple of seasons of underachievement and want the program to start a new chapter. The year Lamar Jackson won the heisman trophy, the cards started out very strong by beating 2nd ranked Florida State for college football playoff contention. The Cards moved up seven spots in the AP Polls from 10th to 3rd. Cards fans were very excited about what a successful season they would have. The Cards later had a disappointing loss to Clemson in Death Valley who was ranked 5th in a very close game which slightly decreased their playoff contention. The last three games of the season, the cards suffered three straight losses to Houston, Kentucky, and LSU in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl. They ended the season with an overall record of 9-4 and a conference record of 7-1.  The next season, the cards were ranked in the top 25 in the beginning of the season and played decent against non-conference teams that were not ranked in the top 25, they fell to Clemson who was ranked third in the nation with a 47-21 loss. Once conference play started, they suffered back to back losses to NC State and Boston College. The cards finished strong at the end of the season by winning three straight wins including a win over arch rival Kentucky 44-17 for the governor’s cup. The Cards fell short in the Taxslayer bowl to Mississippi State, 31-27 which ended the Lamar Jackson era at Louisville.