Former Louisville football special teams starter Colin Holba joined the Big Red Louie podcast to discuss all that’s transpired over the past four years in the Ville.
It was Saturday, November 12th 2016. Louisville football was going into a Saturday night home matchup against a decent, but not great, Wake Forest team who was just another hurdling block that stood in the way of a Collision Course with a National Championship appearance.
Louisville was five weeks removed from a devastating loss on the road against Clemson, in a top five matchup, where the opportunity to jump into the top four Playoff rankings was a definite happening, and seven weeks from the 63-20 blowout win over No. 2 Florida State that put Louisville football on the map.
“Just win out and you’re going going to the National Championship.” That was the message that Bobby Petrino preached to his team after a last second loss on prime time television put them at 4-1.
Currently ranked 6th in the country and 7th in the College Football Playoff rankings the Cards defeated Wake Forest 44-12, moving them to 9-1. Then Clemson, Michigan, and Washington, the No.2,3, and 4 ranked teams respectively in the playoff rankings lost within a matter of a few hours. This was the moment. This was when everything Bobby Petrino preached to his team about making the four team Playoff and potentially the National Championship was going to become a reality. And then, it didn’t happen.
November 15th 2016, the Playoff rankings were revealed and the Cards were fifth, jumping two spots, but not doing enough to the committee to jump into the top four thus kicking off the beginning of the end of Bobby Petrino at Louisville. The Cards would go on to lose their final two games of the season, Lamar Jackson would claim the Heisman Trophy, Jaire Alexander would get injured to start the season in 2017-18 and then it all came crumbling apart.
Former Louisville football Special Teams starter, 2016 NFL Draft Pick, and now San Francisco 49ers long snapper Colin Holba joined the Big Red Louie Podcast to discuss everything Louisville football during the Bobby Petrino 2.0 era.
From the end of the Charlie Strong era to the transition to Bobby Petrino and the struggles to get his message across to his new team, to the beginning of something special including a road win against Notre Dame and the run to the Heisman Trophy with Lamar Jackson.
We discuss it all in the third episode of the Big Red Louie podcast with a former player who played side-by-side of some of the most talented players in Louisville football history and learn how the Bobby Petrino 2.0 era came and went just like that.