Kragthorpe opened his second season at Louisville with very low expectations . A year removed from being a preseason top 10 program , the Cardinals entered the 2008 season picked 7th in the 8 team Big East Conference by members of the media . Louisville hosted in-state rival Kentucky on Sunday , August 31 , falling to the Wildcats 27 – 2 in Louisville 's first opening day loss since 2002 . On October 25 , 2008 , Louisville defeated a ranked South Florida team 24 – 20 . Kragthorpe also lost to Syracuse in back to back seasons , giving Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson two of his three Big East wins as a head coach . Following the Syracuse loss , Kragthorpe 's Cardinals lost the next four games capped off by a 63 – 14 loss to Rutgers ( Louisville 's worst defeat since 1987 . ) This marked the team 's first losing season since 1997
Big East
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Steve Kragthorpe