QB Brian Brohm led No. 4 Louisville past West Virginia in a Big East showdown

Master Football Coaches Award MCS Game Balls
No. 4 Louisville Quarterback Brian Brohm named Offensive Player of the Week

By MCS Staff

ATLANTA (November 6, 2006) -- Fourth-ranked Louisville faced their toughest test of the year in undefeated and highly touted West Virginia on Thursday night.  In front of a “blacked-out” Cardinal crowd, junior quarterback Brian Brohm led Louisville to an impressive 44-34 victory over the Mountaineers.  “He was awesome,” Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino said of Brohm.  “He was very motivated and practiced at a different level for the last two weeks.”  Brohm, who is still nursing a thumb injury to his throwing hand, managed the game with great precision, completing 19-of-26 passes for more than 350 yards and a touchdown.  The Cardinal offense capitalized on several West Virginia mistakes and converted 6-of-6 red zone opportunities. 


For his tremendous effort, Brohm is awarded the “MCS Game Ball” for Offensive Player of the Week.  He is the second member of Louisville football to receive an MCS Game Ball this season.  Paul Petrino was named Offensive Coordinator of the Week following the team’s 31-7 win over Miami. 

Each week during the 2006 college football season, the 17 Master Football Coaches will award an MCS Game Ball to the respective schools of an Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week. The Master Coaches will also present a game ball to the offensive and defensive coordinator whose game plans made the biggest impact in their respective teams' victory.

In addition to Brohm, the Master Football Coaches will also award MCS Game Balls to Illinois linebacker J Leman, Maryland kicker Dan Ennis, Kentucky offensive coordinator Joker Phillips and Wake Forest defensive coordinator Dean Hood.

Offense
Brian Brohm, QB Louisville

No. 4 Louisville took on highly touted West Virginia in front of a “blacked-out” Cardinal crowd in a Thursday night Big East showdown.  Quarterback Brian Brohm led Louisville to a 44-34 upset, putting the Cardinals in the driver’s seat for a national title game berth.  Brohm completed 19-of-26 passes for 354 yards and a touchdown.  He and the Louisville offense capitalized on three West Virginia turnovers, converting 6-of-6 red zone opportunities.

Defense
J Leman, LB Illinois

Facing the No. 1 team in the nation, Illinois was a major underdog against Ohio State.  Linebacker J Leman and the Illini defense displayed a valiant effort in a near upset.  They held Ohio State to their lowest output in points, total yards and passing yards on the season.  Leman led the way with a career-best 19 tackles as the Illinois defense contained Troy Smith and the Buckeyes.  With his 19 tackles, Leman passed the 100-tackle mark on the season.

Special Teams
Dan Ennis, K Maryland

With Maryland trailing 12-10 in final seconds of their game against No. 18 Clemson, kicker Dan Ennis quieted the Death Valley crowd as he booted a 31-yard game-winning field goal.  The 25th-ranked Terps make their first appearance in the Master Coaches Poll this week, due in large part to the foot of Ennis.  He also made another 31-yard field goal in the Maryland victory.

Offensive Coordinator
Joker Phillips, Kentucky

The Kentucky Wildcats stormed back to defeat perennial SEC powerhouse Georgia 24-20.  Offensive coordinator Joker Phillips designed a balanced rushing and passing attack, accumulating 351 yards in the win.  Trailing by three points late in the fourth quarter, Phillips’ offense pounded away at the tough Bulldog defense.  With only a minute to play, Tony Dixon capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, and the homecoming crowd eventually stormed the field to celebrate the upset victory.

Defensive Coordinator
Dean Hood, Wake Forest