.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Louisville can earn at least a share of the Big East Conference title with a win in their season finale Friday.
Coach Charlie Strong is just as shocked as everyone else.
Halfway through the season, the Cardinals (6-5, 4-2) were just 2-4. Now they have now won four of the last five, all against conference foes.
''It is a surprise. Just look at how far we've come,'' Strong said. ''We're not a great team but each week we've gotten better, guys have worked hard.''
Strong knows his Cardinals could even wind up in a Bowl Championship Series bowl game. But he's working to focus his team on what they control: travel to South Florida (5-5, 1-4) and win Friday.
''We need to take care of our business and then if something does happen we're right back in the thick of things,'' Strong said.
Rutgers and Louisville were picked last and next to last, respectively, in the Big East's preseason media poll but now sit atop the standings with a 4-2 conference record. Louisville owns a tiebreaker thanks to beating the Scarlet Knights 16-14 on Oct. 21.
Louisville's conference losses came against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. That's two of the three teams in the muddled Big East, along with West Virginia, that sit at 3-2. All five teams with two conference losses still have a chance to win the league outright.
Cincinnati and Pitt each have two games remaining. A loss by both coupled with a Cardinals' win at South Florida, would make Louisville the Big East's BCS representative.
USF is 72-23 (.758) at home since the program started in 1997, and Louisville has never won there, losing all four contests since 2003 by an average of 21 points. It's a fact Strong shared with his team Sunday.
''We haven't played well in Tampa at all. Our players need to understand that,'' he said.
Strong is also letting his team know about another streak he hopes to break with a win.
''I don't think we've had back-to-back seven-win seasons since '06,'' Strong said. ''We have a chance to make a statement here if we just prepare and get focused the right way.''
After starting the year with four straight wins, USF's season has unraveled. The Bulls have lost five of its last six with the last three defeats coming in the games' final moments. Now, they may be forced to face the Cardinals without their leader, B.J. Daniels.
The junior quarterback suffered a right shoulder injury in the third quarter of last weekend's 6-3 loss to Miami. Bobby Eveld came on in relief, finishing the game 5 of 9 for 36 yards.
Coach Skip Holtz said Monday that Daniels has an ''AC joint bruise'' in his throwing shoulder and that he's a ''question mark'' for Friday.
Strong said Daniels is the key to the USF attack.
''On offense, the quarterback is what makes them tick,'' Strong said. ''Just not knowing where he is right now, I have no idea what they're going to do offensively.''
