When was the last time you said, ‘Man, wish I was in Lousiville tonight!’ and it didn’t involve a horserace? Likely, never. (We’ve been, and there just aren’t enough Dunkin’ Donuts establishments to sate our ravenous eating habits.) But for about three hours tonight, Louisville, Kentucky, home to Thoroughbreds, Rick Pitino, and the birthplace of Cassius Clay, will be quite the shitshow.

The undefeated Cardinals host unbeaten West Virginia in the biggest November college football game of the season. (That is, of course, until Michigan travels to Ohio State in three weeks.)

We won’t bore you with stats of WVU’s terrific tandem of QB Pat White and RB Steve Slaton, or talk about the 750 media credentials doled out for tonight’s game, or discuss how things would be different if one-time Heisman contender Michael Bush didn’t get his leg snapped in the Cardinals’ season opener.

Here’s what you need to know: If West Virginia wins, it is 99% assured a spot in the National Championship game against the Ohio State/Michigan winner.

If Louisville – a 1-point favorite in a game we’d never touch – wins … shit get crazier than Stephen Jackson at a strip club. For one, Rutgers, one of the worst college football programs – Division be damned – in the last 20 years, actually becomes a team you must become familiar with. Because the Scarlet Knights host Louisvlle next Thursday. (Why no mention of the Dec. 2 Rutgers-WVU tilt? Because it’s in Morgantown, and that upset simply isn’t happening). The winner of that one gets the inside track to a BCS game … but probably not the National Championship.

Why? Because in the sordid BCS formula, one-loss Florida, Notre Dame, Texas, or even USC could possibly leapfrog Rutgers or Louisville. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Our pick tonight? For a few weeks now, apropos of nothing, we’ve been cheerleading for WVU to reach the title game. Full disclosure: The only two names we know on WVU are Slaton and White. But the Mountaineers are fun to watch. That being said, the defense is suspect, and when you factor in how potentially explosive the Louisville offense is, well, it’s a recipe for disaster. As hard as we’ll be pulling for WVU, we smell a Louisville victory. And a hellish scenario for the BCS suits.

Thursday Big (L)east Showdown (Kegerator Nation)
U of L, W. Virginia game ‘like a Final Four’ (Courier-Journal)
Ponies Not Only Show in L’Ville (NY Post)