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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, November 24, 2003

UH would welcome Louisville matchup

 •  Chang remains starter at QB
 •  Ferd Lewis: Shula not excited about return trip

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

The only thing holding up a bowl matchup between two of college football's top six offenses here is apparently the blessing of Conference USA.

If C-USA signs off on it this week and everything else falls into place, the University of Hawai'i would meet Louisville in the Dec. 25 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl at Aloha Stadium.

The game matches representatives from C-USA and the Western Athletic Conference.

Louisville, which is 8-3 with one game remaining, averages 485 yards per game, sixth in NCAA Division I-A. UH, which is 7-4 with two games left, averages 488 yards a game, fourth-best. The Cardinals average 34.45 points per game and UH 33.36. Both are in the top 20 nationally in scoring average.

Small wonder ESPN and the schools are itching to get a deal done. UH athletic director Herman Frazier said: "I think, for us, Louisville would be the best fit. (TV) ratings would be good, and I think people here would understand a team like Louisville."

A Louisville spokesman yesterday said the school has been in contact with the bowl about playing UH although nothing has been decided.

It would be the sixth consecutive bowl for the Cardinals and third in five years for UH.

The Hawai'i Bowl has the third choice among C-USA's bowl-eligible teams after the Liberty and GMAC bowls. Those bowls are expected to take Southern Mississippi and Texas Christian, barring a last-minute hitch.

Meanwhile, Boise State of the WAC is expected to play Georgia Tech in the Humanitarian Bowl and the Silicon Valley Bowl could end up with Tulsa or Fresno State.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.