Teddy Bridgewater: Louisville Cardinals QB's Heisman Changes Lowered

Jamie Rhodes, USA TODAY SPORTS

Teddy Bridgewater, quarterback of the Louisville Cardinals, continued his stellar play on Saturday as his team pounded the Temple Owls, 30-7 in Philadelphia.

Bridgewater was 25-of-35 through the air for 348 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Cardinals moved to 5-0 on the season. The junior quarterback threw for 228 of those yards in the first half before head coach Charlie Strong backed down in the second half.

While Bridgewater continues to put up big numbers, he will not win the Heisman Trophy in 2013. There are two main reasons why.

First, the Cardinals are playing one of the nation’s weakest schedules. Their Saturday win over the 0-5 Owls was just another in a stretch of games against teams that have posted a 7-16 record this season (four of those wins are by Ohio University). In fact, probably the best team that the Cardinals have faced all season is the Kentucky Wildcats, who are 1-3 heading into play on Saturday.

Secondly, because Louisville plays such a weak schedule, and because Strong is a classy coach, he pulls Bridgewater from games once they get out of hand. Whereas Bridgewater could be running up huge numbers against inferior teams, Strong won’t allow that to happen, which actually hurts his quarterback’s chances at college football’s biggest award.

Louisville picked a bad year to have such a poor schedule. It may cost them a chance at the BCS National Championship Game, and it could also cost their star quarterback a chance at the Heisman.

Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com and a member of the Football Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.