Bowl prep like preseason camp for U of L

Bowl practice feels a lot like the preseason for University of Louisville offensive lineman Jake Smith.

Class is out. The campus is empty for the most part. And the U of L football team is focused on just football, or in this case, just Georgia and the Dec. 30 Belk Bowl at Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium.

"We're ready to play," the senior Smith said. "You're here all day and you kind of eat, sleep and breathe football."

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U of L departs for Charlotte on Christmas Eve and will begin practices at a Charlotte-area high school on Christmas day. It's been three weeks since the Cards (9-3) beat Kentucky, so the goal of practices before arriving in Charlotte was simple: Regain football shape and intensity.

"There's a method to the madness," Smith said. "They break you down a little bit and then build you back up to reestablish that toughness and get yourself reacclimated to the speed of the game."

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All eyes are still on Louisville quarterback Reggie Bonnafon, who injured his knee in the Kentucky game and still has what U of L coach Bobby Petrino called a painful bone bruise. Petrino said last week that Louisville was "encouraged" that Bonnafon, who started five games this season, could play in the bowl game.

If he can't, U of L would turn to Kyle Bolin, who threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns against UK in relief of Bonnafon.

"They're doing really well out there," Smith said. "Reggie's moving around real well. Kyle's tossing it around real well. We're excited about both of our options at quarterback."