They have unbridled interest in this game

It is not so much being stopped on the final play of last year’s 46-44 triple-overtime loss to West Virginia that Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm remembers.

It is the long walk afterward.

“It definitely hurt coming off the field, having to walk all the way back to the locker room, hearing their fans cheering,” Brohm said.

Last year’s game in Morgantown, W.Va., was big. This one dwarfs it.

West Virginia is 7-0 and No. 3 in the Bowl Championship Series standings. Louisville is 7-0 and No. 5, and tonight’s game is in Louisville.

The Breeders’ Cup is a few blocks away at Churchill Downs on Saturday, but this week it is getting second billing.

“I’ve never seen anything upstage the Breeders’ Cup in my life,” said Louisville basketball Coach Rick Pitino, who will be at the game. “Nobody’s even mentioning it right now, except the horse people.”

When USC lost to Oregon State last week, West Virginia and Louisville quickly realized the stakes had risen.

“Certainly, you keep your eye on that, and when you saw USC lose, you know it is one step closer for the winner of this game -- or maybe the winner of the Big East Conference -- having an opportunity to get to the national championship game,” Louisville Coach Bobby Petrino said, careful to note that Rutgers, another Big East team, also has yet to lose.

“You’ve got three teams right now sitting there undefeated. So certainly, there’s a lot more to this season than just this game.”

West Virginia inserted itself into the preseason national title talk with its head-turning upset of Georgia in last season’s Sugar Bowl, led by the elusiveness of running back Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White.

But for Louisville to be where it is, after two seemingly devastating early-season injuries, is remarkable.

The Cardinals are undefeated, despite having lost Michael Bush -- a running back who scored four touchdowns against West Virginia last season and was being touted for the Heisman Trophy -- when he broke a leg after scoring three times against Kentucky in the season opener.

Two games later, Brohm -- also being promoted for the Heisman -- injured his right thumb during Louisville’s 31-7 victory over Miami and needed surgery.

Bush is out for the season, but Brohm returned two games ago, passing for 324 yards but throwing an interception in a close game against Cincinnati. He has been at less than his best, but says he is 100% for this game -- the rematch of the one that ended last season with his being tackled by Eric Wicks at the three-yard line when he tried to run the ball on a two-point conversion attempt on the final play of the third overtime.

“We practiced that play all week,” Brohm said. “We had five wide receivers in the game. It was definitely a pass. It wasn’t a quarterback draw, but they covered up our receivers and stuffed me when I ran.”

Petrino wasn’t crazy about the decision, but Brohm had put them in position to win, completing 31 of 49 passes for 277 yards.

“They changed the coverage on us,” Petrino said. “I thought he showed a little inexperience and tucked the ball and ran, as opposed to keeping himself in position to throw the ball if he found somebody.”

What he told Brohm later was, it doesn’t matter what happens to you in life, it’s how you respond to it.

Many expect a wide-open game after the way last year’s went because West Virginia is second in the nation in scoring and Louisville is fifth.

But last year’s game wasn’t as wide open as the score made it appear. Louisville led, 24-7, in the fourth quarter, and regulation ended 24-24.

Even though West Virginia’s Slaton scored six touchdowns in that game and White didn’t even start, Mountaineers Coach Rich Rodriguez is wary of a shootout.

“If it’s a high-scoring game, it certainly will not bode well for us,” he said. “They’re built more for throwing the football, with Brohm and their wide receivers. If we’re giving up lots of points and going up and down the field in that environment, it’s going to be tough.”

Tough is what Louisville, a slight favorite at home, has in mind.

Brohm tried to take Petrino’s advice and move on to the next play, but it wasn’t always easy, especially when a knee injury ended his season early.

“This whole off-season, that game stayed in my mind,” Brohm said. “This game is very important. We want to have the good feeling at the end of the game, not the bad feeling we had at the end of that one.”

robyn.norwood@latimes.com

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WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS

*--* * Overall record (7-0) * Associated Press ranking 3 * BCS standing 3 * Games remaining: Tonight at Louisville (7-0) Nov. 11 vs. Cincinnati (5-4) Nov. 16 at Pittsburgh (6-2) Nov. 25 vs. South Florida (5-3) Dec. 2 vs. No. 15 Rutgers (8-0)

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS

*--* * Overall record (7-0) * Associated Press ranking 5 * BCS standing 5 * Games remaining: Tonight vs. No. 3 West Virginia (7-0) Nov. 9 at No. 15 Rutgers (8-0) Nov. 18 vs. South Florida (5-3) Nov. 25 at Pittsburgh (6-2) Dec. 2 vs. Connecticut (3-5)

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