MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Louisville Coach Steve Kragthorpe had his hands full Friday with a ranked opponent in his home stadium, a curious non-controversy about the visitors stomping on the Cardinals' midfield logo and generally insufferable playing conditions on a cold and rainy night.

His counterpart, West Virginia Coach Bill Stewart, had his hands full with snacks and sodas. Yet he wasn't enjoying himself very much, either.

"I did get to watch, but I did not cheer for anybody," he said. "I can tell you that I just watched football and in the third quarter I had to get up. I was beside myself. I was real jumpy. I don't know how people are fans."

The Mountaineers were enjoying the rest and recuperation of the bye week and Stewart was able to spend a Friday night on his couch watching a game instead rather than in a hotel cramming for a game.

Cincinnati, which beat WVU 26-23 in overtime Nov. 8, topped Louisville 28-20. WVU (6-3, 3-1 Big East Conference) plays at Louisville (5-5, 1-4) in Saturday's noon ESPN game.

"I feel like we're going up against a tough opponent, no matter what people think," Stewart said. "They're 5-5, but I have much respect for Coach Kragthorpe and his entire staff. It looks like he has a great group of coaches and a great group of players."

Stewart highlighted the defense, led now by former Michigan Defensive Coordinator Ron English. From film, Stewart said he knew the defense to once be a "bend-but-don't-break" group. On the television screen, he saw something else that reminded him of Pitt and Cincinnati.

"This year they seem to be more aggressive and blitz more," he said. "You watch them now and they sick 'em and get after it. It's changed a little bit in that regard."

Louisville's loss was its third in a row, which hasn't happened since 1997, when the team was 1-10. The program then went to nine consecutive bowls before missing out last season. Louisville remains one win away from bowl eligibility this season.

"I thought both teams played hard," he said. "I thought, 'Golly, they hit each other.' I know how Cincinnati hits. They hit us. They hit us hard. And we hit them hard. But I saw Louisville hit Cincinnati hard, very, very hard."

Some of that was the nature of the rivalry, which is played for the Keg of Nails, and some was from the dispute in which Cincinnati circled Louisville's logo for a pregame prayer. When word was relayed to the Cardinals, they believed the Bearcats were stomping on the logo.

It only added to the overall tension and aggression.

"I hope our players watched," Stewart said.

If they did, they likely saw what Stewart saw. He watched the replays and heard the reactions from the crowd and the announcers. He saw players who were slow to get up and who were quick to their feet.

Stewart said the perspective offered by television's all-inclusive, all-intrusive cameras and angles differed greatly from what he sees on film.

"The TV copy can give you some different things," he said. "You see people go off the field and you see some body language. You learn stuff because you see things. You see a guy go over to the sideline and you see a guy after a dropped ball. The film cuts off. It doesn't keep going like that."

He likened the variation to watching a recruit on film and watching him in person.

"A high school film shows the player and the play," Stewart said. "You don't see the guy go to the side. It's not like when you go out and recruit and watch a guy sling his helmet, get mad, get in a player's face, get in a coach's face."

Contact sports writer Mike Casazza at mi...@dailymail.com or 304-319-1142. His blog can be found at blogs.dailymail.com/wvu.