Louisville Football: 5 reasons why Cardinals will stink in 2017

4. The fourth season is usually Bobby Petrino’s last year at a school

In his second act at Louisville, Bobby Petrino enters his fourth season with great expectations. The first time around, Petrino went 12-1 in his fourth season with the Cardinals. They won the Big East in their second season after realigning from Conference USA and went to the Orange Bowl. But then Petrino bolted town for the Atlanta Falcons job.

Petrino lasted less than a season in the NFL, resigning 13 games into the 16-game season to accept the Arkansas job. A 5-7 first season in Fayetteville was followed by steady improvement. The Razorbacks went 8-5 in 2009, 10-3 in 2010, and 11-2 in 2011. Then Petrino was fired after a motorcycle accident revealed a mistress being subsidized on the Arkansas payroll. After four years with the Razorbacks, Petrino wandered in the football wilderness for a year.

He returned to the college game with Western Kentucky in 2013. Petrino led the Hilltoppers to an 8-4 season, but WKU was shut out of a bowl game. Thus, when Louisville came calling to reunite with their former coach, Petrino jumped at the opportunity to return. It certainly didn’t hurt that the Cardinals were transitioning from the American Athletic Conference to the ACC.

In three years, Petrino has gone 9-4, 8-5, and 9-4. If his previous four-year stops are any indications, this should be a double-digit win season. But it could very well also be his last, as his wandering eyes look for the next opportunity on the horizon.