LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe held a news conference Wednesday to knock down speculation about him leaving the Cardinals for SMU.

Kragthorpe is in the first year of a five-year deal with the Cardinals. Louisville is currently 5-6 heading into next Thursday's season-finale against Rutgers.

Kragthorpe came to Louisville from Tulsa and inherited a team that went 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl last year. But the Cardinals have struggled, tumbling out of the preseason polls with a shaky defense and upset losses at home to Syracuse and Utah.