College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Louisville Cardinals season with what you need to know.
CFN in 60 Podcast: 2020 Louisville Cardinals
Louisville preview in 60 seconds
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Louisville Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 8-5 overall, 5-3 in ACC
Head Coach: Scott Satterfield, 2nd year, 8-5
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 36
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 37
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 58
NOTE: Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Louisville Cardinals Offense 3 Things To Know
– It wasn’t always consistent, and there were way too many problems on the O line, and … whatever. The Louisville offense went from scoring 239 points in 2018 to 430 last year, showing the spark and excitement that looked like was long gone after the lifeless 2018.
But the offensive line has to be better.
Mekhi Becton was good enough to be loved by the New York Jets with the 11th overall pick, but even with a lineman of his size, power and talent, the Cardinals were miserable in pass protection and allowed the most tackles for loss of any line in America. The interior of the line is back, but the tackles need to emerge in a hurry. On the plus side …
CFN in 60 Video: Louisville Cardinals Preview
– The running game was terrific. Even with all of the plays allowed in the backfield, the Cardinals still averaged 213 rushing yards per game. Most of the parts are back. Javian Hawkins was a 1,525-yard machine, Hassan Hall was able to do a little of everything – include returning kicks – and the quarterbacks helped as well.
– The emergence of junior QB Micale Cunningham didn’t necessarily turn the season around, but the offense found its guy. Jawon Pass is still a good, experienced option, but Cunningham kicked it all in with 2,065 yards, 22 touchdowns, and the excitement and playmaking ability to make the O go. It helped that the receiving corps blew up.
It’s a push to say that any offensive group is better than anything Clemson is cranking out, but Louisville might have a case for the best group of targets in the ACC. Tutu Atwell is a 5-9 force who cranked out 1,276 yards and 12 scores, Dez Fitzpatrick is a big target who can stretch the field, and Marshon Ford is an emerging star NFL prospect coming off a good freshman season.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Louisville Cardinals Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Louisville Cardinals Defense 3 Things To Know
– Grade the 2019 Louisville defense on a curve. The group that allowed 529 points – including 77 to Clemson and 52 or more in each of the last five games and in six of the last seven – still wasn’t great last year, but allowed 434 points and found things that started to work.
The scoring D was still the worst in the ACC, the defense was 102nd in the nation, and the run defense was hammered on way too often, but …
– The talent is there in the linebacking corps. Nine of the top 11 tacklers are back overall, but it’s the linebackers who are the stars all of the parts back. The outside linebackers are built like safeties, but they can move. Veteran big-tackler Dorian Etheridge is a tackling machine in the middle.
There have to be a whole lot more plays made by this group against the run, and they’ll put up massive numbers behind a front three that needs a lot of work and doesn’t have a ton of bulk. In this defense, the linebackers are the ones expected to get into the backfield.
– The secondary can tackle, and it gets plenty of opportunities. No one came up with more than one interception – the team picked off seven passes – and they gave up a whole lot of deep plays and too many third down conversions. With plenty of depth and lots of options, the coaching staff can get creative after patching things together following the 2018 disaster.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Louisville Cardinals Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Louisville Cardinals Players
Best Louisville Cardinals Offensive Player
QB Micale Cunningham, Jr.
The 6-1, 200-pounder made lots and lots and lots of big throws in the most efficient passing season ever for a Louisville quarterback. Yeah, it’s a different era, but remember, this is the school of Lamar Jackson, Chris Redman, Brian Brohm, Teddy Bridgewater, and Johnny Unitas.
Cunningham might not have a huge arm, but he averaged a whopping 11.5 yards per throw, connecting on 63% of his passes for 2,065 yards and 22 touchdowns with just five picks. Slippery, he ran for 482 yards and six scores, too.
2. WR Tutu Atwell, Jr.
3. RB Javian Hawkins, Soph.
4. WR Dez Fitzpatrick, Sr.
5. TE Marshon Ford, Soph.
Best Louisville Cardinals Defensive Player
LB CJ Avery, Sr.
Go ahead and put Dorian Etheridge or Rodjay Burns here from the linebacking corps if you wish. The 5-11, 230-pound Avery bulked up a little bit and should be a bit more physical on the weakside, where he led the team with 93 tackles with three sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss. In his third year starting at the spot, the former safety is a good all-around playmaker next to Etheridge – he should be a statistical star again.
2. LB Dorian Etheridge, Sr.
3. LB Rodjay Burns, Sr.
4. S Russ Yeast, Sr.
5. LB Yasir Abdullah, Jr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Louisville Cardinals Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Louisville Cardinals Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Louisville Cardinals Offense
Stop with the negative plays. One of the positives about having a high-powered offense that averages over 17 yards per completion is that it makes up for lost chunks of yards thanks to a leaky offensive front. However, the last several Louisville O lines have been a big, big problem – they’re making it too hard.
Only six teams allowed more than 100 tackles for loss last year, and only one team gave up more than 116. Louisville allowed 129. It’s a risk-reward thing with the attack, but a few more quick-hitting plays would be a positive.
Biggest Key To The Louisville Cardinals Defense
Just don’t get totally gouged by the run. The stats are a bit skewed because Kentucky didn’t throw, but Louisville was hammered for 517 yards and six touchdowns in the 45-13 loss. The problem was that wasn’t the power of UK, it was the big runs down the field, which aren’t supposed to happen against a D full of athleticism and geared towards swarming around the ball.
There’s going to be an issue against the thumpers – the size isn’t really there – but the defense has to keep the big dashes to more of a minimum. Kentucky, Clemson, Notre Dame – that’s fine. All three ran at will, but Miami averaged over six yards per carry, and Florida State – who couldn’t run block anyone – was able to crank out three touchdowns on the ground.
Key Louisville Cardinals Player To A Successful Season
DT Jared Goldwire, Sr.
Or any of the other defensive tackle possibilities to man the inside in the 3-4 alignment. By Power Five standards this is a too-small defensive front with only a few 300-pounders – the 6-6 305-pound Goldwire is the biggest option for the front three. The former JUCO transfer made 22 tackles behind GG Robinson, and for a D that needs to be a whole lot better against the run, it’s going to start on the nose.
Key Game To The Louisville Cardinals Season
NC State, Sept. 3
If Louisville is back to being a factor again, this is the game it has to take down or else there’s going to be a big, big problem early on.
NC State was a disaster last season, but it’s going to be a whole lot better and stronger. It’s the season, ACC, and home opener for Louisville, and a win is simply a hold of serve. After this?
At Clemson. The next two ACC games? At Syracuse, at Boston College. With road games at Notre Dame and Virginia still to deal with, it might be a fight just to get past six wins with a loss to the Wolfpack.
– Louisville Cardinals Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Louisville Fun Stats
– Onside Kicks: Opponents 3-for-7 – Louisville 0-for 1
– Penalties: Louisville 87 for 730 yards – Opponents 66 for 525 yards
– Tackles For Loss: Opponents 129 – Louisville 79
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Louisville Cardinals Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Louisville Cardinals Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
Just how much will Louisville move forward in Year Two under Scott Satterfield?
The offensive kicked it in, and there are a whole lot of fantastic playmakers who’ll keep up the pace with just about anyone, but the defense needs to be a whole lot more consistent.
The linebackers are fantastic, the secondary is fine, and the defensive front is quick, but there’s not a whole lot of power or size, and there can’t continue to be the games when the D just doesn’t work. The Cardinals have allowed 34 points or more 15 times in the last 20 games – that has to change.
The schedule isn’t too awful, and there’s no excuse to do anything worse than six wins and a bowl, but don’t get crazy quite yet.
Set The Louisville Cardinals Regular Season Win Total At … 7
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 7.5
Three of the first four ACC games are on the road, and one of them is against Clemson. Playing Virginia Tech and Florida State at home aren’t layups, and neither is the non-conference date against WKU. Throw in the road games against Notre Dame and Virginia, and the regular-season ender against Kentucky, and this will be more of a grind than Cardinal fans might like.
But it’ll be a wild ride. Every game will be entertaining, every game will have big plays, and it’ll be a fun brand of football that will make Louisville a must-see.
Again, a bowl game shouldn’t be a problem with the talent returning, and it might be possible to be the second-best team in the Atlantic with a little luck.
