Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Louisville Cardinals season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
– Louisville Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 2-10 overall, 0-8 in ACC
Head Coach: Scott Satterfield, 1st year
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LOUISVILLE OFFENSE
– It all starts with getting somethongout of the offensive line. Dwayne Ledford served as the co-offensive coordinator at Appalachian State for a few years under new head man Scott Satterfield. Before this, the new UofL offensive coordinator served as the NC State offensive line coach – he has to mold this group into something usable.
The Cardinal front five was abysmal for the ground game that averaged just 142 yards per game, and was a soft breeze in pass protection. Three starters return – starting with future NFL franchise tackle Mekhi Becton – and now the pressure is on. If the line isn’t night-and-day stronger, it’s going to be another miserable year.
– To be fair, the running backs weren’t able to show what they could do thanks to the bad line play. Sophomore Hassan Hall was a bit of a bright spot with 303 yards and three scores – that was good enough to be the team’s top rushing RB. Hall is the speed, and 225-pound Colin Wilson brings a bit more thump.
– It was asking for too much for anyone to be the quarterback after Lamar Jackson, but the Cardinals couldn’t get enough out of their two main options. Jawon Pass threw 12 interceptions and eight touchdown passes, and Malik Cunningham wasn’t able to do much more. However, Cunningham led the team in rushing and – if he’s not the starting quarterback – will get on the field in some way.
– Leading receiver Jaylen Smith is gone, but the receiving corps has the upside to be the team’s biggest strength. The 1-2 punch of Dei Fitzpatrick and Cheatarius Atwell will be fantastic if the quarterback play is stronger, and there’s decent depth to fill in the gaps. This is a really, really big corps, with 6-6 Devante Peete and 6-3 Seth Dawkins promising parts of the passing puzzle.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LOUISVILLE DEFENSE
– The Cardinal defense didn’t do much of anything right, allowing 484 yards and 44 points per game. The run defense was a total disaster – giving up 277 yards per game – there wasn’t any pass rush, and there weren’t enough takeaways. Once things went off the rails, UofL allowed 52 points or more in six of the last seven games. Other than that, everything was super.
– So where’t the positive? The starting front seven will be loaded with veterans and nine of the top 11 tacklers are back. In all, seven underclassmen were among the starters at the end of the season.
– The depth might be a question mark, but the line has pass rushing prospects in Jarrett Jackson, Tabarius Peterson, and Amonte Caban – now they have to figure out how to get to a quarterback. There’s defensive tackles were young last season. Bad, but young – the experience should matter with this group.
– Jon Greenard is off being a Florida Gator, but Dorian Etheridge is a good linebacker to work around, and there’s plenty of speed and athleticism on the outside. The secondary loses leading tackler Dee Smith, but the corners should be okay and senior Khane Pass is a veteran a one safety spot.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP LOUISVILLE PLAYERS
Best Louisville Offensive Player
OT Mekhi Becton, Jr.
There hasn’t been much of a running game, and the pass protection was among the nation’s worst, but the Cardinals have an NFL-caliber tackle to work around. The 6-7, 355-pounder has the feet to go along with the mass to be a first rounder in the 2020 Draft, but first, it would be nice if he could be the star of a line that could be something other than totally abysmal.
2. WR Dez Fitzpatrick, Jr.
3. QB Jawon Pass, Jr.
4. QB Malik Cunningham, Soph.
5. WR Chatarius Atwell, Soph.
Best Louisville Defensive Player
LB Dorian Etheridge, Jr.
The 6-3, 230-pound hitter in the middle of the defense started out his career with 83 tackles as a freshman, and followed it up with 55 stops with four tackles for loss and four broken up passes. He missed two games early on, and didn’t put up big numbers late for the miserable run defense, but with a little help up front, he has the upside to hit the 80-tackle mark and be more of a pass rusher under the new coaching staff.
2. LB CJ Avery, Jr.
3. DE Tabarius Peterson, Jr.
4. DE Amonte Caban, Sr.
5. S Khane Pass, Sr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Louisville Offense
Give the lads time to work. This isn’t all that hard. When you’re 127th in the nation in sacks allowed, and 122nd in tackles for loss allowed, the skill players aren’t able to do a whole lot.
The running game actually worked a bit late in the year – the passing attack was abandoned for long stretches – the Cardinals were behind so big so early so often that defenses were able to pin their ears back to get into the backfield. Even so, giving up 43 sacks and 93 tackles for loss isn’t a positive.
Biggest Key To The Louisville Defense
Get off the field. It all ties together. The Cardinals couldn’t stop anyone’s running game – allowing 200 yards or more eight times, giving up six yards per carry, and scoring 40 touchdowns – and that led to a whole lot of easy third down chances.
That wasn’t the only part of this – the secondary was beaten up regularly, too, allowing quarterbacks to connect on 65% of their passes – but no matter how it happened, the D couldn’t generate meaningful stops.
How bad was it? Louisville was dead last in college football in third down defense, allowing teams to convert 52% of their tries. The defense was 119th in the nation at stopping fourth down conversions, too.
Key Player To A Successful Season
QB Jawon Pass, Jr.
The key player is anyone and everyone on the offensive line. And the defensive line. And the linebacking corps. And … the quarterbacks have to be better, too. Pass has to get more time to work, but he also needs to be sharper after throwing just eight touchdown passes and 12 picks.
He’ll still be under pressure, but he’s got to be able to hit the midrange throws and keep the chains moving … if he’s the starter. Malik Cunningham will get a long look this fall, and freshman Evan Conley could be an interesting fit with his pro-style passing skills.
Key Game To The Louisville Season
Boston College, Oct. 5
It might take a month to get warmed up, but at the very least, the Cardinals should be 2-2 going into an off week – they should beat Eastern Kentucky and WKU, and lose to Notre Dame and Florida State.
They get Boston College after the rest, becoming a measuring stick sort of game with a trip to Wake Forest and a date with Clemson to follow. At the very least, beat BC, and the team will have passed the 2018 win total by early October. It’s a start.
– Louisville Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Louisville Fun Stats
– 1st Quarter Scoring: Opponents 133 – Louisville 47
– Rushing Yards Per Game: Opponents 277.2 – Louisville 141.5
– Penalties: Louisville 101 for 861 yards – Opponents 66 for 622 yards
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. LOUISVILLE WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
Let’s just call it an aberration.
Louisville had a whole slew of problems under Bobby Petrino, but Lamar Jackson was able to make up for several of them. Last season, the team dealt with Alabama right away, lost a tough battle against Florida State, and then the season went downhill fast.
But that type of total collapse happens once in a while.
Michigan State followed up its 2015 Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff season with a 3-9 clunker.
Auburn was a 3-9 miss in 2012, and then played for the national title in 2013. Notre Dame went from 10-3 in 2015, to 4-8 in 2016, to 10-3 in 2017.
Sometimes, a team has a bad year, But 2018 might have been a step back to take a giant leap forward by getting Scott Satterfield, a different type of head coach and personality who’ll change things up around the Louisville program.
He’s getting a team with a whole lot of experience, plenty of athleticism, and even a little bit of talent. The depth might not be there, and there are plenty of big areas that have to go from miserable to at least mediocre, but …
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 5
If a slew of injuries strike early on, forget it. However, if the starters and min men can stay in one piece, the Cardinals should be able to get by Eastern Kentucky, at Western Kentucky, and then …
It’s not going to be easy.
Boston College is gettable after a week off, going to Wake Forest isn’t all that bad, and there should be a surprise along the way. There aren’t any sure things in the ACC, though.
It’s not asking the world for the program that had eight straight winning seasons before last year to quickly bounce back and go bowling, but with so many changes, give it a year.
Satterfield will be the right guy for the job. He’ll show it in 2020.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
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