To be undefeated seven games into the season is not an easy feat. Regardless of how pretty you look when you do it, how your opponents are viewed, or what conference you are in…undefeated is undefeated. Louisville is likely to get their opponents best shot for the remainder of the season until they are knocked off, and I think that’s exactly what you got Saturday night against the South Florida. Here are some games news and notes from the Cards 27-25 victory over the Bulls leaving them 2-0 in conference play.
- South Florida just outgained the Cards in total yardage 386-384. The only other time that has happened through theses seven games was against FIU 323-326.
- While I don’t typically pay a lot of attention to total offensive plays, it stood out to me that the Bulls had 82 offensive plays to Louisville’s 58 without a huge play-clock anomaly (32:25-27:35).
- Louisville continued it’s Red Zone Efficiency scoring every time they found themselves there. All three were touchdowns.
- The Cards defense now has 14 sacks on the season; nine of which came in the last two games. Four against South Florida.
- After getting the starting nod for the second consecutive game Lorenzo Mauldin is making the best of his opportunity. After Cards fans became concerned about the defensive pressure into the backfield, five games in Mauldin has recorded 3.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in the last two games.
- Abraham “Nacho” Garcia made his debut against the Bulls well into the game voiding his redshirt opportunity. In part because John Miller was set to start but was sidelined for the game after the staff decided he wasn’t quite ready to return after injury.
- Louisville’s defensive line had a serious problem stopping the Bulls run up the gut. South Florida did nothing to disguise it and made no secret of their repeated successful attempts at rushing the ball straight up the middle seemingly getting several easy yards before the Cards got a hand on the runner. That can’t happen.
- With the lack of success that Louisville had rushing the ball some left wondering why the play calling still offered plenty of run plays well into the game after minimal gains on the ground. Jeremy Wright and Senorise Perry combined for just 56 rushing yards for the entire game. Bridgewater lead the team with 74 yards on the ground.
- The Cards finished with entirely too many penalties totalling nine for seventy-five yards.
- Teddy Bridgewater continued to spread the ball around hitting nine different receivers on the day. Louisville has had four different guys lead the team in receiving yards this season and eight have caught touchdown passes.
Louisville still showed that they have a ton to work on, and continue to build a team around their youth shuffling players around. I don’t believe that this team has come anywhere close to reaching it’s potential, and if they do…college football better look out. When these guys get the pieces of the puzzle together, they’re going to be really good; scary good.
October 21, 2012 at 9:22 am
I look past your eagerness to cover basketball and your mininmal knowlege of football, but how can you question Watson at this point in time. It is obvious that the Bulls were killing our Defense and ran 25 more plays…………so the name of the game is don’t give them the opportunity to do more damage. Running the Football makes the safeties come up and that opens up the passing game.
I thought maybe you would ask the questions like….where was Anderew Johnson or has anyone heard of Gerod Holliman……maybe will Robert Dwyer play DB next year?
But the question the Offensive Coordinator about an efficient offense that has been pretty dang good all year is just plum ridiculous!
October 21, 2012 at 10:21 am
I will not argue my knowledge of the game of football, because frankly I don’t feel the need to. If you even slightly paid close attention you would know that I primarily cover football for the site, not basketball, so the “eagerness to cover basketball” simply doesn’t exist here.
Now, pay close attention. Feel free to share your opinion at any time on theCardinalConnect.com but please be sure not to make any attempts to undermine the authors of the articles.
October 21, 2012 at 11:46 am
Truth hurts……you cover everything basketball from what prospects get offers to where Pittino is eating dinner….year around.
Your football coverage is very erratic and regergetated from other basketball crazed bloggers from the state……it is total laughable that you would even begin to question Watson with the job that he has done with bridgewater and the offense.
October 21, 2012 at 7:11 pm
Corey,
Go back to timeout and calm down, son.
You know every bit as much as I do that you can not do a better job running a blog of any sort, so better leave it to the people who have been doing it for awhile now.
Shawn Watson does go too conservative too early, and if you watch Teddy B’s reactions after some failed conservative plays, you would clearly be able to see this. Our team is very very good, so are our coaches, but they are not perfect. So stop acting like a crazed psycho and realize there is always room for improvement.
You senseless child.
Dinner will be ready in 10.