Written By: James Leyva
(Charlottesville, VA) Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino takes his nationally ranked 5th Cardinals (6-1) to Charlottesville, VA to play the University of Virginia Cavaliers (2-5) on ABC at noon after a high flying win last week.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson and other Louisville Cardinals sailed into the school's record books after dismantling NC State 44-0 by halftime. 54-13 was the final score last week. Once again, Jackson led the charge completing 20 of 34 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns in the win. The stupendous sophomore had 359 of his 431 total yards of offense by halftime, so it was a typical “Lamar being Lamar” kind of day.
Additionally, the dazzling sophomore recorded his 33rd touchdown of the season in the first half. The touchdown to tie the single season record was a three yard pass to tight end Cole Hikutini. Moments later, Jackson set a new school record of 34 touchdowns in a season after a 16 yard connection to wide receiver Jamari Staples. Keep in mind, it was only Louisville’s seventh game of the season.
As spectacular of a performance Jackson displayed in last Saturday's matchup against NC State, kicker Blanton Creque also added his name to the Louisville record books. The freshman became the first Cardinals kicker to account for 18 points, with four successful field goals and six extra points.
No doubt coach Petrino was proud of his kicker who hasn't missed from 39 yards out, or closer remarking, "I thought he did a really nice job. We brought him out last Saturday night and worked extremely hard on our timing of everything and he did a good job all week long, so I was happy to see the snaps, the holds - putting the ball in the right spot - and certainly he did a great job of kicking it."
Despite the record breaking offense, the key to scoring 44 pointsin a half against a team that went to overtime against Clemson resides in a sharp, dexterous defense. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and his troops have been solid against the run, ranking 19th in the country against the run. They have been playing at an extremely high level over the last couple weeks.
"We're doing a really nice job of stopping the run,” Petrino said. “I like the way our front guys are playing because besides defeating blocks, we're able to make tackles and get production which a lot of times as a defensive lineman it's hard to get that kind of production.”
Just last week, the Cardinals held the Wolfpack to a season-low 14 yards rushing and 250 yards of total offense. In addition, the dynamic defense's performance in the first quarter prevented NC State from gaining any positive yardage. Cardinal linebacker Keith Kelsey and defensive tackle DeAngelo Brown stopped NC State’s star running back Matt Dayes and prohibited any chance for NC State head coach Dave Doeren to create anything positive for his offense. They Had 54 yards of total offense in the entire first half. Furthermore, Defensive end Drew Bailey has 30 tackles, with 5.5 for losses and Brown has 20 tackles, with 4.5 for losses, as the leaders of Louisville's three-man defensive front.
So what does Virginia’s first year head coach Bronco Mendenhall have in store for an opponent whose offense averaging 52.6 points a game, and is the only team in the country ranked in the top 10 in total offense and total defense? Obviously, give credit where credit is due and in this case, he gives it to Louisville."When you have a combination of good coaches and good talent, that ends up having a lot of success and that's over the years, Louisville has done that," Mendenhall said. "They have added good football coaches, and they have recruited very good talent to fit their schemes and vice versa."
There's no question that Mendenhall's lackluster debut season, which includes a loss to Richmond in the home opener, as well as a disappointing 35-14 loss to the University of North Carolina Tar Heels last week, is not how he intended to begin his head coaching job in the ACC.
However, with an underwhelming offense that only converted three of -19 third down attempts last week against UNC and only three points in the second half against the University of Pittsburgh two weeks ago, the Cavaliers can only go up from this point. Quarterback Kurt Benkert, a transfer from East Carolina, struggled in those two outings, passing for 126 yards against the Tar Heels and completing 20 of 44 passes against Pitt for 278 yards. However, in their two wins this season, he threw for 757 yards showing that he has the potential to get out of this rough patch.
Luckily, Virginia running back Taquen Mizzell has the potential to get the Cavaliers offense going. The Cavaliers running back caught nine passes for 89 yards and rushed 14 times for 40 yards in last year’s meeting. So far this season, he has 83 carries for 461 yards and four touchdowns, as well as caught 31 passes for 211 yards. Still, this may not be enough to ward off the bowl bound Cardinals.
Overall, the Cardinals will look at this matchup as a shot to improve their playoff hopes with a high scoring victory. The last time these teams played, Louisville scored a 38-31 home win behind a career-high 146 rushing yards and two scores from Brandon Radcliff.
Although the Cavaliers will have to do everything right in order to pull out the upset, Louisville is prepared for the challenge as coach Petrino proclaimed, “we need to get ready for our game at Virginia. Back on the road, we have to do a good job in practice this week, got to do a good job traveling, and get up and play another noon game. I think our players will be excited about it." Excitement is certainly in the air as the Louisville Cardinals look to continue their remarkable season this Saturday against Virginia.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson and other Louisville Cardinals sailed into the school's record books after dismantling NC State 44-0 by halftime. 54-13 was the final score last week. Once again, Jackson led the charge completing 20 of 34 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns in the win. The stupendous sophomore had 359 of his 431 total yards of offense by halftime, so it was a typical “Lamar being Lamar” kind of day.
Additionally, the dazzling sophomore recorded his 33rd touchdown of the season in the first half. The touchdown to tie the single season record was a three yard pass to tight end Cole Hikutini. Moments later, Jackson set a new school record of 34 touchdowns in a season after a 16 yard connection to wide receiver Jamari Staples. Keep in mind, it was only Louisville’s seventh game of the season.
As spectacular of a performance Jackson displayed in last Saturday's matchup against NC State, kicker Blanton Creque also added his name to the Louisville record books. The freshman became the first Cardinals kicker to account for 18 points, with four successful field goals and six extra points.
No doubt coach Petrino was proud of his kicker who hasn't missed from 39 yards out, or closer remarking, "I thought he did a really nice job. We brought him out last Saturday night and worked extremely hard on our timing of everything and he did a good job all week long, so I was happy to see the snaps, the holds - putting the ball in the right spot - and certainly he did a great job of kicking it."
Despite the record breaking offense, the key to scoring 44 pointsin a half against a team that went to overtime against Clemson resides in a sharp, dexterous defense. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and his troops have been solid against the run, ranking 19th in the country against the run. They have been playing at an extremely high level over the last couple weeks.
"We're doing a really nice job of stopping the run,” Petrino said. “I like the way our front guys are playing because besides defeating blocks, we're able to make tackles and get production which a lot of times as a defensive lineman it's hard to get that kind of production.”
Just last week, the Cardinals held the Wolfpack to a season-low 14 yards rushing and 250 yards of total offense. In addition, the dynamic defense's performance in the first quarter prevented NC State from gaining any positive yardage. Cardinal linebacker Keith Kelsey and defensive tackle DeAngelo Brown stopped NC State’s star running back Matt Dayes and prohibited any chance for NC State head coach Dave Doeren to create anything positive for his offense. They Had 54 yards of total offense in the entire first half. Furthermore, Defensive end Drew Bailey has 30 tackles, with 5.5 for losses and Brown has 20 tackles, with 4.5 for losses, as the leaders of Louisville's three-man defensive front.
So what does Virginia’s first year head coach Bronco Mendenhall have in store for an opponent whose offense averaging 52.6 points a game, and is the only team in the country ranked in the top 10 in total offense and total defense? Obviously, give credit where credit is due and in this case, he gives it to Louisville."When you have a combination of good coaches and good talent, that ends up having a lot of success and that's over the years, Louisville has done that," Mendenhall said. "They have added good football coaches, and they have recruited very good talent to fit their schemes and vice versa."
There's no question that Mendenhall's lackluster debut season, which includes a loss to Richmond in the home opener, as well as a disappointing 35-14 loss to the University of North Carolina Tar Heels last week, is not how he intended to begin his head coaching job in the ACC.
However, with an underwhelming offense that only converted three of -19 third down attempts last week against UNC and only three points in the second half against the University of Pittsburgh two weeks ago, the Cavaliers can only go up from this point. Quarterback Kurt Benkert, a transfer from East Carolina, struggled in those two outings, passing for 126 yards against the Tar Heels and completing 20 of 44 passes against Pitt for 278 yards. However, in their two wins this season, he threw for 757 yards showing that he has the potential to get out of this rough patch.
Luckily, Virginia running back Taquen Mizzell has the potential to get the Cavaliers offense going. The Cavaliers running back caught nine passes for 89 yards and rushed 14 times for 40 yards in last year’s meeting. So far this season, he has 83 carries for 461 yards and four touchdowns, as well as caught 31 passes for 211 yards. Still, this may not be enough to ward off the bowl bound Cardinals.
Overall, the Cardinals will look at this matchup as a shot to improve their playoff hopes with a high scoring victory. The last time these teams played, Louisville scored a 38-31 home win behind a career-high 146 rushing yards and two scores from Brandon Radcliff.
Although the Cavaliers will have to do everything right in order to pull out the upset, Louisville is prepared for the challenge as coach Petrino proclaimed, “we need to get ready for our game at Virginia. Back on the road, we have to do a good job in practice this week, got to do a good job traveling, and get up and play another noon game. I think our players will be excited about it." Excitement is certainly in the air as the Louisville Cardinals look to continue their remarkable season this Saturday against Virginia.