The one thing that Coach Strong established again quickly when he took over was confidence and a winning attitude. During his time at Louisville, he had his team believing they could play and beat anybody and anywhere. His teams were world beaters. We’ve got to get that confidence back.

I’ve seen the Cardinals finish just one season with that type of confidence/swagger since Coach Strong left. The 2015 group won 6 of the last seven games including that big win against A&M in the Bowl game. That group finished as world beaters. Hey Coach Satterfield stop giving me excuses and give me some of that.

I’m hoping that the game Friday night brings out more of a winning attitude and spirit from this team. I saw individual plays in the Syracuse game that showed some attitude but nothing as far as the team as a whole. We heard all offseason of a team refocused and a team committed to being better. They came out and did a belly flop. And not a very good one. It sure knocked the air out of me.

This game is another opportunity for this Louisville Football team to show me a winning attitude or any attitude at all. Just show me that you want to win more than I want you to win. Just show me something. Louisville Football fans are back in. We are talking the talk now it’s time for that dog to bark. Or at least yap a little.

By my count, there are 16 guys on the Louisville roster from Florida. Not as many as it used to be but still a lot of dudes from that area. Families are going to be at this game. Grandma is going to be at this game. They are going to know guys on the UCF roster and there are going to be some rivalries playing out on the field.

Games against the Florida schools usually evoke special energy as a result of these personal connections and rivalries. If this team doesn’t respond to this energy on Friday night this might become Chicken Littles Beak preview next week.

Instead of talking football this week, it was everyone telling their version of how this coaching staff and the team have put themselves behind the eight ball.

The Cardinals have lost 3 of their last 5 road games. Now they go on the road again to play a team that has won each of their last 8 at home and been one of the best home teams in the country over the last five years or so. UCF hasn’t lost at home since November 2020 and looks to be on a path to another solid season.

UCF has a big-time playmaker at quarterback in Rhys Plumlee. He is completing 64.5 percent of his passes for 308 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. He also leads the team with 86 yards and 1 rushing touchdown. The Louisville defense had no answer for the Cuse QB on Saturday. Don’t know how they will contain this guy.

Monty Montgomery leads the Louisville defense coming in with 8 tackles along with Ashton Gillotte with 1.5 sacks. We are going to need to see other signs of life in this unit to contain Plumlee and the Gus Malzahn-led offense. You can bet he wants to score and score a lot.

Speaking of signs of life… Earth to Lance Taylor… Earth to Lance Taylor… 7 points brah? Coming into this season I had no worries about an offense that added two studs during the offseason. The Newcomers Tyler Hudson and Tiyon Evans each performed well in their UofL debut. Hudson caught eight passes for 102 yards, while Evans rushed 13 times for 89 yards, scoring the lone touchdown on a 36-yard rush in the first quarter.

While Malik was just over 150 yards passing with two interceptions and other contributors like Huggins-Bruce and Marshon Ford were a non-factor.

These guys can not be a nonfactor in this game. If we don’t hear our studs names called repeatedly Louisville football will be headed to an 0-2 home opener against Florida State.

This Louisville team might come out like men possessed and still fall short in this game. UCF is that tough at home. But if they give me any type of sign that they believe in themselves it will be a start. We are still waiting for them to start something.

It is often the unknown that can be a problem in the first game of the season but with this Syracuse team, it’s what we know about them that says this will be an interesting game.

This Syracuse team has playmakers at all three levels of the offense. A great dual-threat QB in Garrett Shrader who led the Orange last year with 1,445 yards and 9 scores on just 53% passing while also rushing for 781 yards and 14 TDs.

They also have one of the best RBs in the country Sean Tucker who rushed for almost 1,500 yards with 12 touchdowns and 9 100-yard games last season. He is going to challenge the Louisville defense at every level.

Cuse has a set of very capable WRs. Courtney Jackson returns as Syracuse’s leading receiver after putting up 37 catches last season while Damien Alford reeled off 19 YPC last season.

The Cuse will also be sporting a formidable defense on Saturday. Led by a pair of great LB’s. Stefon Thompson and Marlowe Wax combined for 11 sacks while Mikel Johnson had a team-high 110 tackles and 4 sacks in his last season.

They also have a solid secondary that may see a former Cardinal make an appearance. Now on the Cuse roster, Bralyn Oliver is a 6-foot-2, 209-pound defensive back that had yet to play a down for Louisville. He was an early enrollee this past January and was named as the backup free safety behind Kenderick Duncan in Louisville’s pre-fall camp depth chart.

Louisville will have its hands full with this Cuse team in the season opener. But with a solid core of returning players and playmakers added the Cardinals must take care of business. With the renewed excitement around this program, you can’t start the season with a loss.

I mentioned that unknowns can play a big part in the first game of the season. One of the unknowns in this game is how all of the playmakers added to the Louisville defense and offense will perform on Saturday.

On offense, the biggest add in the off-season from the portal is former Tennessee RB Tiyon Evans. This dude ripped off 300 yards of offense and four touchdowns in back-to-back games last October and was averaging 6.5 yards a carry as the Vol’s leading rusher.

Evan’s numbers went down after an ankle injury that eventually shut down his season. If Evans can make the impact most expect it will bold well for the game on Saturday and the season.

Another big add at the skill positions is WR Tyler Hudson who had 1,229 yards, and 8 touchdowns with 19.8 yards per catch last season for Central Arkansas. He helps make up a receiving corps with a ton of potential.

Perhaps the biggest unknown in this game Saturday is the Louisville defense. It got shredded at the end of last season in back-to-back games and folded with its back against the wall all season.

As a result Coach, Satt and staff hit the transfer portal especially hard in the secondary, bringing in Jarvis Brownlee (30 tackles, 2 INTs, 3 passes defended in ‘21) from Florida State, MJ Griffin (47 tackles, 4 passes defended in ‘21) from Temple and Quincy Riley (24 tackles, 5 INT’s, 9 passes defended in ‘21) from Middle Tennessee.

There is not a defensive unit in the country that needs to get off to a good start more than this Louisville group. With the guys added and Yassir Abdullah (43 tackles, 10 sacks in ‘21) returning at linebacker, Ashton Gillette (19 tackles, 4 sacks in ‘21) returning as a solid pass-rushing defensive end, and Kei’Trel Clark (30 tackles, 3 INTs, 9 passes defended in ‘21) returning to the Louisville secondary I feel good about that.

I do think this game is decided by the unknown so haven’t even mentioned some of the known. I know that Louisville has a “cheat code” in Malik Cunningham. But think in this game he will be more decoy than detrimental to the outcome. There have been words between Malik and that Cuse Linebacking Corps… They will have their eyes all over him.

Jalen Mitchell will also be lurking in the Louisville backfield. Back after leading all of the Cardinals’ running backs with 722 rushing yards and 5 TDs last season. I expect a big game from this guy on Saturday. Already proved can put the team on his back.

Other knowns but not mentioned… Louisville has also emphasized improving special teams. I didn’t research this but do expect to see improvement on Saturday. In games like this, this unit could be the difference. And hope to see a solid day from talented WR Braden Smith who returns after an injury-plagued 2021 season. Think he could have a big play or two.

Hope we see a lot of big plays from the guys in the Red chrome helmets. Hope I’m wrong about Malik and he torches those Cuse linebackers for 400 yards and 8 touchdowns to start the Heisman hype. Maybe another leap!

Louisville has always had its way with Cuse. I think they will Saturday.

Go Cards!

That season you could tell that things were going to be better. A share of the Big East Title and after four long years of losing to them finally a win over the arch-rival Cayuts in Lexington.

That 2011 victory sparked the most dominant streak in this series with Louisville Football winning the next 5 straight and winning the next six out of seven against Kentucky.

For the first few years of my son’s life, the Louisville Football team was rolling. 10 win seasons, Conference Titles, Bowl wins, Sugar Bowl win and never lost to Kentucky. I took him to games and he was with me at open practices. But being so young I don’t think he remembers all the success and great times.

I’m afraid around the time his memory kicked in Louisville Football started getting its teeth kicked in. Literally and figuratively… Since the end of Bobby 2.0’s run, it’s been nothing but bad. A run that includes three embarrassing losses to Kentucky.

Coach Satterfield and his “Satturdays” started with a sputter but with a renewed spirit from him and his staff, the program has started to take some shape. After a few years of moving in no direction, last season at least had a direction.

A promising 2021 campaign ended with a 6-7 record, which included a 4-4 mark in ACC play before falling to Air Force in the First Responder Bowl. It was an appropriate Bowl game for a bruised and battered Louisville Football team. Health was that team’s biggest obstacle.

The clouds have parted over my old Kentucky home and Louisville will open its 2022 season with a lot of optimism and more promise than I’ve felt in a while. Maybe… just maybe this will be the year Brody gets to meet “Louisville Football”.

This team has the pieces to be competitive and fun again. It starts on offense with the epitome of a dual-threat quarterback, Malik Cunningham 3,000 passing yards and 19 TDs with just 6 INTs while also rushing for over 1,000 yards and 20 TDs. He is a human highlight reel.

No coach in the country improved their team more thru the transfer portal than Coach Satterfield did. On offense, Tiyon Evans (525 yards, 6 TD in ‘21) will start at RB. Averaging 6.5 yds a carry in the SEC last season. He was a big get for the Cards. While Dee Wiggins (6.3 yards per catch in ‘21) comes in from Miami and Tyler Hudson (1,229 yards, 8 TD’s with 19.8 yards per catch) transfers in from Central Arkansas to make up a receiving corps with a ton of potential.

On defense, Jermayne Lole (17 tackles, 1.5 sacks in ‘20) transfers in from Arizona State, and Momo Sanogo (12 tackles 1, 5 sacks in ‘21) enters from Ole Miss to help the cause. The Cardinals hit the transfer portal especially hard in the secondary, bringing in Jarvis Brownlee (30 tackles, 2 INTs, 3 passes defended in ‘21) from Florida State, MJ Griffin (47 tackles, 4 passes defended in ‘21) from Temple and Quincy Riley (24 tackles, 5 INT’s, 9 passes defended in ‘21) from Middle Tennessee.

Adding players who can have an immediate impact with the returning guys on offense and defense is a winning strategy.

The offense returns guys like RB Jalen Mitchell (722 rushing yards, 5 TDs in ‘21) and talented WR Braden Smith who returns after an injury-plagued 2021 season.

On the defensive side of the ball a front seven that has some solid pieces returning like Yassir Abdullah (43 tackles, 10 sacks in ‘21) at linebacker and Ashton Gillette (19 tackles, 4 sacks in ‘21) as a solid pass-rushing defensive end. Kei’Trel Clark (30 tackles, 3 INTs, 9 passes defended in ‘21) is back in the Louisville secondary after an injury-shortened season. DB Kenderick Duncan (53 tackles, 1 INT, 4 passes defended in ‘21) is also back. DB Chandler Jones (27 tackles, 7 passes defended in ‘21) is a solid veteran cover corner.

There is a reason why guys like Phil Steele and other reputable folks have predicted an upswing season for this Louisville Football program. This coaching staff went to work solidifying the current roster and it is loaded with potential.

The Cardinals have more continuity throughout the lineup than they’ve had in a long time. I think we have just as much big-play ability as anyone in the country. That is going to be the difference in the first game against Syracuse and several games this season.

My son turns 11 in November. I got that same feeling as the year he was born. Louisville Football is finally back in a good spot. I feel like the program is moving forward and have told Brody to prepare for lots of winning. And for things to be different this year in the Governor’s Cup. This is the year “Louisville Football” makes its return.

9… 9 penalties on this Louisville football team last weekend. Couple that with only 17 first downs and a 21 point fourth quarter by the Wolf Pack and it ruined trick or treat for the Cardinals. And it negated another great effort from Malik Cunningham. He had 219 yards and a touchdown in the losing effort. I loved the connection between him and Jordan Watkins last week. Watkins caught two balls for 83 yards and a score to lead the receivers.

The Cardinals are going to need this connection tonight along with a much more solid performance overall if they want to beat Clemson. And for the first time since that Saturday night in 2016, I think we have a chance to beat Clemson.

Still gonna be a tall task as this Clemson team put together a 13 point fourth quarter last week to beat Florida State. Tigers QB DJ Uiagalelei and RB Will Shipley led what looked to be an improving Clemson offense to a solid 377 yards in that matchup. Shipley is just finding his legs and could be a problem.

They are improving and still have tons of talent but are far from the well-oiled machine they usually are. Especially on offense. They went just 4-of-14 on third-down tries, coughed up three turnovers, and committed six penalties in their game against the Noles.

Regardless of their shortcomings on the offensive side of the ball this Clemson team still has a very solid defense especially their front four. Dabo hadn’t been happy with this group and called them out recently. They responded with a season-high five sacks last week. They were initially credited with a sixth sack, but the NCAA removed a sack from Xavier Thomas’ who forced a fumble behind the line of scrimmage.

I think this game will be a tale of the two defensive units involved. Louisville ranks 25th nationally with an average of 5.1 yards per carrying. Can Malik and company keep their defensive unit on the run today while sustaining drives and letting our defense rest?

This is where the Cardinal’s depth issue comes into play. Our defensive guys are worn out in the 4 quarter and haven’t been able to make enough plays to finish games. But they have been making plays. New guys stepping up each week. LB Dorian Jones in his first career start had nine stops and 1.5 tackles for loss last week.

This Louisville defense surpassed their 2020 total for sacks by picking up their 22nd of the season last week. Louisville has recorded a sack in all eight games in 2021. These guys are trying and are getting better. And help is on the way. Four-star DL Selah Brown committed yesterday. Shame he can’t suit up tonight.

Louisville QB1 Malik Cunningham has his bag of treats. How good has he been this season? Thrown for 1,684 yards good for 6 touchdowns on 63.4% passing while also leading the Cardinals in rushing with 480 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns this season.

Sadly his outstanding play has been ghosted this season by how poorly the defense has played at times along with some costly turnovers. Maybe he will break out of the shadows of darkness into a new light tonight by leading his team to a big primetime win.

This Louisville offense is not a skeleton crew and has some playmakers. Jalen Mitchell second on the team in rush yards behind Malik has 424 rushing yards of his own. While Hassan Hall and Trevion Cooley each have 200+ rushing yards on the campaign.

The ball has been flying thru the air like a witch on a broom for Marshon Ford. He leads the Cardinals in receiving with 30 catches for 313 yards. Four other Louisville receivers have joined the party and have at least 200 receiving yards this season.

Don’t think for a minute that this NC State team will be left bobbing for apples. Their offense has also been as hot as a witch’s brew. Devin Leary will be playing the role of gunslinger in this one. He has thrown for 1,844 yards, and 17 touchdowns on 65.6% passing.

He’s got some pretty solid guys catching those bullets. Emeka Emezie leads the Wolfpack’s receiving corps with 37 grabs for 452 yards while Thayer Thomas and Devin Carter each have 300+ receiving yards and another three NC State receivers have at least 100 receiving yards this season. They spread the ball around all over the field like a giant spider’s web.

The Treats… This Louisville defense started the season in quicksand. But has been a hoot to watch in the last few games. The Cardinals added to their interception total by picking off two more passes against BC to give them nine picks on the year.

The defense tallied three more sacks in Saturday’s win, upping its season total to 21 through seven games matching all of last season, and have at least three sacks in three of the last four games.

Trey Franklin picked off his second pass of the season and is just another guy on this defense along with C.J. Avery (46 tackles), Yasir Abdullah (6 sacks), and Kei’Trel Clark (3 interceptions) stepping up this season.

The Tricks…

For the second-straight game, the Cardinals’ offensive line failed to yield a sack, the first time not allowing a sack in back-to-back games since 2008. Leading to a season-high 331 yards on the ground.

Trevion Cooley, who recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game last week averaging 8.6 yards per carry adds a nice little touch to the backfield. Establishing a solid rush attack and being able to sustain drives gives the guys on the other side of the ball a chance to be better.

Louisville has moved into the top 25 nationally in total offense, averaging 452.0 yards per game. The Cards have totaled more than 500 yards of offense in three of the last four contests. If the story stopped here you’d think this team was rolling and fans were going into today’s game pretty confident about the outcome. But it doesn’t…

The troubLsss… has been on the other side of the ball. Louisville has given up 34 or more points in three of their last four, and the result is the Cardinals going 2-2 in that stretch. In the last quarter of football, this Louisville defense played they gave up 21 points.

Today is where the rubber meets the road for this Louisville Football team and the defense. Defensive coordinator Bryan Brown promised a much tougher brand of defense. At times you can see the light come on for his group. They have made some big plays.

Through the first six games of the season, the cardinals have surpassed their 2020 total of interceptions. The defense picked off two passes versus Virginia to give them seven interceptions on the season. And the big pick to beat UCF.

There is talent on the Louisville defense with young guys stepping up each week. I don’t think players are the issue. I think it’s about Coach Brown getting all of these guys in the right situation to win and finish ballgames. Maybe the 3 man rush, prevent defense should take a back seat.

Linebacker C.J. Avery is attempting to become the fifth player to lead the team in tackles, Linebacker Yasir Abdullah ranks 18th in the country and third in the ACC with 0.8 sacks per game, breakout freshman Ashton Gillotte is second with 3.0 sacks, Kei’Trel Clark leads the team in interceptions with three, and Jack Fagot leads the team in tackles with 42 after recording nine in the loss to Virginia.

Playmakers… Playmakers… Playmakers… too many for the Louisville Defense to be giving away games and that’s what they did two weeks ago. The defensive unit and staff will have all eyes on them today.

They’ve had an extra week to get ready for a Boston College team that hasn’t been an offensive juggernaut this season. They couldn’t do anything after halftime against NC State in their last time out. The Eagles ultimately collected just 291 total yards with 4.2 yards per play and 17 first downs.

Remember when our Cardinals beat Wake Forest to win the program’s first Orange Bowl?

Remember Coach Satt’s win over Wake Forest during his first season? I’m hoping history repeats itself today as the Cardinals travel to Winston-Salem to play the 4-0 Deamon Deacons. They are 2-0 in the ACC after beating Virginia last week.

Wake has had a solid start and been led by a defense ranked 5th in the country in turnovers gained with 11. The Demon Deacon defense also sees themselves inside of the top-25 in several other categories: Scoring D (9th, 14.2 PPG), Redzone D (5th, .545), TFL/G (7th, 8.5), Turnover Margin (4th, +1.75 per game).

They also have a pretty good QB. Dating back to last season, Sam Hartman has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in eight straight games. Over that stretch he has 18 touchdown passes to seven different receivers. He hung 270 yards and three touchdowns on Virginia last week.

Oh, and did I mention their kicker? Nick Sciba is on his way to becoming the most accurate kicker in NCAA history. During his time at Wake Forest, he is 64-of-71 (.901), the best mark for any kicker in NCAA and ACC history (min. 50 att).

Wake did show some chink in the armor giving up 506 total yards last week against Virginia including 407 through the air and 31 first downs. I think the Cardinals and Malik Cummingham could find similar success on Saturday. But we do have to mention the big red elephant in the room.

After a high octane first half against FSU, the Cardinals went silent in the second half last weekend, finishing on 395 total yards, 4.9 yards per play, and 21 first downs. If the Cardinals can’t get it going on the scoreboard early in this game it could be rough. I’m hoping that Coach Satt just took his foot off the gas last week and that we are going to see a lot of scoring from the Cards in this one throughout.

Cunningham is the leading rusher with 263 yards on the season which is good for 5th in the ACC. He also ranks 7th in the conference with 998 passing yards. He’s starting to spread the ball around thru the air. Louisville had a variety of receivers make contributions last game with Tyler Harrell leading the way with two catches for 61 yards. Meanwhile, team-leading receiver, Marshon Ford hauled in a team-high six catches for 52 yards.

The Louisville defense has stepped it up big time with guys like LB Jack Fagot who made a career-high 10 tackles last week. He now has 25 total tackles on the year and is currently the team leader. His 25 tackles have him ranked 24th in the ACC. The Cardinal defense is right in the thick of things ranking seventh in the ACC (18.5 points). They’ll have to come up big in this one against the very efficient Wake offense.

The game between these teams back in 2019 was the 2nd highest-scoring game in the history of the ACC. I don’t think we can win a shootout here. Just don’t think a high-scoring game gets it done for either side. This game is a tale of two defenses. What side breaks first and breaks the most. I like our defense. They’ve had to stand tough the last few weeks and came thru big and I believe they will today.

Should be a good game. Hope it’s another one of those “remember when”… With a win.

Don’t listen to all of the pundits who say Florida State is a wash… Folks, it’s Florida State and I don’t care what their record is or how they’ve looked until today. I will never buy into a narrative that there is an easy win in Tallahassee. It won’t be easy on our Cards today.

This could be an exciting game between two teams that are offense first and we could see a lot of points put up between the two. Speed and more speed will be on full display when both offensive units step on the field. FSU coach Mike Norvell and Nick Saban are the only two FBS coaches to score at least 500 points every season from 2016-19. Despite being 0-3 Norvell has the weapons.

FSU running back Jashaun Corbin has the longest run play in the country this season with his 89-yard trot against the Irish. He ranks 13th nationally with 7.57 yards per carrying. QB Mckenzie Milton has been the starter the past two games for FSU. He ranks 5th nationally among active players with 8,983 passing yards and 10,081 yards of total offense. He ranks 4th with 280 yards of total offense per game. Oh yeah and QB Jordan Travis. Remember him? He leads the team with 11 rushing touchdowns this season. They also have a nice TE in Camren Mcdonald. He leads the team with 6 catches.

They also have plenty of talent on D. They return their top 4 tacklers from 2020 led by linebackers Amari Gainer, Emmett Rice, and Stephen Dix. Georgie transfer Jermaine Johnson ranks #1 in the country with 7 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. He is a monster on that defensive line. No defensive player in the ACC since 2011 has been a single-game stat stuffer like this fella. The Louisville O Line will face one of their biggest challenges of the season today.

FSU had six offensive plays of at least 20+ yards in that opener against the Irish. I think we could end up seeing a game like this today. From both teams. Louisville has the offensive talent to put points up in a hurry and we can see it with the ‘Noles as well.

Our Cards got them a big win last Friday night. One they almost had to win to keep things moving in the right direction. They’ll need to prove something again today. Coach Satt’s teams have stunk it up 2-8 and losing their last 6 on the road. And the Cards are just 2-10 in Tallahassee.

The Seminoles find themselves in a similar position being 0-3. They have something to prove to their rabid fan base. You can bet they will be ready to play. I think this one could turn out to be one of those games that the last team who scores wins.

Not going to make any predictions but I like what I saw out of the Cards last Friday. They rushed for a season-high 191 yards, averaging 5.2 yards a carry with 6 rushes of 10 or more on the then #2 rush defense in the country. Most importantly they were keeping drives alive averaging 9.3 yards on the money down. This offense seems to be coming to life. And the D didn’t look too shabby either with guys like Alderman stepping up.

Our program isn’t rolling but there has been some faith restored. Coach Satt has restored a very good culture at Louisville. A program left lifeless after having the head coach quit on us midseason. We had players walking off the field quitting during the last game that year. So yeah we’ve come a long way. This is just a team struggling to find its identity.

I think a win tonight would go a long way in helping them find some of that and get some good things going. We have talent, athleticism, and speed on both sides of the ball. It just comes down to putting it all together. I think this staff has had to spend so much time working on the culture and off-field stuff they’ve had to overcome especially with covid that they haven’t figured that out yet.

Time waits on nobody. I get the feeling that time is running out for Coach Satt. I know that’s crazy to say in just his third season here but a lot of our fans start getting anxious. When you’ve lived thru Kragthorpe. And while it was a win you just couldn’t help but feel those vibes during the EKU game.

I like Coach Satt and this team. Drove to Atlanta to watch them open the season because I believed in the team they were putting on the field. I still believe… I think a lot of our fans do. Cardinal fans still have hope for this team and program. Can’t let UCF take that back to Orlando with them tonight. A loss tonight could send things in the wrong direction. IMO… Big game! Go Cards!