Louisville and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day…

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Our Cardinals made their very first trip into “Death Valley” today and despite a valiant effort by the defense the Cards fell short in a heart breaker to Clemson 23-17. The game today shuffled things a bit in the Atlantic Division of the ACC. The Cardinals had been in second place and now change spots with the Tigers dropping to third place. The Cardinals are now 5-2 and 3-2 in the ACC. Coach Petrino’s record is now 46-11 at Louisville.

After making it to the halfway point in the season it is pretty obvious that this Louisville team is one that is going to have to grind out ball games in order for them to come out on the winning side of things. A team having that kind of Modus operandi almost has to be perfect in execution and not have any mental mistakes especially on the road, at a place like Clemson. The Cardinals lack of execution cost them 7 points right off the start at the 13:58 mark when Clemson ran back a punt 72 yards for a touchdown. This one was big considering they only won by 6.

The offensive line did a better job for most of the first half but then started making the same mental mistakes that has plagued them for most of the season. In the first half they had 2 false starts for 10 yards, and a delay of game for 5 yards. In the second half and during some key moments they had 1 delay of game for 5 yards and 5 false starts for 25 yards. Four of those false starts came during a possession where the defense had just got an interception and the offense got to start at their own 48 yard line. A field goal would have tied it at this point.

The offense as a whole continued to struggle today. They could only muster one first down on 17 attempts. And coming into this game having a 90% success rate on fourth down attempts they were 0-2 today. Even the running game that had been this team’s saving grace was held to just 52 yards. The passing game yielded 212 yards with most of that coming on one 73 yard play.

There were really no standout performances today on the offensive side of the ball, but Will Gardner deserves some credit for coming in the game when he did and leading the Cardinals down the field for their first touchdown. He really showed a lot of composure and maturity. He threw for 150 yards and 1 touchdown in two quarters. Reggie showed that he isn’t ready to be a starting quarterback at this level yet. He threw for 62 yards before being pulled in the second half. Bright future ahead but this isn’t his time IMO.

The running game was pretty much stopped cold in this one and Brandon Radcliff who has been on a tear was held to just 23 yards on 11 attempts. Dom Brown had 47 yards on 17 attempts with a touchdown.
James Quick had the only significant yardage in the passing game with most of his 101 yards coming on one play.


Last but certainly not least I’m left talking about how great this defense is again this week. My goodness folks these guys are really a great unit and this might end up being the best defensive team in the history of our program. This Clemson team was ranked 26th in the nation in total offense and #1 in the ACC coming into the game today. They had scored 91 points on offense in the last 2 weeks before today; they scored 9 points today on three field goals. And I know we knocked their big time QB out, but they limited him to just 7 yards in the first quarter.

I’ve said it a hundred times this season and I’ll say it again these guys on the defensive unit just get it. Defense is all about attitude and these guys go all in every week. They play like their hair is on fire. It’s a joy to watch a group of guys play with such passion and desire. The guys that stood out today in another stellar performance was James Sample who had 14 tackles and James Burgess who had 11 tackles with 1 interception. Kudos around the board though… It’s a shame these guys weren’t rewarded with a win.

They lose as a team and win as a team. This Louisville football team must come together and continue to work hard to overcome some of the issues that are making them struggle every weekend. Greatness is contagious and right now some of that from the defensive side needs to rub off on the offense. And the Coaches, especially on the offensive side of the ball need to make the appropriate adjustments that give their guys the best chance at success. I think a big part of the offensive struggles is these guys not fully understanding the offense or how it works.

It wasn’t a very good day for Louisville and their fans. This one hurt pretty bad. Most disappointing loss in a long time. But I do have faith and do believe that we got some big wins left in us this season. Our players and coaches are too talented to not turn today into a learning moment. Just keep in mind that this team is 1 muffed punt, 1 fumble in the end zone, and 1 KO return from being 7-0. 3 plays from perfection. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. Go Cards!

The Beak Football Breakdown: Cardinals vs. Tigers

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On Saturday our Louisville Cardinals will travel to “Death Valley” to do battle on the gridiron with the Clemson Tigers. This will be the first ever meeting between these teams and this is one of those games that we all looked forward to when we learned that we were moving into the ACC. This is a pivotal game from both a national and conference standpoint. Clemson is #25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll while Louisville is looking to get back into the top 25. Both Clemson and Louisville are in the Atlantic Division of the ACC. Right now the Cards are #2 and the Tigers are #3. The game can be seen on ESPNU at 3:30pm.


Clemson improved to 3-2 on the year after beating North Carolina State 41-0 last weekend. The Tigers have lost to Georgia and Florida State, while beating S. Carolina State, North Carolina, and now the Wolfpack. They manhandled NC State, outgaining the Wolfpack 493 to 154 in total yards. The Tigers are looking to improve to 4-0 at home after scoring 91 points in back-to-back home wins. They are 22-2 in their past 24 home games.

Clemson has the #1 total/scoring offense in the ACC. On the year, they are averaging 40.4 points per game, which ranks 19th in the country. They have a very potent attack and can score in a variety of ways, they do favor the pass. They produce nearly two-thirds of their total yards by throwing the ball. Leading their passing attack is freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson who has won over the starting position, passing for 1,181 yards and 12 touchdowns while completing 68.9 percent of his attempts. His main target through the air is wide receiver Mike Williams who averages 104 receiving yards per contest and 24.8 yards per reception, catching four touchdowns in five games. Wide receiver Artavis Scott has 18 catches for 305 yards with 3 touchdowns, and Germone Hopper has 8 catches for 233 yards with 2 touchdowns.
This will be the second week that the Cardinals will face a running QB. Watson rushed for a team high 62 yards on 15 carries with 2 touchdowns in their last win against NC State. Also featured in their running game is C.J. Davidson who has 40 carries for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wayne Gallman has 29 carries for 150 yards and Adam Choice has 30 carries for 144 yards with 1 touchdown.

Our Cardinals have the #1 total/scoring defense in the ACC. This Louisville defense is allowing just 12.7 points per game, which ranks an impressive 6th in the country. Louisville is leading the nation in rush defense, allowing only 58.2 rushing yards per game. Facing one of the best offensive lines they’ve played all season it is important this week that our guys put pressure on their QB and take away that long pass play down field. Clemson’s redzone offense ranks dead last in the league. Very important this weekend for the Cardinal defense to limit the big plays and make them earn their scores the hard way.

They are a decent defensive team but it’s not one of the things about this Clemson group that stands out. Their defense is allowing 22 points a game on average, which ranks 47th in the country. They were able to shut down NC State last weekend holding them to 154 total yards. They have a few standouts on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive end Vic Beasley who tied the school mark with his 28th career sack last weekend. He ranks 2nd in the nation with 7 sacks this season. Senior Corey Crawford at the other end position who has 12 tackles with one sack and returning starter Grady Jarrett, a defensive tackle who has 14 tackles. Shaq Lawson is also pretty good with 11 tackles and 2 sacks.



Reggie Bonnafon made some big steps forward last week in the win over Cuse, and at this point it looks like he and Will Gardner could share time at the position and we could see them both on Saturday. Hopefully they’ll have an extra target and finally a deep threat to add to the passing attack with the possibility of Devante Parker returning to the line-up. This would also open up more for James Quick. Brandon Radcliff has put the offense on his back the past couple of weeks and he’ll have to come up big Saturday for our Cardinals to have a chance. Things improving in the passing game would also make it easier for him. Michael Dyer is the only Louisville player to ever experience “Death Valley” first hand. He played there during his Auburn days. He had 151 yards with 2 touchdowns, so maybe he could recapture some of that Magic Saturday. Things won’t get easier for the offensive line this weekend. I just hope they can keep the penalties downs. It’s going to be very important for our offense to keep the ball this weekend and dominate time of possession. The more they maintain steady drives the less time the Clemson offense gets to try and score points.

It’s going to be a different situation for our guys on Saturday and this will be the most hostile environment they’ve been in all season. It will also be the toughest test of the season. I think our defense will step up to this challenge and welcome the opportunity to play against such a great offense. If the Cardinals offense can sustain some drives and keep them rested I really like the Cardinals chances to pull off the upset. Defense wins big games…

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 27 Clemson 24

When The ACC Gives You An Orange, Make Orange Juice

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Cardinal fans your football team is 5-1 in their inaugural season in the ACC and have now handed three teams in the ACC a loss in their opener. Syracuse become the latest team to fall to the Cards during the conference opener. It wasn’t always pretty but our Cardinals rolled up their sleeves and got the working man’s win beating the Orange 28-6. With the win the Cardinals now take the lead in this series 7-6 and maintain their spot at #2 in the Atlantic division.

It is very apparent after watching the game tonight that the offensive line still has a long way to go. They had some moments where they looked like they had made some improvement but as far as the execution and the consistency that Coach Petrino wanted to see this week that really didn’t happen. The offensive line was responsible for 3 false starts for 15 yards, 2 offensive holding penalties for 20 yards, 1 clipping penalty for 15 yards. The offense was responsible for 1 delay of game for 5 yards, and 1 illegal formation for 5 yards. So yes these guys lacked some execution tonight.

Enough with the negatives about tonight as the offense did have a lot of positive moments. The biggest story of the night was how Brandon Radcliff continues to be so effective. He becomes the first running back to have consecutive hundred yard games since Senorise Perry and romped for 110 yards with two touchdowns. It really looks like he is going to be the featured back moving forward. His footwork and ability to get that extra yard is phenomenal. He is a guy that runs downhill and can always find a hole even if it looks like he’ll be stuffed. Can’t wait to see what this kid has for them for the rest of the year.

I really feel like we watched Reggie Bonnafon grow up a lot tonight. At times he showed a lot of poise as the pocket collapsed around him and he found a way to make the play. His second career touchdown pass was as good as it gets. He threw for 174 yards and one touchdown escaping at least three would be sacks. He only threw one interception and had a very efficient night. I don’t know if he will remain the starter once Will Gardner gets healthy, but he certainly has give Coach Petrino something to ponder.

I really like what I seen from James Quick tonight as well. He was one of the guys that I had said in my pre-game that needed to have a good game and he did. His numbers weren’t huge but he had some clutch catches. It is going to help Quick greatly when DeVante returns.
I tell ya folks the foundation is here for this to be a great offense and there is a lot of talent here. Lord help the ACC if our offensive line figures things out.

I know I say this after every game in these online ramblings but I love our defense. This group came into tonight not allowing a touchdown in 11 quarters of football and left Syracuse tonight not allowing one. They have now played 15 quarters of football without allowing a touchdown and are only allowing 12.67 points a game. They held the Orange to 255 total yards and that #1 rushing defense in the country held a very good run offense to just 59 yards. This group will really move up in most of the national defense categories after tonight.
The guys who really stood out tonight on defense was James Sample who had an interception, and Gerod “Superman” Holliman who had added to his national lead that now stands at 7 interceptions. Keith Kelsey led with 9 tackles on the night. These three guys were flying all over the field and making big play after big play tonight. Coach Grantham take a bow sir… You got one of the best defenses in the country and it just might be the best when the dust settles this season.

And I have to give a shout out to our punter Ryan Johnson who really helped the Cardinals win the field position battle tonight especially in the first half. Cuse was only able to start one drive in Louisville territory in that first half. They started the rest of their drives on their side of the field. They started on the 49, 20, 16, 15 and Ryan also pinned them at the 1 and 9. Their average start in the first half was at their own 18 yard line and their average starting field position in the second half was their own 19. Ryan’s punting was a big reason why. It really helped us in that first half as our offense was sputtering. John Wallace also did a great job including some big kicks with one for 51 yards. This is a part of college football that is very important and these guys really stepped up tonight.

Next weekend things get really serious as the Cardinals take their very first trip to “Death valley”. That is not a very friendly place to visit and that nickname was earned. I really think that our guys can go in and give Clemson a good game. With the way our defense is playing we have a shot to win against any team in the country. Devante Parker might soon make an appearance and I really feel like that will be the boost our offense needs. If it catches up we are gonna be really good down the stretch. 5-1 folks…. Enjoy this win!

The Beak Football Breakdown: Cards vs. The Orange

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Our Cardinals have a quick turnaround this week as they will take to the road to play Syracuse on Friday night. Yes we will be heading into the the Carrier Dome. Every Cardinal fan remembers the last time our Cardinals played Syracuse there. We had a perfect 9-0 season going in 2012 and they crushed our hopes of going undefeated winning that game 45-26. The Cardinals are 3-3 at the Carrier Dome and 6-6 all-time against the Orange. This will be their first ACC game of the season. Friday will be the Cardinals fourth conference game, and in all four games they will have faced a team playing its ACC opener.

Syracuse dropped to 2-2 on the year after losing to Notre Dame last weekend, 31-15. The Orange won their first two games of the season over Villanova and Central Michigan, before losing to Maryland. Against Notre Dame, the Orange gained 429 total yards while giving up 523 total yards to the Fighting Irish. The Orange run a hurry-up no huddle, run-first spread offense, and have adapted triple option principles for one of their primary offensive plays. This is a team that favors the run but they have a pretty balanced offensive attack with 930 yards on the ground and 872 through the air. They are 48th in the nation in total offense.

Syracuse 2014 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS
PASSING YARDS
218.0
81st
Overall
RUSHING YARDS
232.5
25th
Overall
POINTS FOR
25.5
88th
Overall
POINTS AGAINST
23.5
56th
Overall

Leading this Syracuse offense is quarterback Terrel Hunt. To say this guy likes to go right at defenses is an understatement. He is the leading rusher on offense with 299 yards and 6 touchdowns this season. He has also thrown for 782 yards and 1 touchdown. This team has some other good weapons in this option offense as well. Running back Prince-Tyson Gulley already has two games where he’s ran for over 100 yards. He has 280 yards with 1 touchdown on the season. He averages 7 yards a carry good for 14th in the nation. Gulley is running his way into the record books as his current per-carry career average stands at 5.6, trailing only Jim Brown and Ernie Davis on Syracuse’s career list. Running back Adonis Ameen-Moore is not too shabby either. He has 208 yards with 1 touchdown on the season. All three of these guys are seniors and play like it.
They’ve got a pretty good group of receivers in Jarrod West who has 236 yards, Ben Lewis who has 134 yards and Ashton Broyld who has 125 yards. One of their top receivers Brisly Estime will miss the game Friday.

Our Cardinals are ranked 3rd in the nation in total defense and have the #1 defense in the country against the run. It is going to be interesting to see our unit take on the triple option this week. This should be a great test for our defense and a good battle. Can’t wait to see what Mauldin, Burgess, Mount, Kelsey, Gaines, Holliman and company can do against this Cuse offensive group. My money is on the guys in red.

The Syracuse defense is ranked 53rd in the nation and they aren’t a big until but they do get to the ball well and have some decent speed. They have a good defensive front seven, led by DE Micah Robinson and LBs Cameron Lynch and Dyshawn Davis. Lynch is one of the best pass rushers in the ACC and in the country ranked 5th with 4.5 sacks this season. The Orange have been stingy against the run allowing only 104 yards per game ranked 38th, and good at getting into the backfield. Syracuse is 36th in the country of tackles for loss per game at 6.8 per game. Syracuse loves to send pressure.

We learned on Wednesday that Reggie Bonnafon will get the start again on Friday. Will Gardner may be available if needed. The word coming out of the offensive side this week is consistency. Coach Petrino wants his guys to establish more of a rhythm this week and also do a better job at execution. Penalties and turnovers have killed the offense this year and it won’t be pretty Friday night if our guys make mental mistakes and turn the ball over. Wide receiver Eli Rodgers played well in that last game at the Carrier Dome and he will need to step up again this week. He and James Quick will have to play well. I really like our running game in this match-up. We got 4 guys that can go at their defense all night long. With the way they come at you fatigue will start to be a factor if we pound it down their throats all night. Our offensive line has acknowledged their need to get better. I think we’ll see that this week. Our offense has caught a bad wrap this season and it’s justified to some extent but we have played some solid defenses and this group for Cuse is also pretty good. Hope our guys answer the call.

I think we’ll see another good ballgame early on Friday night. If our offense struggles it could be another very close game. They will be hype wanting to win their first ACC game of the season and will have a great home crowd behind them. I really think our defense along with a solid running attack will be the difference and our Cards will roll to their 5th win of the season.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 34 Syracuse 17

The Cardinals Exercise The Demon Deacons

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Much like the last time these teams met in 2007 at the Orange Bowl this one was ugly at times and it was a grind it out type of game. The Cardinals got the hard fought win over the Demon Deacons 20-10. Our Cardinals are now 4-1 on the season and 2-1 in the ACC good for second place in the Atlantic Division. The Cardinals are now 2-0 against Wake Forest.

This game was ugly especially in the first half. The Cardinals had 3 fumbles and 11 penalties for the game and at times this one was really hard to watch especially the offense, but there were some bright spots. First Reggie Bonnafon a kid who one week ago to the day buried his father. I lost my father when I was 38 years old and I did good to function that first week let alone following a game plan and leading a college football team to victory as a college freshman. Reggie did this all in his first career start. This just proves how special that some of these athletes are. Not only are they athletically gifted, but they are wise beyond their years. Reggie had some mistakes but was able to manage the game and make some big plays when the offense needed him the most. He threw for 206 yards with no interceptions and ran for 46 yards. This kid is the real deal and I firmly believe that he is the future at the QB spot for this Louisville team.

Brandon Radcliff who is described by his coaches and his teammates as one of the hardest workers on the team. Everyone speaks very highly of this young man. He is just another stud in the Louisville group of running backs and tonight was his moment to shine. With 2 touchdowns and 129 yards rushing this was his best performance as a Cardinal. We will also be hearing this kids name a lot in the future.

I know a lot of Cardinal fans have been really down on this offense especially the offensive line, but when you talk with these kids and their coaches and hear how hard they are working and trying to get better it just puts everything in perspective. Jake Smith after the game tonight talked about an offensive line that needs to get better and even admitted that the touchdown by the Wake Forest defense tonight being his fault. Coach Petrino said about his offense tonight that basically they had been playing with a new group every week due to players being banged up and how that lack of consistency had also contributed to the groups slow progress. As Jake Smith also mentioned in his post game tonight. These guys have one of the greatest offensive minds in the college game on the sidelines and there’s no doubt that we will see improvement. Thanks to the solid play of Reggie and Brandon the offense did have good balance today with 206 yards through the air and 215 yards on the ground. This unit will get better. Just try to have patience folks.

Don’t know how many times that I have typed this, but what about this Cardinal defense… I also said after that first game how it was very clear that the defensive philosophy that was instilled by the last coaching staff was still present with this group. Tonight in his post game Lorenzo Mauldin who finished with 3 sacks said that they were just doing what they did last year and that the defense has just carried over. These guys held Wake Forest to -22 yards rushing today folks and had 8 sacks along with three interceptions. That is just flat out getting after it. Gerod Holliman added to his national lead with 1 interception, James Burgess had 1 interception and Sheldon Rankins had 1 interception. For all of the talk about an exciting offense to watch I am really enjoying watching this defense play. This is a special group and they are really getting it done every week. Don’t take that for granted stressing about the offense not scoring 60 points every week.

It wasn’t a beautiful win but if you are a Cardinal fan then you have gotten used to close wins. The last coaching staff was all about the grind it out ugly defensive win. For three years we watched our Cardinals do this every weekend. That’s how the program was being built for the last 3 seasons and the talent was also recruited for that. It’s going to take this coaching staff some time but they will put their signature on the offense. In the meantime put on your hard hats and cheer for this defense as they are one of the best units in the county. And stay behind this offense. They are a good group of kids who are working their tails off and deserve credit for that. GO CARDS!

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The Beak Football Breakdown: Cards vs Demon Deacons

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Our Cardinals will come back home this weekend for their 3rd ACC game of the season. The game will kick-off the teeth of the schedule for Louisville and it is grind time. The opponent Saturday is one that will be a Trivial Pursuit Sports question someday if it isn’t already. “Who did the Louisville Football Program play in their first BCS Bowl Appearance?” The Wake Forest Demon Deacons will forever be a part of Cardinal lore after that 2007 Orange Bowl and now will be a conference foe. The Cardinals and Demon Deacons have only met once with the Cards taking the Orange Bowl championship 24-13.

Wake Forest is a team that is going through one of those complete program makeovers. They have a new coach in Dave Clawson who was the former coach at Bowling Green. The Demon Deacons return a conference-low 35 percent of their offensive production from a year ago and just 54 percent of their defense. They have 28 freshmen or sophomores on their two-deep, which is tied for fourth-most in the country this season. They have the 72nd-ranked roster talent in college football this year, which puts them at the bottom of the ACC. They just had their first win of the season over an FBS school beating Army at home 24-21, while losing at Louisiana-Monroe (17-10) and Utah State (36-24) on the road. The game against our Cardinals Saturday will be their ACC conference opener.

Wake Forest 2014 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS
PASSING YARDS
220.8
81st
Overall
RUSHING YARDS
42.0
127th
Overall
POINTS FOR
20.3
112th
Overall
POINTS AGAINST
20.3
34th
Overall

On the offensive side of the ball the Deacons lost their three top guys at the skill positions passer, rusher and receiver. Completely reshaping this offense Coach Clawson describes his coaching style as one that utilizes the available talent to maximize success. His philosophy focuses on getting individual playmakers more touches rather than sticking to a rigidly-defined system. His offenses have displayed components of the Pro-Style, Spread and Power Running attacks.

That available talent this season appears to be freshman QB John Wolford who has thrown for 883 yards with 6 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. His main targets in the passing attack are senior WR E.J. Scott who has 17 catches for 220 yards with 4 touchdowns, senior WR Matt James who has 18 catches for 217 yards, sophomore WR Jared Crump who has 16 catches for 172 yards, and freshman TE Cam Serigne who has 21 catches for 219 yards with 1 touchdown. Leading their rushing attack freshman RB Isaiah Robinson who has 30 carries for 82 yards with 1 touchdown, and senior RB Orville Reynolds with 44 carries for 132 yards. Their offensive line is also young and has been plagued by injuries, allowed six sacks at Utah State and seven in the opening loss at UL-Monroe.

Much like their offense the Deacons defense is going through some growing pains. They return just 5 starters on this side of the ball. Their stand-outs are defensive tackle Josh Banks who was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week after the Utah State game where he had seven tackles, a sack, and returned a interception 70 yards for a touchdown. Three of the five returning players on defense are in the secondary. Safety Ryan Janvion who had a career-high 18 tackles in that Utah State Game, senior corners Kevin Johnson and Merrill Noel have combined for 23 tackles. Wake’s passing defense is ranked 32nd in the secondary and they are ranked 20th overall on defense.

VIDEO OF DAVE CLAWSON BREAKING DOWN LOUISVILLE VS WAKE FOREST

The most consistent thing about our Cardinals this season has been the defense. Lorenzo Mauldin, Gerod Holliman, Terell Floyd and the team’s stable of defensive backs have helped the Cardinals once again establish themselves as one of the nation’s best ranking 12th in scoring defense and 7th in total defense. Cornerbacks Charles Gaines, Andrew Johnson and safety James Sample, have allowed opponents to pass for just 178.2 yards per game and has snagged seven interceptions. These guys should feast on that young Deacons offense Saturday.

Our Cardinals offense has been the most inconsistent part of the team this season. Our offensive line woes have played a big part of that. They’ll face a Wake Forest defensive line Saturday that should help them line some things out and they should win the war in the trenches in this game. With LJ Scott, and Michael Dyer 100% in this one along with Dom Brown it should be a big rushing day. I’m a little concerned about the passing game as that is the Deacons biggest strength on defense. True freshman Reggie Bonnafon will have his work cut out for him throwing against their two future NFL corners.

Kind of crazy that the last game against Wake Forest turned out to be the end of an era as Coach Petrino left for the NFL after the Orange Bowl win. And now he’s back for the beginning of a new era and is playing them again for the second game in the series. The outcome should be the same but I expect it will be a little more convincing as Wake Forest is very over matched in this one.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 38 Wake Forest 10

Cards Bid Adieu To FIU

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Our Cardinals moved to 3-1 on the season after beating FIU 34-3 today in a game that seemed to last forever. It really was like watching paint dry at certain points. Nothing new in this series as all of the games have been some of the most uneventful I’ve ever seen. Good news is that today will be the last time these teams meet for the foreseeable future and hopefully forever. The Cards end the series leading 3-1.

It’s really hard to take anything away from games like this sometimes but it is pretty obvious that our offense needs some work. I know that there is a lot of blame being placed on the shoulders of Will Gardner. And yes he does have 7 of the 8 turnovers on the season including two fumbles today. While I do agree that Will could clean some things up he also needs his offensive line to do a better job. The batted down passes, the missed targets, the fumbles how much of that has to do with the fact that our offensive line isn’t getting it done in pass protection. They are allowing teams to penetrate and aren’t doing a very good job of holding their blocks. Missed assignments, not blocking the right person it all has a serious effect on the passing game. Coming into the game today Louisville ranked 96th in the country in Sacks allowed with 8 on the season for 55 yards. Today the offensive line allowed 4 sacks for 41 yards. That’s just not acceptable and you can’t expect your passing game to get into any type rhythm when your QB is running for his life. The offensive line was a concern for Coach Petrino coming into the season and now he finds himself scrambling to fix it.

Even though we got to finally see all of our running backs get involved in the game the rushing attack was not very effective today. The Cardinals had a net of 12 yards in the ground game… Yup 12. The highlight of this day was the passing attack and regardless of the deficiencies of the offensive line the Cardinals had a net of 324 yards through the air. The star of that show was James Quick. He had 7 catches for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns. I think this is what we all envisioned when the 5* stud from Louisville signed with the Cardinals. He is going to be fun to watch over the next couple of years and will be a nice complement to Devante Parker when he returns in October. Good luck to defensive coordinators trying to stop both of them.

What else can you say about our defense other than thank you. They have been the highlight of the early season for this team and were the highlight again today. Coming into today the Cardinals ranked 12th in the nation in total defense allowing only 273 yards a game. They only gave up 205 yards today and have yet to allow a 300 yard game this season. They also had 5 sacks today for over 50 yards. The star of this solid defensive effort was Gerod Holliman who had 2 interceptions today and one for a touchdown. He leads the country with 5 on the season. On defense it’s all about playing fast, physical and with an attitude. The Cardinals defense is doing all three. They have really adjusted well to the new coaching staff and have answered the call every time out. Again what more can you say besides thank you.

I would be lying if I said that I haven’t lowered my expectations a bit for this season. I think when it’s all said and done if we can make it to a decent bowl game and chalk it up to a transition year I will be happy. Bobby Petrino will get the offense rolling according to his standards soon enough, but it just may take longer than the rest of this year to do it. I’m as excited as I was day one of this season, but am now seeing things clearly and with a sense of reality. My advice to those who are turning into Chicken Little’s is to do the same. The easy games and the learning games are over. It’s going to be a grind for the rest of the way. Go Cards!

The Beak Football Breakdown: Cardinals vs. Golden Panthers

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Our Cardinals dropped a tough one last weekend in their first ACC road trip. They will now head to South Beach with a 2-1 record to play the FIU Golden Panthers on Saturday at 3:30. This game can be seen on Fox Sports 1. The Cardinals and Panthers have battled on the gridiron three times in the past and the Cards lead the series 2-1. FIU came to Louisville on September 9th 2011 and beat the Cardinals 24 to 17. The next year it was the Cardinals who claimed victory down in Miami beating the Panthers 28-21. Last year it was a complete blowout 72-0. It got so bad that the teams were contemplating the running clock.

The best way to sum up this FIU program is by using the word “raw”. They are in complete rebuild mode with a new coach, new players and a new league. Their new coach is Ron Turner, the ex-Illinois coach who spent eight seasons in the NFL before returning to the college game. And they moved from the Sun Belt to Conference USA. The Panthers are 1-2 to start their season and lost to fellow ACC team Pittsburgh 42-25 at home last weekend.

FIU 2014 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS
-PASSING YARDS
202.7
98th
Overall
-RUSHING YARDS
82.7
117th
Overall
-POINTS FOR
23.7
95th
Overall
-POINTS AGAINST
19.7
37th
Overall

FIU has some decent players at their skill positions. Leading Ron Turner’s pro style West Coast offense will be freshman QB Alex McGough. His ability to make throws and good decisions with a certain bearing of a leader have been mentioned as the reason he has the starting job. He has thrown for 401 yards and 5 touchdowns on the season. They also have a freshman RB who has shown a lot of potential. Alex Gardner has 39 carries for 228 yards this season. FIU also has some pretty solid receivers. Their leading receivers are sophomore Jonnu Smith who has 18 grabs for 209 yards with 2 touchdowns, senior Glenn Coleman with 4 grabs for 96 yards with 1 touchdown, and junior T.J. Lowder with 6 grabs for 83 yards and 1 touchdown. These guys have decent size, good hands and decent speed.

On the defensive side of the ball these guys have a lot of speed and raw talent. FIU ranks 47th nationally in tackles for loss and 13th nationally in sacks. A big reason why is their defensive ends junior Michael Wakefield and redshirt junior Denzell Perine. Wakefield has 7 tackles with 3 1/2 for loss including two pass blocks, two fumbles recovered and a forced fumble. Perine has 15 tackles, 5 1/2 for loss and 4 sacks. Their young line backing group redshirt sophomore Imarjaye Albury, junior Darrian Dyson and redshirt junior Lars Koht are also players that have really improved the FIU defense. They have some speedy and talented Cornerbacks including senior Richard Leonard who has 14 tackles and 1 interception on the season.

Last weekend our Cardinals looked good on the defensive side of the ball, but the offense really struggled to get into any rhythm. They produced only 282 total yards, while allowing 285 total yards to Virginia. They converted 4 of 14 third downs, good for a 28% rate, and turned the ball over 4 times. This Bobby Petrino offense loves to attack the edges in the run and the pass. And while I don’t think it will be easy, especially early I do think the Cardinals will eventually wear down a FIU defense that doesn’t have too much depth. I look for a much improved offensive performance this weekend.

The Cardinals roster features 16 players from Miami-Dade County, one from Broward County, two from Palm Beach County and nine other players from the state of Florida. So these guys will know each other and that will make the game situation a little different. Not only will these guys be playing for Louisville and FIU pride, but they will also be playing for pride on a personal level. This game will be important from a recruiting standpoint as well.

I think the Panthers will be competitive early on, but will be worn down by a much deeper and talented Cardinal squad. This one will be a blow-out but don’t think it will be as ugly as it was last year for FIU.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 52 FIU 10

Richard Warns Gopher Nation About Ricks Sandbagging

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We have watched Coach Rick Pitino cheer for his son both at the barn in Minnesota and during post season tournaments in March. We watched Rick full of pride last March as his son Richard won the NIT. Father and son will open against each other in the upcoming college basketball season on November 14 in Puerto Rico. And there has been talk of an annual game between Minnesota and Louisville that will start in the 2015-16 season.

I knew the banter back and forth between Rick and Richard leading up to the opener would provide some great entertainment and it is Richard who has just fired the first shot. We all know that our Coach Pitino is synonymous with sandbagging his teams and also overhyping the opponent. Coach Richard Pitino who knows his father better than anyone has warned Gopher Nation not to fall for the antics.

In his Minnesota Blog Coach Richard Pitino warns Gopher fans that his father would be up to his old tricks of sandbagging and tells them not to fall for it.

“Hoops season is just around the corner and we need to be ready. Not too many programs open up their season vs. a top-five team on national TV. Gopher fans, I must warn you. Ignore anything and everything that comes out of my father’s mouth leading up to this game. He does it on the golf course all the time and will start playing mind games with all of us soon enough! Pay no attention to him. He will say they are young and inexperienced. They are talented, athletic and obviously well-coached. He will tell everyone we are the overwhelming favorite. Prepare yourselves. He tried to coach my team last year during the NIT championship. I am looking forward to watching him try to coach both teams at once on November 14th! Haha.”

Great stuff here and looking forward to that game in November to open the season. The Gophers will have a very good team and it should be a great ballgame between father and son. And I don’t think you’ve seen the last of the banter between these two.

Louisville’s men’s basketball game vs Minnesota on Nov 14 in the Armed Forces Classic in Puerto Rico will tip off at 7 pm ET on ESPN.

THE CARDINALS HEAR A HOO

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Our Cards took to the road for the first time in the ACC today, and on this day things wouldn’t go the Cardinals way. The defense played tough but the offense struggled to find their feet which ultimately lead to the Cardinals defeat. We all knew that Devante’s injury would slow the offensive yield, but today he was sorely missed because our Cards had nothing to show when throwing down field.

This game was a battle of field position all of the way with our Cards mostly starting play at the 27 while the Hoos 47. Their offensive coordinator must have thought that was heaven. With 7 balls batted down at the line of Scrimmage and 11 pass break ups in the game this Cardinal offense just didn’t look the same. Fans will complain and moan that Will has to go, but didn’t they pay attention on those comeback TD throws. Gardner would finish with 164 yards and two touchdowns in the shoot, but it was those two interceptions that got him the boot. Young Reggie came in and give it a whirl, but could only muster 39 yards to that Virginia defense that was playing all world. He got some quality minutes in Hooville today and will be ready to go again when Coach Petrino looks his way.

Dom Brown was effective today with 74 yards and one TD, but even he had trouble getting through that Hooville D.
Dela Cruz and Christian had about 40 yards each, but that Hoo defense closed out fast and neither could make much out of the short pass.
Like I said in the beginning the offense never got by, and it sure would have helped if Dyer hadn’t had a sore thigh. But make no mistake we got Bobby P on our team, and he’ll come back with a full head of steam.

Back to the Louisville D that brought the hammer today. And if it were up to them this would have went the Cards way. Flying all over the field tackling anything in sight Lorenzo Mauldin played with all his might. Keith Kelsey with 11 tackles, and 1 sack led the way with Gerod Holliman in toe, he had 6 tackles, a forced fumble and two interceptions of his own. This defense is STRONG and they know how to play so there is a bright spot on this gloomy day.

Give all the credit to the guys in Hooville their defense was great holding our Cardinals to four of 14 on third down for a 28 percent rate was like stealing cookies off their plate. But it was a Hoo named Ian who stole the show with field goals of 35, 47 and forty two he was kicking that ball like he had lead in his shoe.
The Hoos ended an 11-game slide against FBS-level competition and stopped the Cards win streak dead in it’s tracks so they do deserve some pats on their backs.

Our guys will come back next week ready to fight again and with many ACC battles left it’s hard not to grin. It won’t be long and I’ll be celebrating another Cards win.
The Cardinals heard a Hoo today but things are still bright and there’s a lot of football left to play. Go Cards!