It seems like we were just talking about opening up the football season in Georgia against Auburn and now here we are heading into the last home game of the season. This has been a frustrating season at times but I’ve had just as much fun following a cheering for this group as any I’ve covered so far. We will say goodbye to a 13-person senior class that has been one of the best in school history posting a record of 37-11. With a win on Saturday they’ll have a chance to extend their streak to six-straight bowl appearances. Louisville and Virginia will meet for the fourth time in school history when the two teams face off Saturday. Virginia owns a 2-1 series advantage after last season’s 23-21 win over the Cardinals in Charlottesville. They booted a go-ahead field goal with 3:42 left in the game to hand the Cardinals their first loss of the season. This will be the first meeting between the two schools in Louisville since 1988 when the Cardinals defeated the Cavaliers 30-28. Coach Petrino is a perfect 10-0 on Senior Day during his collegiate coaching career, including a perfect 5-0 as head coach of the Cardinals.
The Virginia Cavaliers are 3-6 on the season and 2-3 in the ACC, with losses on the road to Pitt, North Carolina and Miami. Five of the six teams that have beaten UVA in 2015 are all currently ranked. This has probably been one of the most inconsistent teams in college football this season. At times they have looked like they could’ve beat anybody in the country and then look the complete opposite the next quarter. They have rushed for 1,238 yards this season with 9 touchdowns, and passed for 2,069 yards with 13 touchdowns. They are ranked 90th in the country in total offense. Their passing offense is ranked 61st in the country and their rushing offense is ranked 104th in the country. On the defensive side of the ball they are ranked 81st in total defense. They are ranked 93rd in passing yards allowed and ranked 57th in rushing yards allowed.
Their offensive Coordinator Steve Fairchild learned his play-calling skills from Mike Martz the guy who created “The Greatest Show on Turf”. The Cavaliers are far from the greatest show on turf but they do a pretty good job at tossing the ball around. QB Matt Johns has thrown for 2035 yards and 13 touchdowns. Johns has thrown two passes this season that have gone for at least 75 yards. It marks only the third time UVA has completed two passes of 75 yards or longer in the same season. John’s favorite target this season has been WR Canaan Severin. He has 41 receptions with 583 yards in 2015 and 31 of them have gone for either a first down and/or a touchdown. That comes out to a 75.6 percent rate. WR T.J. Thorpe has 226 yards with 1 touchdown. The Cardinal defense will have their hands full with running back Taquan “Smoke” Mizzell. He is in the midst of a breakout season. Not only does he lead the Cavaliers rushing attack with 537 yards he leads the nation’s running backs with 539 receiving yards and with 54 receptions. Mizzell is the only running back in the nation with two 100-yard receiving games in 2015.
Virginia’s defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta is a UVA alum and has brought an aggressive makeover to the Cavaliers. At times they have shown they can be very good on the defensive side of the ball and have some defensive guys that have stood out for them. Line Backer Micah Kiser is No. 1 in the ACC in tackles (9.4 per game), while Safety Quin Blanding is No. 2 in the ACC in stops (8.9 per game). The duo is the only defensive pairing from the same school that rank No. 1 and No. 2 in tackles over the 10 FBS conferences. CB Demetrious Nicholson is tied for No. 6 in the nation (No. 1 in the ACC) among active players with 36 passes defended. And up front DE Trent Corney has picked up his production the past two weeks, tallying a combined 11 tackles and 4.5 tackles.
The Louisville offense has now found some consistency with Kyle Bolin at the quarterback position and that has earned him the start on Saturday. In only his second year receiving playing time, Bolin has thrown for 1,511 yards and eight touchdowns, while completing 101-169 (59.8) passes with six interceptions. . He threw two touchdown passes to tight end Cole Hikutini of 13 and 10 yards and also hit Keith Towbridge with a 12-yarder last weekend and I look for the big tight ends to be a part of the offense again on Saturday. James Quick has been a big lift to the offense since returning to the lineup. In five games since his return, Quick has caught 25 passes for 409 yards and four touchdowns. Another weapon that has emerged is Jamari Staples who is second on the team with 24 receptions for 386 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Brandon Radcliff rushed for 117 yards on 10 carries last weekend and I hope that he keeps trending in the right direction. If this group can get that running game finally established then they have a good shot at winning out the rest of the way.
The Louisville defense continues to get better and better. They have held six of their nine opponents to 20 points or less, and have allowed just 20 touchdown this season, giving up seven on the ground and 13 through the air, which is tied for 20th nationally. Opponents have had five scoring drives that were 30 or less yards in distance. Louisville has registered a total of 41 interceptions over the last two seasons after securing two more in the win over Syracuse last Saturday. It’s the most interceptions in the nation over the last two seasons. The Cardinals have had interceptions from eight different players this season. Look for that number to improve with a Virginia team who will look to pass most of the day. The Cardinals have totaled 30.0 tackles for loss in the last three wins, moving up to 25th nationally with 7.3 per game. A big reason why is guys like Keith Kelsey (Kelsey leads the team in tackles with 72 and ranks 81st in the nation and is ninth in the ACC), James Burgess (second on the team with 70 tackles after the first eight games of the season and ranks eighth in the ACC with 8.1 tackles per game), Sheldon Rankins (Rankins is fourth on the team in tackles with 37 and is fourth with 8.0 tackles for loss) and Trevon Young (Young is second in the ACC and is eighth nationally with 0.94 sacks per game).
Saturday the Cardinal football program will say good-bye to Corvin Lamb, James Burgess, Jermaine Reve, Darius Skinner, George Clements, Josh Appleby, John Wallace, Aaron Ahner, Kelby Johnson, Aaron Epps, Sheldon Rankins, Pio Vatuvei and Jon Brown. The senior class owns a combined record of 37-11 during their time at Louisville with three-straight bowl appearances. They will lace em up and run out of that tunnel to the Alma mater for the last time. Louisville fans will celebrate the contributions of each of these young men recognizing the significant role they have played in the program. There is no way this group walks off of that field on Saturday with a loss. Get out and show these guys some love and watch the Cards win big.
Louisville 37 Virginia 17