By Whitney Spencer
After a 41-10 defeat at the hands of the fifth-ranked University of Cincinnati Bearcats, Louisville will kick off at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, against the Red Wolves of Arkansas State University.
Saturday, Oct. 24, the Cardinals just couldn’t find their offense, as their lone touchdown came when quarterback Adam Froman hit receiver Josh Chichester from four yards out. After the third quarter kickoff, Louisville drove down the field 61 yards, but settled for a 36-yard field goal from kicker Ryan Payne. The Louisville offense was held to just 275 yards of total offense, with only 145 yards coming from the passing game. Ninety-eight of those yards came from third-string quarterback, Will Stein, as the first two quarterbacks on the depth chart, Froman and Justin Burke, left the game due to injuries.
A big question going into Saturday’s game surrounds the health of leading rusher Victor Anderson. Just another Cardinal to be lost to injury, Anderson rushed 12 times for 56 yards, before sitting out the remainder of the game against Cincinnati. Redshirt freshman Darius Ashley was able to see some action, rushing 13 times for 67 yards.
The receiving core was held together by tight end Cameron Graham, who finished with 35 yards on three passes, and receiver Doug Beaumont, who had three catches for 29 yards.
At 2-1 this season at home, Louisville will meet Arkansas State for the first time in school history. Arkansas State is 2-4 overall this season and 1-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. Louisville will need this win in order to match the words of head coach Steve Kragthorpe. Kragthorpe believes Louisville has a chance to win out the rest of the season and reach a postseason bowl game. That uphill battle will begin Saturday for the Cards.
