By Sam Draut–
Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino met with local media Monday night in preparation for the Cardinals game against eleventh-ranked Clemson, but didn’t reveal who would start at quarterback for Thursday’s game.
Petrino said he knows who the starter will likely be, but did not want to release the name until he had time to sit down with the quarterbacks and watch film.
A week after Louisville’s unsettled quarterback situation appeared to be solidified with the emergence of Lamar Jackson, Petrino may be going back to the drawing board following a 34-31 loss to Houston on Saturday.
Jackson started the home opener, but fought through a few freshman mistakes and was eventually replaced by Kyle Bolin in the fourth quarter. Jackson completed 17 of 27 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown while gaining 53 yards on the ground to go with a rushing touchdown.
But, the freshman threw two interceptions, lost two fumbles and took two long sacks to bring his net rushing yards to 16.
“I think he was trying to do too much. When your strength is your ability to run, make plays and scramble around and throw the ball deep, it’s something he needs to learn,” Petrino said. “There’s a lot to learn there.”
The final interception Jackson threw led to Houston taking a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter. After the turnover, Bolin replaced Jackson and led a seven play 79 yard touchdown drive capped off by a four yard run by Jeremy Smith giving Louisville a 24-20 lead.
Houston scored again, but Bolin once again led another scoring drive. The sophomore found Micky Crum in the end zone for a 29 yard touchdown pass to finish off a 73 yard drive.
With a 31-27 lead, Louisville’s defense couldn’t hold the Cougars. Houston went 75 yards in just over three minutes to take a 34-31 lead. Bolin drove the Cardinal offense down the field in the final possession of the game, but the drive stalled after a holding penalty, forcing John Wallace to attempt a game-tying 53 yard field goal, which was blocked.
Though the Bolin-led rally effort came up short, he finished with good numbers for one quarter of play. Bolin completed 10 of 18 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown.
“We felt like the part of our offense we could expose for them. Kyle operates the best. His ability to drop back, throw the ball and mix it up is something that he’s show is his strength,” Petrino said. “We felt like that’s what we needed at that time.”
This wasn’t the first time Bolin had been put into a game with Louisville trailing. Last season, he led Louisville to a 44-40 victory over Kentucky after replacing an injured Reggie Bonnafon.
“Coach was making sure all season that we are prepared and when your number is called go out there and perform,” Bolin said. “I wasn’t surprised to get in the game. I just saw that if something would happen with an injury or maybe if he just wanted to switch something up and I needed to play, I just tried to be ready.”
