By Spencer Laws

Louisville football took care of business Sept. 24 to close out the main part of their non-conference schedule.

Family Fun for All

In what head coach Scott Satterfield described in his Sept. 27th press conference as “the most complete game yet,” U of L picked up a much-needed 41-3 win against the University of South Florida at home on “Parent’s Weekend”. 

Fifth-year senior Malik Cunningham had another outstanding game against the Bulls, recording 186 yards on 14-22 passing attempts with a touchdown. Second-string junior Brock Domann also saw playing time on Saturday, as he put up 73 yards on 5-8 passing attempts. 

Eleven wide receivers caught passes on Saturday as the two quarterbacks were able to spread the ball all across the field. 

The more impressive part of game Malik’s game was yet again on the ground, as he ended up rushing for 113 yards on nine carries with three touchdowns. Six other players saw touches on the ground Saturday, giving some younger players valued experience for the future.

Averaging 6.2 yards per carry while recording four touchdowns on the ground, the ground game followed upon the success of the passing game, by putting up 283 yards on 46 attempts.  The defense did their part on Saturday as well, as they forced three turnovers while allowing only 158 yards and a field goal. 

The Next Step

If Satterfield and company really want to make a run at a post-season bowl game, they need to pull out some results over the next two weeks on the road to solidify any chance. The Cardinals head into their main slate of ACC play now, and start by traveling to Boston on Saturday to face off with the Eagles. 

The Cards come into Saturday as heavy favorites with some analysts chalking this up as a Louisville win. 

Following the trip to Boston, the team takes a visit to Charlottesville, Virginia to battle with UVA; another game that, if Louisville shows up and plays well, should be able to travel home with a win. 

This would mark the halfway point in the season for Satterfield and the team, who are hoping they can enter the second half of the season with a 4-2 record. 

Starting to See Success

Results like these are very possible if the Cardinals show up in the next two weeks. 

There are still a few lingering issues – limiting the pre-snap penalties on all sides of the ball, limiting the opposing offense’s ability to run the ball while not missing tackles in the open field, and getting Malik more and more comfortable in the passing game. He only has two passing touchdowns to this point, while giving away three interceptions. 

If the Cards can limit these mistakes they will have a real possibility to be two wins away from bowl game talk with six games left in the season. 

File Photo // GoCards.com //