Louisville Football: Q&A with Chop Chat, FanSided’s FSU Site-Experts
By Derek Snyder
Dalvin Cook has been a terror to the Louisville defense over the past two seasons. What does Louisville need to do in order to shut him down next Saturday?
JP: The thing that fans of both teams might forget is that in both of Cook’s games against the Cards, his numbers were inflated because of monster second half performances. In 2014, he had 110 yards total, with 78 of them coming on two touchdown runs while in 2015, he had just 28 first half yards before finishing with 163.
The offensive line has looked shaky at best in the first two games, so the Cardinals would be well served to keep five or six men attacking that line at all time and containing Cook inside the hash marks, preventing him from hitting that corner and getting that burst of speed he is known for.
KH: Dalvin hasn’t looked like Dalvin so far this season. He bulked up a bit in the off-season, and I’m not sure if that has zapped some of his burst/wiggle or what. Basically, the Louisville defense needs to set the edges and force Cook to run up the middle. Keep eight in the box.
The only problem is he has become a viable receiving threat this season. He torched Louisville on the ground and receiving last season too. So it’s still sort of pick your poison with him.