Louisville Football: 5 crucial questions for the Cards vs. Houston
By Derek Snyder
2. Can Louisville get the ground game going outside of Lamar Jackson?
It had been almost a month since the last time Brandon Radcliff had an impact game for the Louisville football team. The importance of getting Radcliff or Jeremy Smith rolling is very important, especially when teams start zeroing in on Lamar Jackson like Wake Forest did.
Radcliff did not play very well against Houston last season, but will need to have a solid game this time around to help the Cards get a victory. His explosiveness was off-the-charts last weekend and helped Louisville go on a 44 points run that kept Louisville’s playoff hopes alive.
If Louisville can establish a ground game outside of Lamar Jackson, then they will beat Houston big on Thursday. It’s so hard for teams to defend against both players on the read-option and could very well send the Cougars home packing early.
This just opens up so many different options in the playbook if Louisville can run the ball effectively with their running backs. If Smith or Radcliff could get going, then Jackson is going to have a huge day through the air.