Louisville Football: It’s Now or Never for Bobby Petrino and the Cards

In Bobby Petrino’s second stint as the Louisville football head coach, things have not gone as anticipated. We examine the state of the program, and what the future may hold.

The last 2 years have been shaky for Louisville sports in general. Bobby Petrino and the Cardinals football team are no exception.

Louisville football was on top of the world in October of 2016. After starting off the season on fire, averaging over 60 points per game, and destroying No. 2 Florida State, the Cards rolled through the middle portion of their schedule and were one play away from taking down the eventual national champion Clemson on the road in Death Valley.

The Cards lead NC State 44-0 at halftime. They scored 41 unanswered against Wake Forest, 21 points in the first 5 plays against Syracuse, throttled Boston College, and Lamar Jackson had the Heisman trophy locked up half way through the season.

Louisville was on top of the college football world, and ready to take the country by storm. Until they weren’t.

Louisville absolutely imploded going down the stretch two seasons ago, getting smashed by Houston, shocked by a bad Kentucky team, and were kept out of the endzone in the Citrus Bowl against LSU.

What appeared to be a season where Louisville would be in contention to make the college football playoffs turned into a complete disaster in a matter of three weeks.

Since then, Louisville had been on the decline. A program that was oh-so-close to being 5-0 and likely the number one team in the country in 2016 squandered the end of that season, and had a hangover effect throughout the entirety of 2017.

Fast forward to 2018. Louisville is 8-9 over its last 17 games. The Cardinals defense has surrendered 35 or more points in 7 of those 17 games, and even Lamar Jackson was not good enough to keep up with that pace.

There were some understandable losses. Second-ranked Clemson showed the Cards who was boss in 2017, jumping out to a 33-7 lead and never looking back. NC State was out for revenge, and put up too much of a fight for Louisville in a Thursday night road loss.

There were some head-scratchers too, though. Louisville gave up 45 to a pedestrian Boston College team in a home loss, and 42 in a route by Wake Forest. They couldn’t keep up with Mississippi State either in a game where they were without their quarterback and head coach.

Overcoming Obstacles

Louisville has been through a lot over the last 17 games.

A falling out led to Todd Grantham resigning, and Louisville basically swapping defensive coordinators with Mississippi State for Peter Sirmon- a considerable downgrade. Now under Brian VanGorder- their 3rd defensive coordinator in as many years, it is unrealistic to expect the transition to be a smooth one.

Losing arguable the best player in school history doesn’t help ones cause. Although Puma Pass could prove to be an outstanding leader and player, the switch from Lamar Jackson is uncharted territory for Louisville.

Injuries- such as those to first round draft pick Jaire Alexander or 2018 defensive captain Jon Greenard- play a factor as well. The injury bug has not been kind to the Cards, and neither has luck. A few momentum-shifting bounces or first down markers being in the right spot could have lead to some much different outcomes.

Playing Alabama in your first game of 2018 can draw attention to a lot of overlooked weaknesses. The Cards were certainly not expected to roll over the Tide, but most around the program definitely expect Louisville to compete. They were down 28-0 at half time, lost 51-14, and it could have been even worse.

Realistic Expectations

Louisville can attribute a lot to its demise in the last 22 months. However, an 8-9 record over the last 17 games is not going to get it done at most power 5 schools, and especially not at a program where the team was mere inches from the top of the college football world.

Bobby Petrino is 1-12 against ranked teams since his return to Louisville in 2014. Even that number can be overlooked, but his teams simply have not gotten the job done even against perceived lesser competition. Losing to Boston College, Wake Forest, NC State, and Kentucky is tough to swallow, and is seen as unacceptable to many around Louisville.

The two loudest contingents of Cardinals fans are those who look at the past and appreciate even having a football team, and those who look to the future and don’t see the Cards becoming an elite contender under Petrino.

Both opinions carry weight, but the truth probably falls somewhere in between.

Yes, it is important to look at the past and have gratitude for how far the program has come. It really puts things in perspective when Alabama flies 17 flags for each of their national championships, while Louisville couldn’t even do the same for bowl wins.

However, Louisville didn’t rise from the ashes in the 90’s and 2000’s by being complacent. It is possible to appreciate the past while wanting more for the future.

Bobby Petrino has a lot to prove. At this point, Louisville is- and should be- expected to at least compete with the Alabamas and Clemsons of the world.

The Cards should be held to a higher standard than five touchdown losses to any team in any circumstance. Louisville committed 11 penalties, including 4 violations for having too many people on the field.

Petrino, typically known for his outstanding play-calling, seemed to err on the conservative side against Alabama- even when down by 34 points. The Cards defense often seemed unprepared, overwhelmed, and mistake-prone.

A team should not be judged based off of one game against the defending national champions. The final verdict for the Cards will come based on the season as a whole.

However, losing 9 out of your last 17 games is too hard to ignore. Dropping 12 out of 13 against ranked foes is tough to swallow. Losing to Kentucky and Boston College at home should not happen.

Raising Expectations

It’s now or never for Bobby Petrino and the Cards.

Louisville will have two chances to iron out some issues against inferior opponents in Indiana State and Western Kentucky.

After that, the Cards will jump into conference play, where expectations should be higher than they are nationally. Petrino is mostly being given a free pass this season. Many cite losing Jackson and having a new defensive coordinator as too much to overcome, but don’t let that fool you. The Cards need to prove themselves this season.

This Louisville team consists of nothing but Petrino’s guys. From the coaches to the players, every person on this team was hired or recruited by him. This is what he has to work with, and expectations should still be for the Cards to compete for an ACC Atlantic title.

There’s no “next year is the year.” If the Cards want to contend in the future, this is the year Petrino’s team needs to step up and exceed national expectations.

If they can’t, the downward trend could continue in Louisville.