Stock up, stock down for Louisville football after Western Kentucky
By Jacob Lane
Stock down – Bobby Petrino
There is a cancer somewhere inside of this Louisville football program. Something is a distraction for the team, and it seems apparent when you see the team’s lackluster performance on the field.
Louisville has the talent and depth to absolutely demolish teams like Indiana State and Western Kentucky. Yet, they found themselves down 14-0, and then 17-6 in the fourth quarter against a bad team.
The Cards have a lot to work out. Of course it throws a wrinkle in your game plans when your new star player waiting in the wings doesn’t pan out. But that is WHY you play an Indiana State and a WKU- to get players experience, and sharpen yourself for a tough conference slate.
That didn’t happen, and if Petrino and his staff can’t find answers this week then the Cards may struggle to win another game. As over-reactiony as that sounds, there is not another team on Louisville’s schedule that they can beat playing the way they did against WKU.
Something is off. Louisville has the BEST wide receiving core in the nation. I will continue to make this argument because it is probably true. When you have Jaylen Smith, Seth Dawkins, and Dez Fitzpatrick- all of whom will play on Sundays- and you record 88 yards passing, something is terribly wrong.
When you are out-gained by a WKU team who lost to FCS Maine by a margin of 428-292, there are very serious concerns to be addressed.
Ultimately, this falls on Petrino and staff, and issues need to be fixed now- otherwise it could bode poorly for the rest of the season and future of the program.
Stock down – Puma Pass
We talked about there maybe being a cancer inside the program, but there is definitely something going on inside Puma Pass’s head.
Maybe Pass is injured more than the staff is leading on. Maybe he has some personal issues going on. Whatever the case, I am not ready to say that Pass still isn’t the future for Louisville.
“There is a cancer somewhere inside of this Louisville football program. Something is a distraction for the team, and it seems apparent when you see the team’s lackluster performance on the field.”
However, what ever the heck the last two games were have been an absolute catastrophe. When Pass was in the game against Indiana State, the team was able to move the ball into opponents territory one time, but the drive ultimately resulted in a fumble.
Against Western Kentucky, Pass looked way off and went 0 for 3 for an interception.
What really sticks out though is that Pass just doesn’t seem ready for the moment. It seems like, since the Alabama game, his head has been somewhere else. The team doesn’t seem to click right when he is behind center, and the coaching staff doesn’t seem to think he is doing a good job.
In his short time on the field against Western Kentucky, the team didn’t gain a single first down and gained four yards.
His drives went: 3-and-out, 3-and-out, interception first play, sacked first play, and then he was pulled. Eight plays over the course of a quarter and a half.
It is more than Pass being inaccurate, he has just looked completely out of it.
Don’t expect Puma Pass’s season to be over just yet, but he is certainly not living up to expectations to this point in his career.
Next. Virginia rushing attack could cause major issues for defense. dark
Overall, there is still hope for this season, but the Cards have their backs against the wall against Virginia. Maybe a true road game will require maximum focus and bring out the best in the Cards.
Whatever the case, if there is not a buy-in from Bobby Petrino’s team soon, their stock will continue to plummet.