Louisville Football: View from the Ville’ns vs. Florida State

Just when we thought the season was about to make a turn for the better… It didn’t. Louisville football blew a 21-7 lead in a frustrating collapse.

As a fan, and especially as a student, you always want to try to stay positive and support your school and your team. In the end, these athletes are going to battle with Louisville football across their chest and we should respect and support them for that.

But it’s hard to not look at the recent state of affairs and remain overly optimistic.

As fans, we all want the best for Cards athletics. So criticism is fair when warranted, but yelling at players or insulting them directly on social media is never okay. So let’s make sure we are mindful of that as fans, even through some difficult times.

Now with that said, there were some very positive things to take away from Louisville’s 28-24 loss. The offense looked great in the first half. This is the offense we all expected to see coming into the season.

Big props to Jaylen Smith for bouncing back after a tough start to the season and having a pretty good game on Saturday. The senior wide receiver finished with 5 receptions for 100 yards. It was great to see him out there having a good time and making some plays.

Jawon “Puma” Pass looked pretty solid for most of the game. He made better decisions, and showed progress. He just needs to continue to calm down and try not to force things. The late interceptions really hurt but it was good to see him throw for over 300 yards and a couple touchdowns.

The defense had an awesome first half as well, and in hindsight, that was the best football that we have seen from Louisville all season easily. PJ Blue, Dorian Etheridge, and Dee Smith all had good games.

Then, the second half happened and the script was flipped. The wheels completely fell off in the 4th quarter for Louisville in another frustrating loss.

However, there are still some positives to look forward to and even some evidence that this season can still be saved. Hassan Hall and Trey Smith both had really good games, they looked solid out there running the ball. The receivers are starting to take a big step forward, and the defense is finally getting more healthy by the week.

We also saw more energy and swagger on the field than we have seen in a while, which was very encouraging. I truly believe that if this team can come out and play a complete game, the entire mindset of the team could shift and these guys could start playing to the potential we all know they can. I’m worried, but all hope is not lost yet.

Some of you may have seen this tweet from Dr. Bendapudi after the last home game…

Well, Dr. Bendapudi wasn’t kidding!

Huge shout out to President Neeli Bendapudi for supporting the Ville’ns so much, and for hosting us in her suite on Saturday. Her support means the world to us, and shows that this administration’s dedication to the students and campus culture is legit. They aren’t doing anything for show, they truly do care.

The Louisville football team has a quick turnaround with a short week in a Friday night showdown against Georgia Tech at Cardinal Stadium. Every game is a “must win”, but it cannot be overstated how much this game is a must win for this football team.

A win would be huge for confidence, and an obvious momentum changer. A loss would be the third one in a row and who knows how ugly it could get from there. I still highly encourage fans to show up for this game on Friday, I was pleased with the ones that were there on Saturday, they were passionate and loud. Let’s come with that same energy under the lights against Georgia Tech.