Louisville football has officially hit rock bottom after blowout loss to lowly Georgia Tech.
Well last night was about as bad as it could get for Louisville football.
When Louisville announced Georgia Tech would be on the schedule many of us knew that they would be no walk over. Their weird triple option offense has given teams problems for so long and they have managed to compete well in their division in the ACC.
However, many of us did not expect Tech to put up more points against Louisville than the defending national champions did.
Many of us did not expect Louisville to get ran out of their own stadium by an unranked Georgia Tech team that was 0-3 in the ACC before last nights win.
The main issue is something that has plagued the team all season and that is turnovers.
The Cards would get down big in the first quarter after Tech scored three touchdowns to make it 21-0. As the second quarter got underway, Louisville would start to find some rhythm on offense. They put together two consecutive drives resulting in touchdowns and capped off the quarter with a 46 yard field goal by our guy Blanton Creque.
By the time the second half was set to begin, Louisville was down 31-17, but it felt manageable. The offense was starting to string together big plays and was finally putting points on the board.
However, Georgia Tech would march right back down the field to make the lead 38-17. Even then it still felt like there was a lot of time left. Louisville just had to score (groundbreaking analysis I know) and take care of the football.
Unfortunately they would do the exact opposite of that, on a second and five, freshman Javian Hawkins would fumble the ball and turn it over to the Yellow Jackets.
This is where the wheels started to fall off. The Cards would have two more turnovers, another fumble and an interception.
Georgia Tech would make Louisville pay for their mistakes by putting up 35 points in the final two quarters.
Georgia Tech would finish the night with one passing play for 12 yards and manage to put 66 points on the board. By the time it was all said and done, the Louisville defense would allow 542 rushing yards.
In all of this gloom there were two bright spots that stood out.
The first being Jawon Pass. He finished the night with 299 yards completing 23 out of 35 throws. He also had just a beautiful throw to freshman TuTu Atwell to put the Cards on the board.
This brings me to my next bright spot. Freshman wide receiver showed flashes of brilliance yesterday with his play making ability. Atwell would finish with four receptions for 79 yards and a team leading two touchdowns. It is strange that the shortest guy on the team seems to be the best receiver so far this season.
That brings us to a bigger issue the improvement or lack there of we have seen from game to game or even season to season but that is getting into a whole different issue.
Still, it was pretty disappointing to see the mistakes that have been prevalent all season show its ugly head yet again, but the show must go on. Louisville takes on Boston College on the road as they look to get revenge from last years upset.
The Good: As hard as it was to find a bright spot out of last night, Jawon Pass showed a lot of poise. He actually had an impressive stat line and was able to make some really great throws. Not only was he able to make some great throws, they looked confident as well.
The Bad: Obviously it was the defense. Not just the inability to cover Tech’s offense, but the inability to make tackles and force turnovers. If you know what the offense is running every time then there is no excuse for guys to not be flying to the ball and making a solid tackle instead of going for the highlight play.
MVP: The MVP for this game would be TuTu Atwell. As the smallest and youngest guy on the team he was able to make big plays and he has been the one guy I have felt they need to get the ball to more. His sub 40 speed is too dangerous to not have out on the field making plays.
LVP: Would have to be the coaching staff. Not only for some of the odd play calls at times, but the fundamental things that are somehow missing in year five. The fumbles and missed assignments from the offensive line. The pre-snap penalties. They have to stop, I have been saying for awhile that the discipline the teams under Charlie Strong played with left when he went to Texas. What good are talented players if they keep making mistakes? Is that really the trade off to have an supposedly explosive offense you have to deal with unnecessary penalties? Sure hope not.
Stat of the Night: The stat of the night for me was Tech having one passing play for 12 yards and ending the game with 66 points on the board, brutal.
Tweet of the Night: In all of my years of being a Louisville fan I never thought I would see the day where an airline takes a subtle shot at our defense. Feels bad man.
We saw you had the ground game covered, so we’re happy to help you with this one from the air. Thanks for choosing Delta. 🏈 ✈ OSB
— Delta (@Delta) October 6, 2018
Well, I guess we now have to come to the realization that this team may not win another game. We probably will hear more and more conversation about the status of Bobby Petrino as the team’s head coach.
Last night in the post game press conference several concerning things were stated by both the coaching staff and the players that really make you wonder if a move should be made sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately, the schedule only gets harder from here as Louisville will travel to Chestnut Hill to take on the 4-1 Boston College Golden Eagles. Ladies and gentleman we have officially entered into terrible territory.
Go Cards, I guess.