Three takeaways from Louisville football’s loss to Boston College

We’ve got three takeaways from Louisville football’s disastrous loss against Boston College this past Saturday.

Where do you even begin to look for positives from a game that was full of so many negatives for Louisville football. Looking past or ignoring all the bad would simply be naive.

After getting down faster than you could blink on Saturday against Boston College, Louisville’s defense and special teams forced two straight fumbles, going on to score 20 points unanswered. Then, things just sort of Louisville’d.

The Cards allowed Boston College to score 24 unanswered points themselves as backup running back’s Ben Glines and David Bailey put together career days in relief of star back AJ Dillon. On the offensive side of the ball, Puma Pass faced more struggles, on the way to being benched… again, but most of the troubles came due to the inability to block anything but wind upfront.

Pass and freshman quarterback, Jordan Travis, were sacked 7 times with 12 other tackles for loss accumulated by a mediocre Boston College defense. Though Zach Allen is likely to be a first or second round pick next spring, it was Wyatt Ray and Isaiah McDuffie that made Louisville look like a seventh grade pop warner team for most of the second half.

The Cards currently sit at 2-5 and 0-4 in the ACC, with a bye week ahead. Getting punched in the mouth is never fun, or easy, but it’s all about how you respond. With a very winnable game next weekend (October 27th) against Wake Forest, the Cards have an opportunity to gain a little positive momentum, before heading into an absolute terror six game stretch to close the season.

Let’s take a look at the takeaways from Saturday’s loss to Boston College

Ladies & gentlemen, we finally have a running back

There was one bright spot that stuck out above all the others on Saturday, and that was the performance of freshman speedster Hassan Hall.

For five years, aka the entire time Bobby Petrino has been back in town, Louisville has been average to flat out bad at running the football with anyone not named Lamar Jackson. For two straight seasons with Jackson at the helm, Louisville was atop all major rushing statistical categories, but it was the QB – not the running backs – who took them there. This year we knew one guy who wasn’t a QB would have to emerge.

Even with multiple talented backs, Petrino’s usage decisions have been flabbergasting to straight ludicrous this season, and no running back had gained over 150 yards coming into Saturday’s game.

We’ve seen multiple flashes of the potential star that freshman running back, Hassan Hall, could be this season but right when things started to go north for the offense, Petrino made the decision to roll with someone else.

Finally after Hall’s performance on Saturday, in which he led the team with 13 carries for 39 yards and a touchdown, I think we can all agree he’s got to be the guy moving forward.

Though his numbers don’t jump off the page as anything special, the way Hall ran the ball with his offensive line being pushed back as soon as the ball was snapped, was something to behold. It may not be this year, especially with the current coaching staff in place, but Hall will no doubt be a 1,000 yard rusher at some point in his career. Mark my words.

If anyone other than Hassan Hall starts another game this season I 100% believe you may see a riot from the fan base. Everything that was needed in running back was out there each time #19 saw the field. Whether it was catching the ball out of the backfield (3 catches, 29 yards), returning kick-offs, or picking up blitz protection like a straight hoss, Hall did it all.

He’ll likely have “mediocre” numbers compared to the top rushers across other ACC schools, but with what product is being put on the field at offensive line, Hall should no doubt be considered a possible “team MVP” by seasons end.

Mean, tackling machine C.J. Avery is here to stay

The two hardest hitters I’ve seen put on a Louisville football uniform are James Sample and James Burgess (at least that I can remember off the top of my head). But what I saw from C.J. Avery on Saturday leads me to believe that he could be the next great hitter for UofL.

After missing the previous three games with an injury, C.J. Avery returned to action and immediately made his presence known. Don’t believe me? Just ask David Bailey.

With a defense that’s giving up roughly 418 yards of total offense per game (109th ranked nationally) finding bright spots just isn’t that easy. I get that a lot of pressure is being applied to our defense as the offense has been turnover and 3 and out prone all season, but a lot of issues still are present. However, with a healthy CJ Avery on the field this defense looks faster and a lot more aggressive.

We’ve moved past hot seat talk to when is the appropriate time to make a move at head coach

Look, Bobby Petrino has been a good coach and likely still is somewhere deep inside. But over the course of the last two and a half seasons something has changed.

Since the Wake Forest game in 2014-2015 Louisville sits at a measly 10-14, which includes an 0-5 record against Louisville teams. The running game, the defense, and the decision making have all been extremely bad and continue to get worse.

Coming into the season we were one of the only sites across the internet talking about the potential to see Bobby Petrino on the hot seat as the Head Coach of Louisville, even though he had back to back eight win seasons. Through seven games this season, the Cardinals have looked like a completely different team. They’ve been undisciplined and under prepared at times, but never like they have this season.

I could sit here and talk all about all the reasons why Bobby Petrino should be let go, however our very own, Maddie Wood, has already done that. What I saw Saturday against Boston College was a coach who looked like he had enough, and one who had lost his voice and most importantly his players.

I think making a move this week would make sense, but I just don’t know if I see it happening. However, I believe with all of my heart and my head that Vince Tyra needs to make a move. Yes, it’ll be expensive, yes it could have ramifications for years to come. But if you don’t make a move, you risk losing the support of your biggest donors, most dedicated fans, and of course the players – all for good.

Saturday was rough and Cardinal fans unfortunately I only see it getting worse. The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time, but for a coach who has said that his team isn’t transitioning well from the practice field to the actual games, it means things very well look even more horrendous when the players take the field against Wake Forest.

I’m hoping with everything in me that I’m wrong, but nothing through the seven games me to believe otherwise. Though CJ Avery and Hassan Hall are emerging as potential stars for years to come, this team is heading toward a losing record.