100 days out, here’s 100 reasons to be excited for Louisville football
With 100 days remaining until Louisville football kicks off the season, we came up with 100 reasons to be excited about Cardinals football.
Saturday, May 25th marks 100 days until Louisville football kicks off the season against Notre Dame.
We are here to give you 100 reasons to be pumped about this coming football season.
Let’s not waste any time getting into it. Without further ado, we present100 reasons to be excited for the 2019 Louisville football season.
The Culture
- Tailgating
- Grilling out
- Fall weather
- The Green lot- a quarter mile of legendary tailgating grounds
- Old Cardinal stadium- for the younger crowd
- Red Rage Tailgate- for everyone
- Cold beer
- And bourbon (duh)
- Did we mention Cardinal Stadium beer? That beer just hits different!
- Those chairback seats- more on that later…
- Finally filling the new stadium expansion? There’s sure to be a big-time turnout for the first game of the Satterfield era
- High fives- we invented those
- Train horns- we need more of those
- Lots of train horns
- The ACC Network- FINALLY
- NIGHT GAMES!- see above
- Notre Dame opening weekend
- Clemson at home
- Nashville for Western Kentucky- mother of God, bar hopping after a win in Nashvegas?
- Happy hour on the party deck- Get there early!
- New intro music- Looking at you, DJ KDogg
- New Uniforms- bless you, Adidas
- Finally having a loud stadium again- yay!
- Road tripping to Miami?- The Cards play the Hurricanes in football and basketball in the same week. If you’ve got the extra dough, it’s not a safe bet that the Cards are going bowling this season.
- Blackouts
- Blackouts (the other kind)… you know who you are, green lot crazies who barely make it in.
The Players
- Puma vs. Malik- One of the top storylines this year. Last year the quarterback position was a revolving door. Can one of the Cards’s highly touted recruits get the job done over the summer?
- The Cards actually having a running game! Look for the Cards to pound the rock this year.
- Speed city… But for real this time. Coach Satterfield loves team speed on both sides of the ball.
- Freak time (shoutout coach Brewer)
- Dez Fitzpatrick
- Tutu Atwell- The Cards boast two of the more talented receivers in the country. Time to get these “freaks” open in space.
- Grad Transfers- The Cards bring in three graduate transfers that could impact the team right away.
- Hassan Hall
- Improved offensive line play- The Cards have some talent. Now, they just need the right coaching and communication.
- Improved overall execution
- Heart and hustle- It’s hard to imagine anyone quitting on a play this year.
- Local products shining- Players like Keion Wakefield, Derek Dorsey, Rodjay Burns, so many more have a fresh start and a chance to prove themselves
- Incoming freshmen- players like Ja’Darien Boykin and Aidan Robbins figure to demand playing time sooner rather than later
- Redshirts- Tyler Harrell, Javian Hawkins, and Thurman Gaethers redshirted their freshmen years but figure to make a big-time impact in 2019.
- Some veterans with a chance with a fresh start- players like Boosie Whitlow, Jordan Davis, and Gary McCrae have been around the block and could be utilized.
- Pressure from the defensive line- Almost certain to improve this year. Look out for big Jarrett Jackson.
- Turnovers- Again, the Cards forced less than a turnover per game in 2018. That won’t happen.
- Not losing by 50- Letting five consecutive teams score 52 or more points on you is just a lack of heart and effort. The Cards may not win much more, but expect the games to at least be competitive.
- The Secondary- Louisville’s coaches have made a lot of changes in the secondary based on the needs of their system. Look out for some interesting position changes across the board.
- TJ Holl- Cards fans are going to fall in love with the grad transfer from Colgate.
- The return of Robert Hicks- The promising linebacker was in the transfer portal for a while this offseason after being moved to defensive end. However, Cards coaches agreed to give him another shot at linebacker. One of the Cards’s most talented returnees
- Guys named PJ- PJ Blue and PJ Mbannassor figure to be wreaking havoc this year after seemingly being misused under Petrino and company.
- Russ Yeast- Another player who was in the transfer portal, the former four-star corner is not only back but figures to be a starter at Safety.
- Mason King- Word has it dude had to ice his leg after punting 50 times a game last season, but he is an underrated weapon for the Cards.
- Blanton Creque- Mr. Automatic didn’t get many opportunities in 2018 but will look to make up for it during his Senior campaign.
- The return game- Woo buddy, this will be fun to watch under the Cards’s new coaching staff. Special teams seemed to be an afterthought under Petrino, but the Cards have some really special players that they can put back there. Hassan Hall and Rodjay Burns both housed one in 2018.
- Tutu Atwell is taking a basic screen pass to the house at least once this year.
The New Coaching Staff
- A new vibe around the program- The players absolutely love coming in to work every day
- Trips to Roosters
- Strength and conditioning- Mike Sirignano specializes in speed. The new coach will focus on quick twitch and getting players to maximize their potential.
- Gunter Brewer- Who doesn’t love this man?
- Dwayne Ledford, AKA the linemen whisperer
- Finally being able to learn something from a press conference *insert Bobby Petrino monotone voice*
- Accountability within the coaching staff
- Players having coach’s phone numbers
- Players knowing where the heck the coach’s office is
- Having assistants who respect and trust in their head coach
- Autonomy and delegation from the top down
- Coaches recruiting their butts off
- One of the best recruiters in the country in Cort Dennison, and one of the best recruiters in South Florida in Frank Ponce
- Bryan Brown coaching a defense predicated on aggressive play and take aways
- Players flying to the ball on defense
- Players having fun in practice and work outs
- Establishing depth
- Establishing a winning team culture
- Hosting top-name recruits
The Schedule
- Potential for an upset week one vs. Notre Dame
- Setting the Cardinal Stadium attendance record- maybe multiple times in a season
- Definitely (hopefully) getting a win against Eastern Kentucky (man, it’s been a while)
- Another chance at defeating Western Kentucky handily- last year was way too close for comfort
- Getting a shot at revenge against Florida State
- Hosting Clemson and their terrible, awful, wonderful fans
- Getting a crack at the first conference win in over a year
- Another chance to beat Kentucky
The fan experience
- College Gameday on Saturday mornings
- Satterday’s are for the boys- 11 of Louisville’s games will be played on a Saturday
- Scott’s tots- Satterfield and his visor will finally be roaming the sidelines on September 2nd- if that doesn’t get you hyped, nothing will
- The best facilities in the country- We truly don’t realize how blessed we are. Go to another stadium and experience a game with poor sightlines and awful butt cramps, and you’ll be grateful!
- Local sports radio- We have some of the best coverage around
- Wearing shorts, a rain jacket, and a winter coat in back-to-back-to-back weeks. You know it’s going to happen.
- Paul Rogers- Enjoy this legend while you can.
- Sean Moth- See Paul Rogers
- Totally disrespecting all the hard work you did for that summer bod during tailgate season
- Nobody knowing the words to “Fight! UofL”
- Getting to your seat in the second quarter (kidding, kidding)
- C-A-R-D-S chants
- “C-A-R… Go to your car!” chants during blowouts
- The tunnel under Denny Crum overpass
- That gameday feeling- nothing beats it!
Go Cards!