Louisville football: 5 things to take from Notre Dame into EKU
Jawon Pass’ passing has to improve
Jawon Pass’ passing accuracy and efficiency have to improve to get this current team to a bowl game. When you looked at the Louisville roster preseason, it’s very possible you would’ve picked the receivers when it came to the most talented position group from top to bottom. Guys like Dez Fitzpatrick, Tutu Atwell and Seth Dawkins have all had their moments at Louisville already. Therefore, we were all expecting big things from them on Monday night and in 2019.
Dawkins and Fitzpatrick were unable to make much of an impact, both only having one catch apiece. With the small sample size we have, it’s hard to say whether that’s more on them or more on the quarterback – or a combination of both. But one thing remains true considering that fact, it has to be fixed immediately.
Our running backs being productive is great, but good, even decent teams have to be able to move the ball through the air on offense. Our inability to do that comes with a certain level of concern.
In 2018, out of the 107 QBs eligible, the worst competition percentage sits at 48%. Jawon completed just 44% of his passes on Labor Day. His QB rating compared to those qualified quarterbacks from last season would’ve been second to last in the entire nation at 86.1.
It didn’t feel like on Monday night that we were doing much on offense outside of running the ball, which we did successfully. But even Jawon ran for 67 yards, which was great to see after just 93 rushing yards total in all of 2018. But the passing issues have to be fixed, only time will tell if that can happen or who’s specifically at fault.
Saturday I expect Jawon to have a real opportunity to show that Monday night had more to do with the tough opponent than it did lack of development. Against an FCS opponent who has big question marks in the secondary, guys like Dez Fitzpatrick, Seth Dawkins, Tutu Atwell, and even some of the other receivers should have plenty of room to get open and it’ll be up to Pass to find them and do so accurately.