Louisville football: Three reasons why the Cards will defeat Wake Forest

Micale Cunningham’s connection with star receivers will continue

We knew going into the Boston College matchup that the Louisville offense, particularly whoever was at the quarterback position, was going to have to have their best games of the season in order to pick up the team’s first ACC win. Fortunately for us all, that’s exactly what happened with Micale, formerly known as Malik, Cunningham and his three star receivers.

Boston College gave Louisville every opportunity to establish the run early on, but the passing game is what really gave the Cards the upper hand and allowed them to put up 41 total points.

Every drive, Cunningham and even Evan Conley, had plenty of time to throw thanks to the great play upfront and were continually able to find Seth Dawkins, Dez Fitzpatrick, and Tutu Atwell for both short and long plays. They did so to the tune of 428 yards passing and two touchdowns – the most since Lamar Jackson threw for 417 yards against Marshall back in 2016.

No one, and I mean no one expected that. We knew there was talent at the receiver position but for three players to finish with 100 plus receiving yards showed how much quarterback’s coach Frank Ponce and head coach Scott Satterfield have prepared and coached up the position.

Now that we’ve seen the offense utilize their best players to the level of their potential, the sky is the limit for the Cards. For the second week in a row, Louisville will go head-to-head with a defense that’s allowed a ton of yards this season, both through the air and on the ground.

Despite being 5-0, Wake Forest has given up nearly 1,250 yards through the air in their first five games allowing an average of 245.6 in each contest. Against average to below-average quarterbacks, the Demon Deacons secondary have struggled to cover receivers and tight ends, allowing for big numbers and a fair amount of points.

The way that Cunningham and Conley hit receivers on Saturday leads me to believe that the passing game will be sustainable game-to-game and not just a one-hit-wonder. Whether it was short slant routes, or 30-plus yard go routes, the quarterbacks both did a great job of throwing accurate passes that kept the receivers moving for more yards – and it resulted in big plays down the field to set up points or put points on the board.

Wake Forest defense has been torched at times this season and it wouldn’t be shocking to see Cunningham (who will start after ending the BC game on the bench) have another career day.