Louisville football: Awarding game balls to the Cards biggest performers

Dez Fitzpatrick

Stats: 5 catches, 125 yards, 2 touchdowns

For the third week in a row, Dez Fitzpatrick earns a game ball for Louisville.

Is there any surprise that Louisville has won two games out of three when Fitzpatrick goes for 100-plus yards? Of course, you need the running game and the defense to come up big (as well as all the other phases of football) but it’s been proven in years past that when you get the ball to your star receiver good things happen.

Regardless of how you draw conclusions, the fact that the redshirt junior has had 100-yards in three straight games, becoming the first to do so since Devante Parker in 2014, shows the improvement of the Louisville offense.

Against Wake Forest once again Dez Fitzpatrick looked like the best player on the field each and every time he got the ball in his hands. He was at his best in the second half when Evan Conley took over for Micale Cunningham after the injury, catching all five passes thrown his way.

Fitzpatrick made big play after big play, totaling five plays over 10 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown (which was a thing of beauty) and a 15-yard touchdown.

There’s still a while to go, and along the way, Fitzpatrick will face some tough matchups in the secondary, but with 21 receptions for 408 yards and five touchdowns, we could see the first 1,000-yard receiving season since Harry Douglas did it in 2007. We also very well could be watching the final few games with Dez Fitzpatrick in a Louisville uniform.

We may also soon see another Fitzpatrick wearing a Louisville jersey.