Louisville football: 5 burning questions for Cards vs. Mississippi State

Can a Mekhi Becton-less offensive line protect Micale Cunningham while continuing to be productive run blocking?

Earlier this month I wrote about how crucial the month of December would be to Scott Satterfield and the Cardinals, and so far just about everything I brought up has turned out to be true (great humblebrag, I know).

Even with there only being one game, the month of December always brings a certain level of uncertainty thanks to the early signing period and players making decisions to enter the NFL Draft or return to college for another season.

One of the biggest questions Louisville had heading into the month was the decision facing star left tackle, Mekhi “The Big Ticket” Becton. Becton has been a mainstay at left tackle for Louisville over the last three seasons, and his performance (along with his massive size) has made him an attractive early-round pick candidate. The decision to leave for the NFL or stay for one final season also came with another tough choice; to play in the bowl game or sit it out and prepare for the draft.

Becton announced earlier this week not only his intention to declare for the NFL Draft but also to skip what is a “meaningless” bowl game with no real implications on the season. It was a decision that most fans understood considering the level of bowl game the Cards are playing in as well as the amount of money (and risk) on the line for Becton.

Now all eyes will be on sophomore Adonis Boone, who will likely step in at the left tackle spot just as he did against North Carolina State when Becton was out with a foot injury. While Louisville picked up the win against NC State back in November, doing so thanks to some nice pass protection and downfield passing, they struggled to run the football.

Louisville finished that game with a season-low 77 yards rushing, 67 of which came from starter Javian Hawkins. There’s no denying that-that lack of production had a lot to deal with Becton’s absence. The left side of the field was no longer a guaranteed win.

Boone held his own against North Carolina State and was actually really solid in pass protection and with a month to prepare I’ll be confident he can play at a high level against a defense that hasn’t been able to produce many sacks this season or tackles for loss, finishing near the bottom in both categories with 22 total sacks and 62 total tackles for loss (1.83 per game, t-83rd nationally & 5.2 TFL per game, t-96th).

Louisville has big-play potential and the ability to dominate the time of possession but they’ll need their offensive line to protect at a high level, even without their star bookend tackle. Big physical defensive lines have caused problems all year long, but thankfully the Mississippi State group is one that has underachieved big time this season.

If Louisville keeps Micale Cunningham upright, my guess is that the Cards should be in line for a big offensive performance.