Roadmap to Louisville football winning ten games
Let’s be honest, winning ten games may be a best-case scenario for Louisville football this season. It’s highly unlikely that they go into Death Valley and defeat Clemson with junior Trevor Lawrence and company. Also, escaping with a victory in South Bend is going to be a steep uphill battle as well. Obviously, anything can happen, but the Cardinal program just is not on the same level as the other two; yet.
So that means Louisville would have to win out for the remainder of the season. Wins over in-state foes Murray State and Western Kentucky should come easily. Satterfield’s squad is also favored to defeat Syracuse, Virginia, Wake Forest, Boston College, and NC State; even though conference games can be bizarre, I expect Louisville to win those games.
Despite losing to the Seminoles the past two seasons, the Cardinals should have the upper-hand over Florida State at home. It’s a toss-up, like the matchup with Virginia Tech. The FPI is also projecting the Hokies to reach 10 wins in 2020-21, as the team returns a majority of starters from a team that won eight games last season.
Not only does Louisville have to win the remainder over their conference games, but they must also defeat rival-Kentucky. The Wildcats have won the last two meetings by an average of 39 points. Even though the 2018 campaign was a lost-cause for Louisville, Kentucky has been vastly superior since Lamar Jackson took off his college uniform for the last time.
Read more: Cards’ top candidate for each ACC award next season
To reach 10 wins, the offense would have to improve from last year. That progression all starts with the offensive line; last season Micale Cunningham had a 94.3 grade (third in the nation) when he wasn’t pressured. When given time to read the defense, Cunningham has been seemingly lights-out when it comes to delivering the ball accurately to his receivers. The soon-to-be redshirt-junior signal-caller improved gradually as last season progressed.
The star-backfield duo of Javian Hawkins and Hassan Hall return, along with starting recievers Dez Fitzpatrick and All-ACC First Team selection Tutu Atwell. It’s evident that Louisville won’t lack any star-power at any of the skill positions. Another season of added chemistry and improved play upfront will add more fire to an already high-octane offense.
The defense is a different story; Louisville ranked in the 100’s when it came to total defense and opposing yards per game. A replenishment of depth and consistency added instruction from one of the nation’s most promising defensive coordinators in Bryan Brown would be the root of unit improvement.
To win double-digit games, Louisville will have to be better in stopping the run and getting after the quarterback – something they should be better positioned to do with the return of eight starters and multiple other key contributors and players looking to break out in their first real game action. Newcomers Kameron Wilson, Yaya Diaby, and Ja’Darien Boykin are possible breakout candidates for a defense that is sprinkled with a plethora of talented players.