Louisville football: Predicting statistical over/under’s for 2020

Javian Hawkins – 12 touchdowns

Jacob – Over

When I pulled up the stats for Javian Hawkins from 2019 I was shocked to see that he only had nine touchdowns. I expect him to get more opportunity this season, especially at the goal line which should result in at least a few more touchdowns.

Despite his smaller size, Hawkins has constantly been praised for his ability to break tackles and bounce off opposing tacklers which I think could result in more opportunities at the goal line – despite having a bigger, power back in Aidan Robbins.

Presley – Over

Way over, in fact. If there was a knock on Hawkins’ game last season it was his ability to get into the end zone.

In my opinion, Hawkins not hitting pay dirt in 2019 had less to do with his abilities and more to do with the way Louisville’s offense operates as a whole.

Last year, Louisville was a boom or bust offense. The Cardinals were either going 10 yards forward or five backward. Louisville went for a loss on almost a quarter of its plays.

Louisville also made very infrequent trips to the red zone. As dynamic as the offense was, the Cardinals only made three trips per game to the red zone.

Those two elements combined were problematic for Hawkins. Louisville was constantly in a position where it had to throw the ball because of second and third and long scenarios, and rarely made trips to the red area where it had 17 pass touchdowns and only 13 rushing scores.

I think the Cardinals improve in both aspects in 2020, which should prove beneficial for Hawkins. 20 touchdowns should be a realistic goal.