Louisville football opponent preview: Western Kentucky

Western Kentucky offense

If Louisville football’s defense had played at the same level that they did against Western Kentucky throughout the full season, we could be talking about a completely different team.

Obviously, big performances against mid-major opponents doesn’t mean a whole lot when you play in the ACC, but it was great to see the defense click so early in the season as they put together one of their best performances allowing only 288 total yards.

We spent a lot of time leading into that matchup talking about running back Gaej Walker and how a big performance from him could make the game far more interesting. Fortunately, Louisville’s defense showed up in a big way, holding Walker to just 41 yards on 14 carries – with his longest rush being just seven yards.

The game getting out of hand early forced WKU to throw the ball a bit more than expected and that’s where they were able to find the most success. Quarterback Steven Duncan had a big day (although a lot of his production came in garbage time) throwing for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

Western Kentucky’s offense has promise in 2020 but will have a ton of obstacles to overcome including replacing quarterback Ty Storey, who graduated following starting majority of games last year, as well as Duncan, who opted to transfer. They do return Walker as well as four out of their five starting offensive linemen, which  will make their run game dangerous, as well as top receiver Jahcour Pearson and rising tight end, Joshua Simon.

Louisville’s run defense will likely be put to the test early and often, but it will be all about the passing defense that determines how quickly this game is over. If Louisville is able to use their experience and force pressure on either Davis Shanley or Kevaris Thomas, it should lead to getting off the field on third down and forcing turnovers.