Louisville football: 3 things to watch vs. Western Kentucky

Will Micale Cunningham’s stellar play carry over into 2020?

Speaking of Micale Cunningham. A hot start to the 2020 season is imperative for him, especially if there’s any real substance to him being a candidate for the Heisman Trophy by seasons end. Regardless of his status for the Heisman trophy or any other award he’s been listed for, getting off to a hot start will be important with Louisville facing a top 25 defense with 11 upperclassmen as starters – not to mention they’ll face Miami and Pittsburgh in weeks to come.

Cunningham is no stranger to the Western Kentucky defense, having started each of the last two match ups against the Tops. Last season was not his finest showing as he made his first start of the season after battling back from a knee injury that forced him out of most of training camp. He finished with 123 yards and two passing touchdowns (which doesn’t sound that bad) but it came on 9/14 passing and went along with 16 rushes for 46 yards.

Louisville’s offense didn’t struggle to make the big play early in that game in Nashville, but when they did, often times it wasn’t because of Cunningham. He struggled to get comfortable in the pocket as WKU brought blitz after blitz and more times than not his attempts to extend plays resulted in short gains or for loss.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Satterfield said that his team is “much more advanced” in terms of the overall playbook and schemes than they were last year and because of that (and a healthy camp) I expect Cunningham to look much more like the guy we saw later in the season.

There has been a ton of hype around Cunningham this offseason and while I know he’s heard people talking about him he’s continued to keep the same demeanor and work ethic that he had last year when carrying the Cards to multiple huge victories.

A big part of his start is going to depend on how quickly Adonis Boone and Renato Brown, the presumed starters at left and right tackle, can get acquainted to live action in their new roles.  Satterfield pointed out when talking to the media that those two guys are stepping into roles left behind by “NFL players” in Mekhi Becton, who was drafted no. 11 overall, and Tyler Haycraft, who just signed with an NFL practice team.

Javian Hawkins, Marshon Ford, Dez Fitzpatrick, and Tutu Atwell who was the clear cut MVP  of last year’s matchup finishing with five receptions for 145 yards and three touchdowns, are going to give Cunningham everything needed to get off to a fast start – and if they are as connected as we all think they could be… watch out.