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3 things Louisville football must do to beat Western Kentucky

By Jacob Lane

MIAMI, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 09: Micale Cunningham #3 of the Louisville Cardinals scrambles away from Michael Pinckney #56 of the Miami Hurricanes during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 09: Micale Cunningham #3 of the Louisville Cardinals scrambles away from Michael Pinckney #56 of the Miami Hurricanes during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Louisville football, Louisville offensive line
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – SEPTEMBER 22: Malik Cunningham #3 of the Louisville Cardinals throws a pass in the first half during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

Protect Micale Cunningham

I went back and rewatched the entire game against Western Kentucky from last season and the one thing that stood out so many months later was how much the offensive line struggled to protect their quarterback.

To be frank, Louisville’s offensive line wasn’t very good against the Hilltoppers in 2019 and that was with Mekhi Becton and Tyler Haycraft holding down the book end positions. In their defense, it was still very early in the season and they were playing with Micale Cunningham behind center for the first time. The Tops thrived in their pass rush, sacking the Louisville quarterbacks three times while notching four other quarterback pressures and causing even more disruption than the stat line would show.

With just about everyone back on what was a top 25 defense in college football last season, the Tops once again poise a threat to cause disruption to the Louisville offense. Behind returning C-USA player of the year DeAngelo Malone, Juwuan Jones, Jeremy Darvin, and others, the Hilltoppers will look to take advantage of a new look offensive line that will be breaking in two new starting tackles.

Though inexperienced, Louisville’s offensive line will be ready to compete and up for the challenge of improving on their performance a year ago. Both offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford and Scott Satterfield have been consistent in their praise for Adonis Boone and Renato Brown and while they’ll need time to mesh both should be capable of dominating against WKU.

Cunningham was one of the best quarterbacks in the entire nation last year when passing from a clean pocket and if the five guys upfront (plus the tight ends) can give him time to throw, Louisville shouldn’t have any problem putting the game away early.

Tutu Atwell, Dez Fitzpatrick, and the rest of the Louisville receivers will face tough matchups from the Western secondary but all should be able to contribute at a high level should their quarterback have time to get them the ball.

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