5 takeaways from Louisville football’s win over Western Kentucky

There was a lot to take away from Louisville football’s week one performance.

The Louisville football program got off on the right foot on Saturday night to start their season 1-0 after taking down Western Kentucky 35-21 in an impressive showing by the offense and defense.

In one of the oddest off seasons throughout college football in recent memory, the Cardinals offense looked like they had not missed a beat despite large changes in fall camp due to COVID-19 related matters. In a game where the Cardinals offense stole the show, the defense stole it right back.

On the back of “Malik Micale” Cunningham, the Cardinals put up a total of  487 yards of offense (including 337 yards at the half). The Cardinals certainly took their foot off the gas as the game started to wind down and Cunningham obtained some wear and tear throughout the game.

The defense proved their worth racking in impact plays on all three levels of the field. The veterans proved their worth and showed a full step taken as a unit; some newcomers got themselves in the fold and made their presence felt. The team gave up zero touchdown drives that started beyond the 50-yard line and two of the three touchdown drives given up were immediately following special teams miscues (more on that later).

With the win in hand, what are five key takeaways from the Cards’ big non-conference win? Who showed up? Who improved? And who was down right dreadful?