Louisville football: The honeymoon phase is over, so what’s next?

Where does Louisville football go from here?

The honeymoon phase between Louisville football fans and Scott Satterfield is officially over.

Even with an odd season complicated by a worldwide pandemic, the Cardinals and Satterfield faced legitimate expectations entering the season; a sharp contrast from what was seen as a complete rebuild a year ago.

Now, after an opening three-game stretch where Louisville has had legitimate struggles in every facet of the game at some point, the relationship between the coaching staff and Cardinals fans is no longer all sunshine and rainbows.

This is by no means indicative of impatience with the new staff, but instead, an overall recognition that growing pains were inevitable at some point.

In game one, the Cardinals turned in a solid effort on both sides of the ball but saw some serious struggles in special teams and game management.

Game two against Miami, Louisville lived up to the hype on offense but had some very serious miscues on defense that gave the Hurricanes a comfortable cushion.

Last week at Pitt, the defensive mistakes were cleaned up, but the Cardinals went 1-for-11 on third-down conversions and allowed 7 sacks of Malik Cunningham. In the last two games, the Cardinals have only converted five total 3rd down attempts.

After a season where Louisville football pulled out nearly every close game, the Cardinals cannot find the right formula to pull out a win when needed the most.

So, what now for Louisville football?

Louisville football’s unusually lengthy honeymoon phase

To understand how we got here, perhaps it’s best to take a step back and address the ebbs and flows of expectations since the staff’s arrival.

In the first year of Satterfield and the new coaching staff, many looked at it as “year zero”- The year before the rebuild.

The previous regime left the team in shambles. The roster was unbalanced, the team lacked confidence and cohesion, players lacked discipline and took convincing to trust a new staff with an unconventional gameplan. Three, maybe four, wins was the expectation entering 2019.

But things changed quickly. Louisville won its first game in twelve tries against Eastern Kentucky. The Cardinals secured their first conference victory in almost two years against Boston College. Then, Louisville beat its first ranked opponent since 2017. The Cardinals later defeated the ACC Coastal Division champions and Orange Bowl participant, Virginia. They closed the season with a bowl game victory over the SEC’s Mississippi State.

That’s more than just a hell of a turnaround- It’s a damn miracle.

Satterfield admitted on the What’s Next With Eric Wood podcast in January that he never saw an 8-win season coming. He truly believed a two-win year was in play.

But things change. Louisville ended up having a first-rounder in left tackle Mekhi Becton. Satterfield and company turned running back Javian Hawkins and receiver Tutu Atwell into school record-breakers and all-conference players. Former walk-ons Tyler Haycraft and Marshon Ford became key pieces in a dynamic offense.

Surmise it to say that the pieces were in place for Louisville to be successful in 2019, but it took a special coaching staff to squeeze eight wins out of a team that was statistically one of the worst power-five squads in the last decade the year before.

Not only did the new staff get things turned around in a miraculous fashion, but they also endeared themselves to the players and fans. Satterfield is the consummate dad figure, offensive coordinator Dwayne Ledford is a pleasure to listen to, receivers coach Gunter Brewer is absolutely one of a kind, and other staffers like Cort Dennison, Norv McKenzie, and Frank Ponce are genuine, compassionate, and caring.

The hire was a win, on and off the field. What more could you want from a coaching staff?

Entering the reality phase

In therapy, experts call the period after the honeymoon phase the “present reality” phase. During the honeymoon stage, the great things that the other party brings to your life have you dreaming of grandiose plans for the future. But during the reality check phase, obstacles that may have been in the way all along begin to become more easily recognizable.

2019 was an unexpected surprise. It was like asking for a bike for Christmas and getting an entire BMX park instead. Records were broken, games were fun to watch, and as previously mentioned, the staff was an absolute pleasure. The fact that Louisville was also winning was just an added bonus. Thus, the honeymoon phase.

However, as good as 2019 was, there was still a ton of room for improvement. That’s why those around the program were dreaming big. “If the new staff can change this much so quickly, imagine what they can do with a second year under their belts,” we thought.

In year one of the Satterfield era, when things were good, they were great. But when they were bad, we often saw glimpses of the nauseating play from the previous regime.

The Cardinals were, predictably, flattened by Notre Dame and Clemson. But, because of the positives, fans were able to look past embarrassing losses at Miami and Kentucky. Louisville allowed Wake Forest to score 59, Boston College dropped 39 with a back-up quarterback, UK ran for over 500 yards, and Miami passed for six touchdowns in a little more than a half of football.

Winning three games against foes who were ranked in 2019 was great, but there were plenty of growing pains as well.

Were the Cardinals to miss the game-winning field goal against Boston College, not recover an onside kick against Wake Forest, or pull out close victories over Virginia or Mississippi State, maybe the narrative around 2019 is a bit different.

The returning talent on offense is what set Louisville apart from the competition in the offseason. While many teams had question marks, the Cardinals brought back the core of their production from a season ago from a team that already won eight games and had no bad losses. Regardless of the team, that will come with high expectations; both locally and nationally.

Those expectations set the tone for where we sit a quarter of the way through the season.

Nevermind the fact that Miami has worked its way up to No. 8 in the AP Poll and boasts a Heisman hopeful at quarterback. Forget the fact that Pitt is 3-0 for the first time in well over a decade, or that it leads the nation in sacks and is second in turnovers gained.

This combination of opponents perhaps being a little better than many anticipated and Louisville maybe not being quite ready for the moment leads me to believe that its time to reevaluate and once again address expectations.

So, where does Louisville football go next?

I think the word for the rest of 2020 for Louisville football is going to be patience. Here’s why:

For all of the positive things that we had to say about this program heading into the offseason, we made our analysis with the thought in mind that the good things would continue while the things the Cardinals struggled with in 2019 would continue to improve.

Well, you could make an argument that the areas where the Cardinals performed poorly last season have progressed quite a bit. Louisville has continued to improve its pass rush, the Cardinals have two solid corners and depth in the secondary, they haven’t missed a field goal attempt, have limited penalties, and seen growth in overall depth.

It’s the areas where we thought Louisville would be electric in 2020 that have been a bit underwhelming. Cunningham already has as many interceptions thrown as last season, Louisville’s third-down offense has been horrible, the deep passing game has been out of sync, the Cardinals have failed to show creativity on offense, and though there is depth on the offensive line, Louisville has had a terrible time blocking in obvious passing situations.

That’s why patience is key. Is it moving the goalpost a bit? Perhaps. But, as you receive more information, you have to reevaluate.

You also have to assess things situationally. The go-ahead touchdown from Pitt on Saturday was a fourth down conversion that turned into six after Taysir Mack somehow did not go down while being wrapped up for a tackle.

Consider how the narrative changes if Louisville keeps the Panthers out of the end zone on what was sort of a flukey touchdown. People would be praising the Louisville defense and riding high after a ranked win.

This is still the same coaching staff and the same roster that fans were so pleased with just two weeks ago. It’s not time to press the panic button just yet. Instead, Louisville football fans simply need to remain patient and wait for the cake to bake on this season.

The honeymoon phase may be over, but the reality of the situation is not as bad as it might feel right now.