Big Red Louie
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The good, bad, and ugly from Louisville football’s loss to Notre Dame

By Maxwell Owens

Sep 2, 2019; Louisville, KY, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Ian Book (12) dives in for a touchdown against Louisville Cardinals linebacker C.J. Avery (9) during the second quarter at Cardinal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 2, 2019; Louisville, KY, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Ian Book (12) dives in for a touchdown against Louisville Cardinals linebacker C.J. Avery (9) during the second quarter at Cardinal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 26: Hassan Hall #19 of the Louisville Cardinals checks on injured teammate Malik Cunningham #3 in the fourth quarter during the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Heinz Field on September 26, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 26: Hassan Hall #19 of the Louisville Cardinals checks on injured teammate Malik Cunningham #3 in the fourth quarter during the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Heinz Field on September 26, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

The Bad

The Cardinals offense struggled all day long and could not get out of their own way. Something to keep an eye on for the future is the Cardinals deep ball which is currently on a milk carton and has not been seen in weeks.

It is difficult to tell exactly what the issue is for the offense. It’s multiple issues at this point. However, it needs to be fixed in a hurry. The offense is going in the wrong direction.

Lack of deep ball disappointing

The Cardinals have only had one pass of over 30 yards in the past three games. That’s one completion of over 30 yards in the last 75 pass attempts for those of you counting at home. That is a problem for a team that last year predicated themselves on explosive plays.

Against Notre Dame, Cunningham had a beautiful 28 yard throw dropped into a bucket to Tutu Atwell that was double covered all the way. Then, Cunningham had a wide open Javian Hawkins on a wheel route throw-back play that connected. That was it for explosive plays through the air Saturday. Still, neither of those plays went for 30 yards or more.

The Cardinals have been working a lot of intermediate areas. Any deep routes have been deep crossing routes that take a long time to develop. Those plays are a luxury if your team is consistently holding up fine in pass protection. However, that is not the case for the Cardinals this year.

No turnovers for the defense

Despite a largely great day, the defense did not force a turnover for the second straight week. The Cardinals have a -8 turnover differential through the first five games. The lack of turnover production was not from having no opportunity.

The Cards dropped two would-be interceptions while Notre Dame was in the red zone. One by Clark and one by Chandler Jones (who also had a good day).

Clark’s would have had the chance to go for six the other way while Jones would have prevented points on the drive. The secondary still does not have a single interception on the season which is a pretty remarkable stat.

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