What is realistic for the outlook of Louisville football in their game against Virginia?
The Cardinals are 2-5 this season. It’s a lost season already. Are we really still fretting over the wins and losses for this team in 2020? I mean, 2020 has been pretty terrible. Choosing to focus frustrations seems better suited elsewhere at this point. I know that’s where I am at.
The Louisville football team began practicing again on Sunday evening after all of the athletes and coaches tested negative for Covid-19 during the Sunday testing period. The Cardinals still have multiple players in quarantine.
Under the ACC Covid protocols, any player that tests positive for Covid must be held out for a minimum of ten days. Any player who is quarantining as a close contact will be forced to sit out for fourteen days.
Now, this could play a rather large factor in the game on Saturday as Louisville hopes to get back on schedule against Virginia at 3:30 p.m. Coach Satterfield said that as of Monday, there were several athletes that are still quarantining after the outbreak.
Just one week ago, the University of Louisville put out a release that the team had a total of 15 positives, including ten players. Those players are likely still in quarantine and away from the team. So, they would not be a part of the Sunday testing as they are forced to be out at least ten days.
Fans need to temper expectations for the near future.
It really is not known which players will be out this weekend for the Cardinals. However, it is safe to assume that some players will still be unavailable due to protocols that force them into quarantining.
It’s not fair to expect anything from the team this week. They are going to be shorthanded and will have now been thrown off scheduling-wise by Covid.
Not only do we not know how many will miss the game, but we also have no intuition as to which players have tested positive or may be quarantining. It might be fair to assume that the Cards are going to be down on defense after learning of which players were out for their game against Virginia Tech.
It may be time to come to terms that the Cardinals could be fielding a ton of young players (or even walk-ons) for this week. If that is the case, Louisville football fans should go easy on the team no matter what the result may be.
With just four games remaining, the focus should be to get the coaches and athletes out of the season healthy and safe. Then, focus on 2021 in a (hopefully) more normalized year.
Let’s not pretend that 2020 is a normal year. It is not. Games across the country are being postponed every single week due to Covid outbreaks. Let’s rally behind the players and coaches as they continue to make efforts week in and week out to hit the field despite all of the risks involved.