Louisville football: Grading the Cardinals’ performance against Virginia

Offensive Line

The offensive line is the position group that excited me most from this game. Despite four sacks given up, I felt the group was holding up extremely well all day despite Virginia bringing blitzes consistently.

In the pass game, they held their ground as the Cavaliers rushed linebackers up the middle and around the edge. Virginia was also throwing in regular corner blitzes to try to keep Malik Cunningham contained and get him on the ground.

The Cards were stout and understood assignments in those kinds of high-pressure situations. I was very impressed.

On outside zone plays, the Cardinals were getting to the perimeter to seal linebackers and defensive ends. They were an enormous reason that the team ran wild for 317 yards on 39 carries.

When I re-watched, I was even more impressed. Cole Bentley is playing like a first-team All-ACC performer this year at center. He has earned that praise. His play on Saturday was unbelievable and he is the unsung hero of the team this year.

All Bentley does is finish blocks. He also did a good job of getting to the second level in this game where he could get his hands on linebackers and bury them.

If there were any issues, it was on the right side with Robbie Bell or Cam DeGeorge at right guard and Renato Brown at right tackle. But, even then, I thought those guys had nice days for the most part as well.

Renato Brown looked a little bit more comfortable this week despite things being hectic around him.

I loved the offensive line play this week. The stat sheet shows four sacks given up. But this was their best overall performance this year against a decent Virginia front.

Grade: A-