Do not put this one on Malik Cunningham
It’s understandable that the immediate knee-jerk reaction to things is to put the fall on the quarterback. But, that’s not the direction that seems appropriate given the way this game unfolded.
Cunningham ended the day on a sour note with the interception. But, as mentioned previously, it really was not his fault.
He put up big numbers today and was careful with the football despite taking hit after hit. His 426 yards accounted for should have been enough in this game. Cunningham accounted for 426 of the 493 total yards for the offense in this one.
It can be on Cunningham at times and he has certainly earned some of the criticism he has received this season. But let’s hold off here.
Cunningham was accurate for a much larger majority of his throws than he has all year and he made some “wow” plays with his arm and his legs throughout the course of the effort. He stands in with pressure and he was zipping the ball with accuracy today despite clearly battling being dinged up tonight.
Malik Cunningham is a tough guy who has not played to the best of his abilities this year. There is no doubt about that. But, for once, let’s consider the fact that the quarterback did not lose Louisville the game in this one.
You can really put the blame for this loss on a lot of different things. Just do not put it on Cunningham. He has deserved it at times. But not now.