Louisville football could be CFP-ready NOW?

The Georgia Bulldogs took home their 3rd National Championship last night when they beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in Indianapolis for this year’s latest culmination of the College Football Playoff. Louisville fans have only dreamed of this scenario since Lamar Jackson left the banks of the Ohio River to take his talents North to Baltimore.

Watching a game like that I could only marvel at the speed and athleticism of the athletes competing for both teams at the highest possible level! It made me consider one question.

What does Louisville need to do to make the playoff right now?

Keep the “Cards” in the deck

First and foremost, the Cards must continue to recruit elite talent and convince them to stay and develop the program into a winner. Louisville currently has eleven players that have elected to enter the 2022 transfer portal. The latest exits being running back Aidan Robbins and cornerback Kani Walker. Both players were highly rated recruits coming out of high school.

People wonder why schools like UCF and Cincinnati have been able to compete at the highest levels. They lure those three and four star recruits to campus and create an environment for them to want to grow and develop a program. Culture plays a big component in keeping players satisfied in the new era of NIL.

Louisville has a big small town feel similar to Orlando and Cincinnati, not to mention it is home to Muhammad Ali and the Kentucky Derby! Maybe they could host an annual boxing championship event in the KFC Yum Center for highly prized fighters like Shakur Stevenson or Terence Crawford. It could be called the “ALI Classic”! Who wouldn’t want to knock a guy in Muhammad Ali’s city? Then you could give Louisville athletes a special section in the middle of all the celebrities. That would be so lit! Of course the city and local fans would need to get behind this. In my estimation, Louisville should lean heavily on embracing those and many other aspects of the community that make this a special place to play.

Have you ever been to Athens, Georgia? I have. It is all DAWGS as soon as you touch the town! You have to do what you have to do to retain your players, especially when you are recruiting against those elite programs year in and year out.

Rise in the rankings

Secondly, Louisville has to improve on both sides of the ball for a full four quarters. The Louisville defense finished ranked 84th in total defense. The Louisville offense finished 21st in total offense, but finished 63rd in 3rd down conversion percentage. Each team that made the playoff this season finished in at least the top 50 of every major statistical category of both sides of the football. The 2006 Orange Bowl team was ranked 4th in total offense and 17th in total defense.

There were shining moments this season, like the pick six against UCF to seal the game. However, too often the Cards were stalled in the red zone on offense, or allowed a big play just before halftime or late in the game. Those are “game killers”! Consistency is a crucial part of winning. The big fish don’t swim like that in a pool full of sharks that is also referred to as the CFP Top 25.

Dominate while things are quiet in the ACC

Lastly, Louisville has to be able to win in a conference that is currently down. Clemson proved this season that the ACC is now up for grabs after their fall from playoff grace. They have had multiple assistant coaches, such as Brent Venables and Tony Elliott, leave for greener pastures. There aren’t any Deshaun Watson’s or Trevor Lawrence’s to deal with. Kenny Pickett is finally leaving Pittsburgh, Miami is still average, and North Carolina and Wake Forest still can’t win the big games. Oh and Florida State, they can’t make enough noise right now to scare off a group of roaches hanging out by a trash can! The conference is literally wide open like the Circle K gas station where the slushies are still working past midnight folks. Remember, this is still a Power 5 conference. If a team can win enough games and keep the losses low, they can sneak in from the ACC. Period! Just like the City Girls like to say.

Next season is the perfect storm for Malik Cunningham and the rest of the Louisville football team to be able to pull off a sneaky march into the top 4. It won’t be easy at all, but the latest ACC developments make the road not so bumpy as one might think. 2022 might be just be “The Year of the Cardinal”!