Louisville Football: Handles JMU, Evans Shines

Scott Satterfield has led the Cardinals to a four-game winning streak since losing to Boston College in Week 5.

LOUISVILLE, KY– On November 5th 2022, the Louisville Cardinals donned their Iron Wings jerseys for the one and only time this year as they took the field against the James Madison Dukes.

James Madison was ready for battle against the Cardinals, but their efforts were not enough. Louisville came out on top, 34-10, for their fourth straight victory. Winning four straight games is something the Cardinals have not been able to do since Lamar Jackson was behind center back in 2016.

After the game, the Head Coach for James Madison University, Curt Cignetti, described Louisville as ‘physically dominant.’ He exclaimed the Cardinals ‘pushed them around.’

Louisville‘s defensive front has been extremely dominant ever since the Boston College loss, which becomes more mind-boggling as the weeks go on. When Defensive Coordinator Bryan Brown can line up guys like Dezmond Tell, Yaya Diaby, Yasir Abdullah, Ashton Gillotte, Momo Sanogo, and Mason Reiger in the box, then it is going to be a nightmare for the opposing offense.

The Dukes offense, led by veteran quarterback Todd Centeio, could not find a rhythm all game and had trouble gaining yards. He finished the game with only four completed passes and 12 total rushing yards. The Louisville defense was disrupting the backfield all game long.

The Cardinal defense was especially disruptive in the second half holding the Dukes out of the end zone for the entire third quarter and shortening all six of their second half possessions. Five of them ended in punts and one ended in a missed field goal.

Louisville did not overlook this team, which was a minor fear floating around in the minds of Cardinal Nation. The Cardinals came in prepared and executed extremely well on both the offensive side of the ball as well as the defensive side of the ball.

Offensively, it is always invigorating whenever Tiyon Evans touches the football. In the third quarter, Evans broke free for a 71-yard touchdown run that set Cardinal Stadium ablaze. He has been a crucial addition to this Louisville offense who has weapons all over the field.

Evans finished the game with 126 rushing yards, his counterpart Jawhar Jordan finished the game with 118 yards, and sure-handed wide receiver Tyler Hudson finished the game with 142 receiving yards. This was the first time in 14 years that the Cardinals have accomplished this feat.

With this win over James Madison, Louisville became bowl eligible for their third time out of four possible times in the Scott Satterfield era at Louisville. The Cardinals look to extend their winning streak as they are set to take on the Clemson Tigers this coming Saturday at 3:30 PM on ESPN.