Bio Blast: Louisville Cardinals

Rivalry week has arrived, and a huge matchup in the Governor’s Cup series awaits Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. The Cats really need their seventh win to end what has been a rocky season in Lexington.

However, the Wildcats will be facing a Louisville team that is playing with a lot of confidence. The Cards are 5-1 since an embarrassing one-point loss to Boston College and are doing it with defense and special teams in year four under Scott Satterfield.

The stakes of this game have completely changed in the last few weeks as Satterfield is no longer on the hot seat, and Mark Stoops has the program that is feeling some pressure after a 1-3 stretch following the bye week.

Saturday is a very big game for both parties. Let’s take our first look at Louisville to see how the ACC program has gotten to this point.

Havoc creating defense

Many supporters of the Louisville football program wanted Scott Satterfield to move away from defensive coordinator Bryan Brown following the 2021 season. In three seasons, Brown’s unit never ranked better than No. 70 in yards per play and points per drive.

Satterfield made the right decision. After adding multiple contributors from the transfer portal and getting five super seniors to return, Louisville has moved into the top 40 in yards per play and points per drive. In seven wins, the Cards are allowing just 12.1 points per game.

Brown’s defense is old (10 junior/senior starters) and plays with extreme aggression out of a three-man front. Playing with a hybrid 3-3-5 base, Louisville will show offenses a lot of exotic looks often bringing linebackers and defensive backs as pass rushers. The Cards use a heavy amount of stunts, simulated pressures, and full-out blitzes. That is a philosophical change from the previous seasons.

The results have been excellent leading to a lot of positive plays for the defense.

Louisville enters Week 13 ranking No. 11 in tackles for loss (81), No. 1 in sacks (41), and No. 2 in takeaways (28). The Cards have one of the best havoc defenses in college football. In the win over Wake Forest, UofL turned a close game into a second-half blowout thanks to eight takeaways forced. The defense turned a one-possession game into a two-touchdown win against Pittsburgh thanks to a late defensive touchdown. Even in the worst performance of the season when a bad Boston College offense went for 34 points on 7.9 yards per play, the defense still forced three takeaways to keep the team in the game.

Super seniors Yasir Abdullah (13 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, 4 pass breakups, 4 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions), YaYa Diaby (10.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks), Monty Montgomery (8.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, 2 pass breakups), and Ole Miss transfer MoMo Sanogo (8.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks) are all having big seasons in the front seven.

But the secondary is also posting numbers. Florida State transfer Jarvis Brownlee, Jr. leads the team with 13 passes defended (11 pass breakups, 2 interceptions). Middle Tennessee transfer Quincy Riley leads the team in interceptions (3).

The Cards hang their hat on creating havoc and have done it better than any other defense in college football this season.

QB injuries have changed the offensive approach

Scott Satterfield has been at Louisville for four seasons and that entire time the QB1 has been the same for the former App State head coach. Buzz was created for this program in the offseason coming off of a 6-7 season because Malik Cunningham was returning for his sixth season in college.

However, the Cards are posting their worst offensive numbers under Satterfield in points per game (28.5) and yards per play (6.1). A lot of that has had to do with some injuries at quarterback.

Cunningham missed the Virginia game with a concussion and the NC State game last week with a shoulder injury. The super senior is also dealing with a left-hand injury that was protected by a glove and some extra padding in the Week 11 contest with Clemson. His status for Saturday is unknown.

Brock Domann is QB2, and the Cards are 2-0 in games started by him with wins against Virginia and NC State.

The journeyman out of Colorado Springs (Colo.) Pine Creek was in the class of 2017 but still has some eligibility remaining. Domann has spent time in junior college and at Campbell University where he did not play football. He’s gotten a chance to play with Louisville in a game manager role. However, the numbers have not been great.

Domann is completing only 51 percent of his 102 passes with a woeful success rate (36.4%). The junior college transfer has created big plays (22 completions of 15+ yards) despite the inefficiency but has also put the ball in harm’s way with 13 pass breakups and four interceptions in a small sample size. The 6-foot-2, 228-pound QB can do some things with his legs but is nowhere near as dynamic as Cunningham.

Louisville has very much become a complementary football team this year that leans on its defense to win games. Satterfield has gotten conservative with Domann running the show. Kentucky should expect more of the same if Cunningham is unable to go again on Saturday.

Excellent kicking game

Kentucky has had all kinds of issues in the third phase. The same cannot be said for Louisville. Last week against NC State, the kicking game won the Cards the game.

James Turner connected on four field goals, and a kick return touchdown by former Syracuse transfer Jawhar Jordan was the only touchdown for Louisville until the fourth quarter. The defense plays a major role in Louisville’s new winning formula, but the kicking game is very important.

Turner is 19 of 21 on field goals this season with his only misses coming for 40-plus yards. The kicker is a perfect 17 of 17 from anything under 40. Punter Mark Vassett is averaging 44.6 yards per punt with 15 downed inside the 20. Opponents are averaging just 5.9 yards per return.

On kickoffs, Brock Travelstead has a 64.5 percent touchback rate as Louisville has done a great job limiting returns. Last week, Jordan provided the first return touchdown of the season. The Cards rank inside the top 50 in net field position due to a solid kicking game.

If the game turns into a field goal contest, Louisville will have the advantage.

True WR1

If you’re looking for Louisville’s biggest weakness, it is likely at the wide receiver position. This offense lost Jordan Watkins to Ole Miss, Tyler Harrell to Alabama after spring practice, and Miami transfer Dee Wiggins in Week 3. That has made things difficult for the passing game.

Luckily, an FCS transfer has stepped up to give the offense at least one dependable weapon in the passing game.

Tyler Hudson was an All-American for Central Arkansas last season and came to Louisville with 167 career receptions for 3,062 yards and 26 touchdowns. The Texas native has proved those weren’t empty calories this season.

Tyler Hudson gets free with a double move for a 54-yard gain. Louisville ends up kicking a field goal to make it 24-10. pic.twitter.com/kSbwRGO6jh

— Tyler Greever (@Tyler_Greever) November 12, 2022

The senior leads the offense in targets (97) and receptions (63) by a wide margin. Hudson’s 951 receiving yards are nearly 600 more than the next pass catcher. The 6-foot-2 receiver has gone for over 70 receiving yards in six consecutive games with half of those reaching the 100-yard threshold. Against Clemson, Hudson was the entire offense finishing the game with 11 receptions for 163 yards.

Hudson is the No. 1 guy Kentucky must stop on the perimeter.