When Bobby Petrino came to Louisville to take over the Louisville Cardinals once Charlie Strong left, everyone close to the program knew that an overhaul would take place. Strong was a coach who believed in defense and a smashmouth offense. Petrino was a coach who believed in offense and running far more advanced sets and plays than anything Strong oversaw. What also happened is that Strong left when quarterback Teddy Bridgewater left. Strong might not have been a great offensive coach, but he recruited a superstar quarterback who played well within a limited system. Bridgewater made plays in difficult situations. He masked so many of Louisville’s problems, and that was a huge reason for the Cardinals’ success under Strong. This leads into a discussion of Louisville’s big weakness.
Biggest Team Weakness
The Louisville Cardinals have shuffled through so many quarterbacks in Petrino’s first two seasons. They have suffered a lot of injuries at the position, but Strong did not leave Petrino with an heir apparent who could neatly step in for Bridgewater and continue what has been a tradition of strong quarterbacks at the university. Stefan Lefords and Brian and Jeff Brohm are just some of the really good quarterbacks Louisville has had over time, but entering 2016, it’s no sure bet that Louisville will be able to throw the ball at a level Petrino is hoping for. The pieces don’t all seem to coexist just yet. Lamar Jackson is the man who should get the first chance to run the offense this season. He will be counted on to step into the breach and become the man Petrino needs to take this program to the next level. However, it’s hard to really say if Jackson is going to deliver. Everyone’s playing the waiting game to see if he’s the real deal. Texas A&M, whom Jackson smoked in the Music City Bowl last December, is not that great a team. It’s going to take a lot more convincing for Jackson to establish himself. He has to prove it in September and then keep doing it.
Biggest Team Strength
What’s noticeable about this roster is that the defense returns three linebackers who combined to make almost 45 tackles for loss last season. The Louisville Cardinals have proven that they can create pressure on opposing quarterbacks and make disruptive plays that halt drives and force opponents to punt. Louisville has not just quality, but cohesion, on this side of the ball. That should matter a lot as the season goes along. The team’s defense should be able to support the offense to a certain extent. The question is if the offense can be great enough to live up to Petrino’s standards and create the complete team Petrino envisioned when he returned to this school for a second go-round after coaching UL a decade earlier.
Schedule
The schedule, say what you want about any of the non-conference games, runs through Clemson and Florida State. If Louisville wins both games, it will likely win the ACC Atlantic Division and be a factor in the College Football Playoff. If it splits those games, it will be considered progress for the program. Two losses would be disappointing, though not necessarily unexpected. UL will be an underdog in both games.
Outlook
The Louisville Cardinals are a good team, but they’re not ready to beat Florida State or Clemson straight up. The other issue is that they might not even be good enough to finish better than a team like North Carolina or Miami. A lot of what we’ll see depends on if Lamar Jackson delivers too.
Louisville’s home stadium will be rocking when Florida State visits on September 17th but we’re not expecting a surprise there. And they’ll have a chance to win at Clemson on October 1st, but we’re not banking on that either. They will need a key injury from CU or FSU to win those games. Beyond that, they also have a tough game at Houston on November 17th. The program appears to be heading in the right direction but we’re not expecting them to rise to the top this year.
Projection: 3rd in ACC Atlantic
