Any visiting Louisville fans here who could give a breakdown on your team?
- Thread starter pitt-girl
- Start date
From what I have seen, typical Petrino; more pro-style, downfield passing attack. Although they have a frosh QB who can run and likes to do read-option stuff with him. I think they tend to stick with the pro style stuff but will put the frosh in if drives are starting to stall out. I don't think they are as high powered as UNC or ND, but will probably still give us fits, since even Syracuse QB did.
I've posted a few bits and pieces in other threads. I will pull all of them together in a hopefully coherent summary here:
The UofL offense has been less than mediocre, except for the last two games. The offensive line lost three players to the NFL last season and the replacements have struggled for most of the year. Also, the youth at QB has contributed to the lack of consistent production at the QB spot, hampering the entire offense.
The coaches have settled on redshirt sophomore Kyle Bolin (#14) as the starter at QB for the last two weeks against Syracuse and Virginia. Prior to that, true freshman Lamar Jackson (#8) started games two through . Bolin is a pocket passer with modest arm strength and athleticism, but he does know the offense very well, is accurate with his passes and makes quick decisions. Jackson has the same type of elite speed as Michael Vick and a cannon for an arm, but needs to learn the offense.
UofL will almost certainly use Jackson to run the read option against Pitt, as they have done the last two weeks with great success. Against Virginia, Jackson came in to run the read option and kept the ball on his first attempt, running for 45 yards. Later in the game, he handed off to the running back who ran for 31 yards, setting up another touchdown.
Also against Virginia, our third string quarterback Reggie Bonnafon #7 (who started against Auburn) had a halfback option pass for a TD. He is now used as a triple threat QB/RB/WR. He’s not as fast as Jackson, but he still has very good speed. We have a group of mostly young and mostly very tall wide receivers, and two very good pass catching tight ends.
We have had troubles with turnovers and sacks allowed. Our defense generates a lot of sacks and turnovers, but we are -1 in turnover margin and we have given up more sacks than we have ourselves – two things which are not typically characteristic of a Petrino team.
On defense, my Cards are tough to run on up the middle. DT Sheldon Rankins (#98) is being projected as a first round pick in 2016. NT DeAngelo Brown (#97) may also go pro this year. They both command a lot of attention from the offensive line. Behind those two is junior MLB Keith Kelsey (#55). He is freed up to make a lot of tackles, and he does. DE Trevon Young (#91) is a great athlete who has capitalized on the attention shown to Rankins and Brown to rack up a bunch of sacks this year.
Teams have had the most success running stretch plays and sweeps on us. Young and the other DE (Devonte Fields #92) have not set the edge particularly well this year. Plus when teams get to the edge, our DBs tackling in space is not nearly to the level of what we had under Coach Strong (more on that in a bit).
We are one of the top teams in the nation as far as intercepting passes is concerned. All of the defensive backs seem to have great hands - very few drops when they are in position to intercept the ball. DC Todd Grantham really drills his defensive backs with many reps in this area. Plus, he has a reputation for being one of the best at disguising coverages, which helps create opportunities.
The DBs are weaker in tackling, which accounts for some big plays given up. Both of Wake Forest's TDs were due to the Wake QB throwing the ball over the CBs head and the safety then missing the tackle (taking the cornerback out of the play in the process).
We do have a low rank in red zone efficiency defense, but we counteract that by allowing a really low number of red zone possessions. So there you go.... We do have a good defense - not the 85 Bears, but definitely still a lot of great players left from when Coach Strong was here.
We are pretty solid in the kicking game, with a senior placekicker (who also kicks off) and senior punter. The punter has a very strong leg, while the placekicker just set the UofL record for most field goals in his career. He doesn’t have a super strong leg, but he is pretty accurate. In addition to the problems we have had blocking on offense, we have also had some trouble in special teams – field goals and punts have been blocked. Boston College returned a blocked punt for TD against us.
Pitt and UofL should be a great matchup of two teams peaking late in the year
The UofL offense has been less than mediocre, except for the last two games. The offensive line lost three players to the NFL last season and the replacements have struggled for most of the year. Also, the youth at QB has contributed to the lack of consistent production at the QB spot, hampering the entire offense.
The coaches have settled on redshirt sophomore Kyle Bolin (#14) as the starter at QB for the last two weeks against Syracuse and Virginia. Prior to that, true freshman Lamar Jackson (#8) started games two through . Bolin is a pocket passer with modest arm strength and athleticism, but he does know the offense very well, is accurate with his passes and makes quick decisions. Jackson has the same type of elite speed as Michael Vick and a cannon for an arm, but needs to learn the offense.
UofL will almost certainly use Jackson to run the read option against Pitt, as they have done the last two weeks with great success. Against Virginia, Jackson came in to run the read option and kept the ball on his first attempt, running for 45 yards. Later in the game, he handed off to the running back who ran for 31 yards, setting up another touchdown.
Also against Virginia, our third string quarterback Reggie Bonnafon #7 (who started against Auburn) had a halfback option pass for a TD. He is now used as a triple threat QB/RB/WR. He’s not as fast as Jackson, but he still has very good speed. We have a group of mostly young and mostly very tall wide receivers, and two very good pass catching tight ends.
We have had troubles with turnovers and sacks allowed. Our defense generates a lot of sacks and turnovers, but we are -1 in turnover margin and we have given up more sacks than we have ourselves – two things which are not typically characteristic of a Petrino team.
On defense, my Cards are tough to run on up the middle. DT Sheldon Rankins (#98) is being projected as a first round pick in 2016. NT DeAngelo Brown (#97) may also go pro this year. They both command a lot of attention from the offensive line. Behind those two is junior MLB Keith Kelsey (#55). He is freed up to make a lot of tackles, and he does. DE Trevon Young (#91) is a great athlete who has capitalized on the attention shown to Rankins and Brown to rack up a bunch of sacks this year.
Teams have had the most success running stretch plays and sweeps on us. Young and the other DE (Devonte Fields #92) have not set the edge particularly well this year. Plus when teams get to the edge, our DBs tackling in space is not nearly to the level of what we had under Coach Strong (more on that in a bit).
We are one of the top teams in the nation as far as intercepting passes is concerned. All of the defensive backs seem to have great hands - very few drops when they are in position to intercept the ball. DC Todd Grantham really drills his defensive backs with many reps in this area. Plus, he has a reputation for being one of the best at disguising coverages, which helps create opportunities.
The DBs are weaker in tackling, which accounts for some big plays given up. Both of Wake Forest's TDs were due to the Wake QB throwing the ball over the CBs head and the safety then missing the tackle (taking the cornerback out of the play in the process).
We do have a low rank in red zone efficiency defense, but we counteract that by allowing a really low number of red zone possessions. So there you go.... We do have a good defense - not the 85 Bears, but definitely still a lot of great players left from when Coach Strong was here.
We are pretty solid in the kicking game, with a senior placekicker (who also kicks off) and senior punter. The punter has a very strong leg, while the placekicker just set the UofL record for most field goals in his career. He doesn’t have a super strong leg, but he is pretty accurate. In addition to the problems we have had blocking on offense, we have also had some trouble in special teams – field goals and punts have been blocked. Boston College returned a blocked punt for TD against us.
Pitt and UofL should be a great matchup of two teams peaking late in the year
Similar threads
