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Louisville Football 2022 Season Preview

With the 2022 college football season on the horizon, let's take a look at what we should expect from this year's iteration of Louisville Cardinals football.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The long and tortuous offseason is almost over, and the 2022 college football season is just around the corner. Week Zero gets underway this Saturday, with most programs in Division I returning to the gridiron next weekend. For the University of Louisville football program, they are gearing up for a crucial year under head coach Scott Satterfield.

After going 8-5 in 2019 in Satterfield's first year, the Cardinals have had back-to-back disappointing campaigns, going 4-7 in 2020 and 6-7 last season. The end of their 2021 campaign, where Louisville was destroyed by rival Kentucky at home then fell to Air Force in the First Responder Bowl, even had many in the fanbase questioning if Satterfield should return.

Related: 2022 Louisville Schedule and Results

However, Satterfield and Co. have had a tremendous offseason. Not only were able to drum up buzz ahead of the upcoming season, this is a team who could make some noise in the ACC. Louisville replaced departing assistant coaches with ones who have legitimate Power Five backgrounds, they landed several high-caliber players through the transfer portal at positions of need, and have been experiencing unprecedented success out of the recruiting trail.

That all being said, this is very much a "prove it" type of year for Satterfield, and he needs to win. Fortunately for him, whenever taking a deeper dive into this team, you can make the case that it is the most talented top-to-bottom Louisville team since the end of the Charlie Strong era.

Related: Louisville's Complete 2022 Player Roster

A Look at the Offense

Ever since Satterfield took over the Cardinals, they have developed a reputation of having one of the better offenses not only in the ACC, but in FBS. Last year was no exception, as Louisville went on to feature a top-25 offense in terms of yardage (446.2 YPG). It was a little one-sided, with the passing offensive (236.4 YPG) coming in at 65th in FBS and the rushing offense (209.8 YPG) ranking 22nd, but it was still potent nonetheless.

While that side of the ball greatly improved in their ability to not give away the football, they faltered in another aspect: situational football. Throw in a third down conversion rate (40.0%) that ranked 63rd in FBS and a much lower scoring average in the second half/fourth quarter compared to the first half, and Louisville only scored 31.6 points per game, good for 41st in FBS.

To address this, Satterfield made a splash hire in the offseason. After operating with an offensive-coordinator-by-committee approach last year, he brought in Notre Dame running backs coach Lance Taylor to be his OC and wide receivers coach. Taylor has wide-ranging experience in football, ranging from coaching two Heisman Trophy finalists at Stanford to coaching wide receivers in the NFL. While Satterfield will still be the play caller, Taylor's addition now only allows the offense to be more streamlined, but adds a plethora of experience.

Taylor and Satterfield certainly will have plenty to work with on offense, starting with one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in Division I. Fresh off a season where he averaged 305.5 offensive yards per game (14th in FBS) and was a passing touchdown short of joining the 20/20 club, Malik Cunningham is back for his final year in college. Whether it's with his arm or his legs, Cunningham will be a problem for opposing defenses in the ACC - as long as he's healthy.

Not only does Louisville have one of the nation's most underrated signal callers, one who many consider a dark horse candidate for the Heisman Trophy, he has a spectacular offensive line in front of him. The O-Line had a bit of slow start last season, but by season's end, they finished 25th in sacks allowed (1.54) and 31st in tackles for loss allowed (4.77). Not to mention that they bring back four starters from last year, a few key depth pieces, and are anchored by a preseason All-American in left guard Caleb Chandler. You can make the argument that this is the best offensive line in the ACC.

Adding to the offense's overall potency, the running back room for Louisville is the deepest it's ever been under Satterfield. Jalen Mitchell and Trevion Cooley are back (combined for 1,151 yards), who were the top two backs in the rotation last season, while also adding Tennessee's Tiyon Evans to the mix. That gives Louisville three backs who could start at most places in the Power Five, and also have depth pieces like Jawhar Jordan and Maurice Turner.

The one big question on this side of the line of scrimmage is, once again, at wide receiver. Jordan Watkins, Tyler Harrell and Justin Marshall all entered the portal, meaning that Louisville lost three of their top four wideouts in terms of production. This is also an area where the Cardinals hit the transfer portal hard, bringing in Central Arkansas' Tyler Hudson - who has drawn rave reviews in the spring and fall - as well as Miami's Dee Wiggins.

With Ahmari Huggins-Bruce having a solid freshman campaign and Braden Smith seemingly healthy after suffering a gruesome knee injury early last season, Louisville appears to have a good starting crop of receivers. It's just an incredibly thin room with not a ton of continuity. However, bringing back preseason All-ACC tight end Marshon Ford - who lead the team in receptions and yards last year - will help the newcomers settle into a role.

In-Depth Offensive Position Breakdowns:

A Look at the Defense

The offense for Louisville was undoubtedly their strength last season, although it was far from perfect. But on the other side of the ball, the defense is what played a larger role in Louisville ultimately going 6-7 and not flipping many of their one-score losses. By season's end, the Cardinals finished with the No. 84 defense in FBS at 403.3 yards per game surrendered.

Like the offense, the defense also suffered with situational football, but at a much higher clip. While Louisville only allowed teams to convert 37.6 percent of their third downs, a mark that ranks 53rd in FBS, they placed 115th out of 130 teams in first downs allowed at 292. Not to mention that red zone defense was near non-existent, ranking 110th at 89.8 percent.

But like on offense, Satterfield addressed this as well, adding Florida secondary coach Wesley McGriff to be the Cardinals' co-defensive coordinator alongside Bryan Brown. "Coach Crime" has extensive experience and success in the SEC, having been at Florida, Auburn and Ole Miss since 2016. He also has NFL experience with the New Orleans Saints, and is a good recruiter to boot. At minimum, it gives the defense a different set of eyes to help make the right play call, which could pay massive dividends considering the extensive three-man rushes UofL saw to open up the 2021 season.

The strength of this defense, at least right now, is undoubtedly in the linebacking corps. After posting the best season by a Louisville pass rusher in nearly a decade (17.5 TFL, 10.0 sacks), OLB Yasir Abdullah is back for another year. Considering the individual talent Louisville will have in the front seven in 2022, that could make way for him to have an even better season.

Plus, ILB and defensive x-factor Monty Montgomery is back and fully healthy after suffering an early-season ACL tear, and Louisville was able to replace the departing C.J. Avery with Ole Miss transfer MoMo Sanogo, who has also drawn rave reviews in camp. The only question mark in this group is at the CARD outside linebacker spot, but there are solid options between Benjamin Perry, Marvin Dallas and Jacksonville State transfer Nicario Harper.

The defensive line for Louisville has been a weakness on this side of the ball for several years now, but there is optimism that it will be vastly improved in 2022. It all starts in the middle after the program added Arizona State transfer Jermayne Lole, a nose tackle with very high NFL upside. Plus, Dezmond Tell has bulked up a lot over the offseason, and has been giving Lole a run for his money in camp.

Defensive end YaYa Diaby could be in line for a breakout season following some offseason bulking, and his teammate on the edge in Ashton Gillotte looked phenomenal as a true freshman in 2021. Plus, guys like Ramon Puryear, Mason Reiger and Ryheem Craig give them some depth on the edge. This might finally be the year that Louisville gets consistant pressure from the defensive line.

The secondary is the biggest question mark for the defense. The turnover at corner and safety wasn't nearly as bad as it was last offseason, but Louisville still had the 95th-ranked passing defense last year at 245.6 passing yards allowed per game. For context, they has the 17th-ranked pass defense (189.2 PYPG) in 2020.

But there are individual pieces in the secondary with both talent and potential. Namely, Louisville got All-ACC corner Kei'Trel Clark to come back after he suffered a season-ending knee injury, as well as safeties Kenderick Duncan and Josh Minkins, who are the projected starters. Returners like Chandler Jones and Trey Franklin offer some depth, but they will need to show more.

And that's not even counting the newcomers to the secondary, all of whom have drawn massive praise in fall camp. CB Quincy Riley led the nation in interceptions per game last year at Middle Tennessee State, CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr. had the best fall camp on the defense after coming over from Florida State, and safety M.J. Griffin has been praised since spring ever since he came over from Temple. It will all have to come together on the field, but there is individual talent and depth in the secondary.

In-Depth Defensive Position Breakdowns:

A Look at the Special Teams

Louisville is entering the new season with a heated battle at kicker. After going 13-of-15 on field goals as a true freshman in 2020, James Turner was just 14-of-22 last season. Satterfield stated that there is an ongoing competition between and Brock Travelstead, who saw some late season action, and that a starter had yet to be named. Over at punter, there is a little more consistency. As a 26-year-old true freshman, Mark Vassett averaged 41.8 yards per punt last season.

Related: In-Depth Special Teams Breakdown

Bottom Line

In the preseason, Louisville was voted to finish fourth in the Atlantic Division, behind Clemson, NC State and Wake Forest. It's a reasonable placement given the state of the three aforementioned teams, but this is a team that has potential to climb the division ladder.

Louisville will have to get better when it comes to situational football, and be able to finish games down the stretch. However, the program made coaching hires that are reflective of their intent to do so, and have a large amount of individual talent spread relatively evenly across the roster. It all just has to come together, which isn't guaranteed.

Considering this is a backloaded schedule, it will all come down to how Louisville starts the year, and if they can carry that momentum throughout the season. If they can come through on a lot of the early 50/50 games (at UCF, vs. FSU) and take down teams they're supposed to take down (USF, James Madison), they can potentially parlay that into success against the tougher teams in the second half of the year. It won't be easy, but it's doable.

In terms of what to expect from this team from a win/loss standpoint, 7-5 or 8-4 seems to be the consensus. Anything less is a failure, and anything more is obviously a success, and can set up Louisville for even greater things to come down the line given the recruiting tear they're on.

(Photo of Louie: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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