Behind Enemy Lines: Five Questions for Wildcats Today's Hunter Shelton
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After getting back on track against NC State to capture their fifth win in six games, the Louisville football program now heads down the road to Lexington, Ky. for the annual Governor's Cup showdown against in-state rival Kentucky.
Ahead of the matchup, Louisville Report sat down with Hunter Shelton of Sports Illustrated's Wildcats Today to find out more about the Wildcats:
1. Kentucky entered the season with fairly high expectations, but this season hasn’t gone nearly as well as many expected. What’s the overall mood of the fanbase and vibe around the program heading into this matchup?
The mood of the fanbase is dissatisfaction. Gone are the days of being satisfied with just making a bowl game in Lexington. Mark Stoops has hit that 10-win threshold twice now, so that’s becoming the new standard, even if it’s not necessarily where the bar should realistically be. That loss to Vandy at home two weeks ago was really a tipping point for a lot of people, as you can imagine. It didn’t go over well either when it came out that Stoops signed his new contract extension the day after the loss to the Commodores. As for the vibe around the program, it’s stayed really high. This roster knows what it’s capable of, and even though things haven’t gone the way they’d like, the confidence hasn’t wavered. When speaking with Stoops, coordinators and the players, you wouldn’t think that the team was 6-5 entering the last week of the regular season.
2. Quarterback Will Levis is regarded as one of the top prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft, but he has struggled at times this season. Why has that been the case?
Superbly high expectations were thrown on Will Levis at the beginning of the season. It’s very fair to say that he has come up well short of those expectations, but to me the blame doesn’t fall on him for the most part. Since the Ole Miss game in early October, Levis has been dealing with injuries, hampering some of his best qualities as a QB, most notably his mobility. The other main issue has been the dreadful offensive line, as Levis has hardly had any clean pockets to work with this season. The stats don’t back it up, but Levis really hasn’t played that bad this year. Not superstar status, but not on the other end of the spectrum, either.
3. Kentucky lost a lot of offensive line production from last season’s team, and they have struggled up all year long. How has that impacted what they want to do on offense, and how do you see them fairing against a Louisville front seven who leads the nation in sacks?
To me, the offensive line is by a mile the biggest issue for Kentucky. It has been all season. The pass protection is abysmal, just to touch on that again. If not for Chris Rodriguez’s powerful running style, the rushing stats would look much worse. There were some questions about the O-line heading into the season, as players moved over from position to position, while others simply don’t have the experience needed to compete in the SEC. Replacing NFL talent like Darian Kinnard and Luke Fortner is a hard task in the first place. If Louisville stacks the box and brings chaotic pressure like they have all season, I see them bringing down Levis at least a few times on Saturday.
4. The Wildcats have one of the best defenses in the nation, but haven’t racked up a lot of sacks and tackles for loss. How have they been able to be so effective without getting consistant pressure in the backfield?
Defensive coordinator Brad White has never been one to dial up a ton of pressure. It’s very intricate and resembles a lot of what you see in the NFL. The linebacker core has been terrific this season, though veterans Jacquez Jones and DeAndre Square are currently banged up. In general, the defense doesn’t give up too many explosive chunk plays. You can get away with nickel and diming, but there won’t be many deep completed passes. It’s your classic, bend-don’t-break style that typically does well in the red zone. Defensive tackle Deone Walker is the main threat for getting to the QB, unless one of the edge backers or corners come for a rare blitz. Against Cunningham, presuming he plays, I don’t see Kentucky getting deep in the UofL backfield too often.
5. If Louisville were to win, what would they have to accomplish or take advantage of?
Most of this boils down to a healthy Cunningham, for me. If you go back and look at the Vandy game, QB Mike Wright, a dual-threat guy, did a ton of damage with his legs and connecting on off-schedule plays, whether it be extending plays on crucial downs by getting a couple of extra yards, or just buying time so his receivers could get open. If Malik is able to resemble that, it should bode well for Louisville. Then staying sharp on defense and winning the turnover battle will be huge. If the Cardinals send that heavy pressure all night, get to Levis and maybe grab one or two interceptions along the way, all signs will point towards a huge road rivalry win for Scott Satterfield. So hurt the Cats on the off-schedule action, sack Levis as much as possible and grab at least two turnovers. If the Cards can check all three of those boxes, I think they can win in Lexington.
(Photo of JuTahn McClain, Ramon Puryear: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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