Cole Bentley not lacking motivation in Miami rematch
Heading into their conference opener against Miami this weekend, the Louisville football program isn't short on motivation to get excited for it. The No. 18 Cardinals (1-0, 0-0 ACC) are ranked in the national polls for the first time since 2017, with ESPN's College GameDay coming along for the ride in anticipation for their ranked matchup against the No. 17 Hurricanes (1-0, 0-0 ACC).
But for several members of the program, including senior center Cole Bentley, redemption also couples into their motivation. Last year, Miami handed Louisville one of their worst losses of the season - a 52-27 shellacking down at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
"Obviously you still have that lingering in your mind from last year," Bentley said Tuesday. "That's kind of something that people still talk about is last year how the game kind of ran away from us. So this year we kind of feel motivated to play better and just have a better game overall."
While the Hurricanes will be sporting different looks on both sides of the ball this time around, they are still a roster loaded with talent such as quarterback D'Eriq King and defensive ends Quincy Roche & Jaelan Phillips.
"They have players that will get looks at the next level," Bentley continued. "So obviously that motivates you to want to play good against them so you can try and get your name out there and create something for that."
Bentley has spent time at multiple positions on the offensive line during his Louisville career, but things started to click for him last season and he now has seven straight starts at center and is playing at a high level. Bentley gives all his credit to offensive coordinator Dwayne Ledford, simply because he believed in him.
"He would sit me down in his office and he would tell me 'Cole, I know you can do it. I know you can do this. You're made for this offense'," Bentley said. "Slowly over time I bought into that, working into that system and developing the traits you need for this type of offense. It's slowly made its way onto the field for me."
No. 18 Louisville is set to host No. 17 Miami on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
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