Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. James Madison

The Cardinals' second half effort powered them to a decisive victory over the Dukes, ensuring a bowl berth in the process.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Fresh off of their emotional win over then-No. 10 Wake Forest, the Louisville football program used a dominant second half effort to overcome a sluggish first half, taking down James Madison 34-10 this past Saturday at Cardinal Stadium.

Before we close the book on the game and transition to the matchup at Clemson, I wanted to provide some closing thoughts and observations from the game:

• First of all, it was great to see that Louisville didn't treat James Madison as a guaranteed win. Not that there was any doubt that they would look over the Dukes considering what happened against Boston College, but it was good to see that their effort and and energy was there from the get go. I say that because, like with Wake Forest, don't let the final score fool you. James Madison is a solid football team, and the main reason that the Dukes didn't come closer to covering the spread was because they simply don't have the bodies to compete against Power Five competition. Don't get me wrong, Louisville likely still wins this game even if JMU does have depth. But this was a team that if overlooked, especially with Clemson on the horizon, could have taken down the Cardinals and ended their winning streak. They have come a long, long way this season both in terms of their on-field performance and their mentality, and they're going bowling because of it.
• I'll start with the offense first. For the most part, I thought it was a pretty good game plan against what was a statistically great defense. JMU's front seven is much smaller than any other team they have faced, so I liked the run-heavy plan of attack with running backs Tiyon Evans and Jawhar Jordan. Plus, it seems that head coach Scott Satterfield has finally started to utilize the middle of the field with guys like wide receiver Tyler Hudson and tight end Marshon Ford, which is what they should have been doing from the beginning. The passing game still isn't great overall, but it's starting to get better. However, there were some head scratchers as well, such as the decision to go for it on 4th down on their second drive, and some of the red zone play calling (which I'll get into later).
• I've often been critical of quarterback Malik Cunningham this year, but I have to give him credit, he made plays when they mattered most. He overcame a bit of a shaky first half and looked much more poised after halftime. On Louisville's first drive of the fourth quarter that ended with the touchdown that essentially iced the game, he made two elite plays to Hudson. His fake on the play-action that resulted in a 19-yard throw was incredible, and the 44-yard score two plays was an absolute strike. He not only climbed the pocket, but delivered the ball to Hudson in stride, allowing his to get the RAC yardage. This is why Cunningham has been so frustrating in the past: the potential is there, but he has been wildly inconsistent for most of the season. Maybe this is the game that gets him going from a passing perspective down the stretch.
• I do want to address something here regarding Cunningham. I do think that he does have the tendency to keep the ball way, way too many times on option plays. This is especially true in the red zone. While he did play hero ball down in this area a couple times, after re-watching the game, I think this was more so a problem with the play calling itself. I'll use their final drive of the first half as an example. Facing 1st and goal at the 4, the first play is a read option, but Jordan is about to get blasted, so he actually made the correct read in keeping the ball. 2nd and 10 is... a quarterback draw. 3rd and 10 is a play action, and while Cunningham does start to run after a couple quick reads, the two outside receivers on the play are just running go routes. That's not a good play calling. Cunningham does deserve some criticism for Louisville's inability to get the passing game going in this area of the field, but so does Satterfield.
• I've said a couple times this season that, because of the talent in the RB room, the carries need to spread out a little but more. But after watching that game, I think it's obvious that Evans needs to continue being the lead back. He ran insanely hard in that game, showing no fear when running up the middle and refusing to go down. His 71-yard rushing score not only showcased his top end speed, but his incredible ball carrier vision and cut back ability. Of course, Jordan and his ability to cut on a dime deserve proper recognition as well. The duo combined to rush for well over quadruple what JMU had been allowing per game, and this was on a night where the offensive line was below average in both the run and pass blocking department.
• The James Madison game might have finally been the coming out party that we have been waiting on for Hudson. He's shown his incredible catch radius at times this season, but in this game, he was able to put on display his ability to run after the catch as well. And he finally got his first FBS touchdown! Had it not been for Josh Downs and A.T Perry's games, he'd probably be ACC WR of the Week.
• That final touchdown to Ahmari Huggins-Bruce was amazing. Louisville was already up by 17 with just under seven minutes to go, but it seemed like Satterfield wanted to stick it to James Madison considering the skirmish that had just occurred a few minutes before. It almost reminded me of how Bobby Petrino used to run up the score in his first stint.
• Now onto the defense. I'll admit, I was a little bit surprised to see James Madison come out and run almost no tempo. Their game plan was to run, run and run some more in an effort to simply keep the ball out of Louisville's hands. Outside of a couple early drives where JMU running back Percy Agyei-Obese got going, Louisville's front seven did a really good job at thwarting this game plan. What was really impressive about the performance was that it was mostly Louisville winning one-on-one battles at the line of scrimmage. Last week against Wake Forest, defensive coordinator Bryan Brown dialed up a lot of exotic blitz packages to get pressure, but this week, that wasn't needed. Sure, Louisville only tallied four tackles for loss and no sacks, but they held the Dukes to just 3.8 yards per play and 193 yards overall. 
• What a second half performance from the defense. After allowing 144 yards in the first half, JMU could only muster 49 yards in the entire second half. Four of the Dukes' six second half drives went three-and-out, while the other two were a missed 52-yard field goal and a six-play drive that ended in a punt. Incredible second half performances have been key during this four-game winning streak, and the defense is the biggest reason for it. I think this team has finally shed their reputation of not being able to finish out games.
• Not many defensive players stood out from a statistical standpoint as it was more so a team-wide effort, but boy did inside linebacker MoMo Sanogo stand out. He was flying all over the field, with his 13 total tackles and five solo tackles both being double what the next Louisville defender, M.J. Griffin, had. He was instrumental in setting the tone against the run. Also, Jarvis Brownlee deserves a shout out as well for his three pass breakups.
• One last note before I wrap this up: you can't convince me that there was something bugging quarterback Todd Centeio. JMU head coach Curt Cignetti said he wasn't dealing with any lingering effects, but the touch on his passes was not there and he didn't look explosive as a runner either. Oh well, that's football for you.
• I'll close with this thought: James Madison had trap game written all over it. Louisville could have easily looked past them with Clemson coming up, but they learned their lesson from Boston College, and that resulted in a decisive win against a team that could have very easily caught them off guard. Now they have the most momentum they're ever had under Satterfield, and with how vulnerable Clemson looks right now, it's not outrageous to say that Louisville has a legitimate shot to take down the Tigers. It won't be easy, but it's possible.

(Photo of Tyler Hudson: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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