Five Louisville Records That Could Fall in 2020
At this point, everybody knows about the turnaround that Louisville Football experienced in 2019. After going 2-10 the season before, first year head coach Scott Satterfield and his staff helped guide the Cardinals to an 8-5 record including a Music City Bowl win vs. Mississippi State.
Most of the turnaround was due to the offense's performance. Louisville put up 33.1 points and 447.3 yards per game, both of which were Top 30 marks in FBS.
On top of that, a few school records were broken along the way. Quarterback Micale Cunningham's passing efficiency of 194.79, wide receiver Tutu Atwell's 1,276 receiving yards and running back Javian Hawkins' 1,525 rushing yards all set single-season Louisville records.
Heading into year two of Satterfield's system while retaining nearly every starter and position coach, it's hard to envision the Cards taking a step back in 2020. As a result more records could possibly fall, and here are five candidates for records most likely to be broken this upcoming season:
Consecutive 100-Yard Rushing Games
Quarterback Lamar Jackson set numerous records in his time as a Cardinal, many of which might not be broken for a long time. However one of his records could be broken just in the first half of the 2020 season. Jackson currently holds the record for most consecutive 100-yard rushing games with seven, doing so from Oct. 14 to Dec. 30, 2017. The reason this could fall so quickly is because redshirt sophomore Javian Hawkins already has an active streak of three games spanning back to last season. It won't be easy to break the record though. Louisville begins the season by hosting WKU & Miami, then go on the road to face Pitt, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame.
Passing Touchdowns in a Season
A season ago, redshirt junior quarterback Micale Cunningham didn't even start the first two games of the season, battled injuries throughout most of the year - and still threw for 22 touchdowns, which ranks 11th in school history. He already set the school mark for passing efficiency, so why can't another record topple at the hands of Cunningham? If he stays healthy, he has a great chance to break the single-season touchdown mark of 31, set by Teddy Bridgewater in 2013.
Yards per Reception in a Season
Out of all the breakout players that Louisville had in 2019, now junior wide receiver Tutu Atwell was arguably the most explosive. Not only did he break Louisville's single-season receiving yards record with 1,276, but he also tied the single-season touchdown record with 12. His yards per reception mark of 18.2 came in second in Louisville history, just short of Mark Clayton's record of 21.0 set in 1982 (min. 50 receptions). With the entire offense becoming more comfortable in year two of the system, it's possible that Atwell could give Clayton a run for his money.
100-Yard Rushing & Receiving Games in a Season
Last season, Javian Hawkins & Tutu Atwell became Louisville's first 1,000 yard rushing/receiving duo in twenty years. As you can expect there were games where both had 100 yards in their respective category, doing so four times. The Cards also had four 100-yard rushing & receiving games in 1999, 2003, 2016 & 2017. However, the 1998 team holds the record with five in a season. With how explosive and dynamic this current offense is, it would not be shocking to see this record fall.
Kickoff Return Yards in a Season
When everything is said and done, it's hard to imagine Hassan Hall NOT breaking some sort of kick return/all-purpose yardage record. The junior already ranks sixth all-time with 1,611 kickoff yards, and has the 6th (818 in 2018) & 8th (793 in 2019) most kickoff return yards in a single season. Considering the record holder of 914 by Trent Guy in 2009 is less than 100 yards away from Hall's highest mark and he battled injuries at times in 2019, a completely healthy Hall could very well break this record.
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:
Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter - @LouisvilleOnSI and Matthew McGavic at @GeneralWasp
