Louisville Working to Fix Energy and Effort Deficiency Ahead of UCF Matchup

In their season opener against Syracuse, the Cardinals were severely lacking in their overall intensity against the Orange.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In their first game of the 2022 season against Syracuse, there was very little little that the Louisville football program did right. The offense looked disjointed for most of the night, the defense failed to capitalize on nearly every opportunity thrown their way, and the schematic approach by coaches on both side of the line of scrimmage was questionable at times. By all counts, it was a total systems failure for the Cardinals.

Related: In Loss to Syracuse, Louisville Suffers Worse-Case Scenario Start to New Season

Louisville played about as poorly as you could on both sides of the football. That being said, the on-field production and overall lack of execution was not the most disheartening part about the game. It was something that was fairly noticeable within the first few series’ of the contest: a very clear energy and effort discrepancy between the Cardinals and Orange.

"Give credit to Syracuse. They came out and played really well, and we did not. We did not match that intensity. We got to do better," head coach Scott Satterfield said during his weekly pre-game press conference Tuesday.

This comment isn't far off-base. Even through the television broadcast, you could tell that Syracuse was the more motivated team from almost the jump. The Orange had more energy on the sideline, they played a lot harder than Louisville no matter what unit was on the field, and they seemed wholly unprepared to play in a raucous environment such as the JMA Wireless Dome. Quarterback Malik Cunningham summarized it best in the post-game press conference: "they wanted it more."

By the end of the game, the night-and-day difference in the energy and effort department, coupled with some early momentum and a loud home crowd, made itself known on the scoreboard and box score. Louisville ultimately fell 31-7, and were out-gained 449 to 334 by Syracuse.

"We got to match more energy," Satterfield said. "I thought they came out with a lot of energy, Syracuse did. That crowd was loud and electric in there. Then they got some good things going too for them, so it just made that a little bit more."

As soon as the team returned to Louisville from upstate New York, they immediately got back to work in an attempt to remedy the issues that plagued them against Syracuse, namely the lack of energy and effort. While the Cardinals didn't have a full-blown player's-only meeting, some of the leaders and veterans on both sides of the ball, according to Satterfield, got together in an attempt to figure what exactly happened that led to them to getting blown out by the Orange.

Satterfield also noted that Monday's practice was "more upbeat," carried a lot more "focus and intent," and was categorized as a "very good practice."

"I think the guys bounced back really well," he said. "I think they're disappointed, and they realized we got to practice better, we got to get a better plan in and we got to go execute that plan. A lot of it's just mental. Get your mind made up and go do anything they could do to make themselves better."

To most in the Louisville fanbase, Satterfield raving about practice on the heels of a blowout might sound eerily similar to how former head coach Bobby Petrino sounded on a weekly basis during the 2018 season - one where the Cardinals finished the year at 2-10.

If Satterfield and his program are truly dedicated to turning things around from their poor week one showing, and not replicating the results from his predecessor, they're going to have to do so in a hurry. Another stout road test is looming large.

Over the last several years, UCF has developed a reputation for being one of the most prolific offensive teams in all of college football. The start of year two under head coach Gus Malzahn seems to be no exception. While the Knights did play an FCS foe in South Carolina State, they lit up the scoreboard to the tune of 63-14, and out-gained the Bulldogs 600-91.

Not to mention that UCF, like Syracuse, has an incredible home field advantage. Since 2017, the Knights have a 31-2 record at home, with both losses coming in their 2020 season. Plus, like the JMA Wireless Dome, FBC Mortgage Stadium gets incredibly loud and boisterous. In fact, the stadium was nicknamed, and for a while formally known as, the "Bounce House" because of how much it vibrates and shakes when fans all jump together.

With how laser-focused UCF looked in their season-opener compared to Louisville, Satterfield knows that his Cardinals can ill-afford another showing like they had against Syracuse. Louisville must be ready to leave it all out on the field, and at a bare minimum, act like they want to actually be there.

"We have to match the intensity, and the energy, and the physicality of the football game," he said. "You just can't show up, and go out there and think you're gonna play well in a football game. In this day and age, anybody will beat you. Anybody. You got to bring that intensity, then match that with whoever you're playing, and bring it every single time.

"I was disappointed in that last week. We got to bring it. We got to have that every time we're on the field. Hopefully we learned that last week, and we'll bring it this week."

Kickoff between the Cardinals and the Knights is set for Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. EST.

(Photo via Mark Konezny - USA TODAY Sports)

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