Louisville Hoping to Regroup and Rebound at Home vs. Virginia
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A lot was on the line in Louisville's most recent game at Wake Forest. The Cardinals went into Winston-Salem with a three-game win streak for their best start under head coach Scott Satterfield, and had the potential to take control over the Atlantic Division with a win.
Some self-inflicted mistakes, another mid-game drought, and some questionable officiating later, Louisville wound up falling just short of their goal against the Demon Deacons. Their 37-34 certainly left a bitter taste in their mouth, but the program is looking forward to correcting the course and re-inserting themselves in the division race, when they return to Cardinal Stadium this Saturday to face Virginia.
"We are looking forward to hosting them this weekend and coming back and trying to get back on track in this ACC race because it is wide open," Satterfield said. "If you look at it, every team has a loss except for four teams and we just started ACC play. There is a lot of ball left and it is very competitive in this league as we have seen."
Louisville might have opened as the home favorite against the Cavaliers, but earning a victory certainly won't come easy. Led by quarterback Brennan Armstrong, the Hoos boast one of the most efficient passing attacks in all of FBS. Virginia averages the second-most passing yards per game with 398.0, as part of an overall offense that comes in at seven in the nation with 526.0 yards per game.
"(Armstrong) can throw the football well; he is a very accurate passer with a great catchable ball," Satterfield said. "They have some guys to throw it to as well; really good wide receivers, a big tight end that is about 6’ 7”, and a little slot receiver that can run all over the place."
On the other side of the ball, Virginia has definitely left much to be desired. The Cavaliers are giving up 27.6 points and 412.8 yards per game, both of which rank in the bottom four of the league. But even as inept as they have been at times on defense, Satterfield is still taking them seriously.
"Defensively, they have done a lot different things on defense these last few games," he said. "Against Wake Forest, they ran a lot of four-down, but with everyone else it has been a lot of three down technique. They have multiple defensive looks, so it will be a big challenge for us."
Not only is Louisville tasked with facing a worthy ACC opponent, but also trying to mentally refocus from a tough loss against Wake Forest. But, as always, Satterfield and the rest of the coaching staff has continued to instill a "control what you can control" mentality, and not worry about things like officiating or injuries.
"We have to get to continue to play the next play and move forward," he said. "It is frustrating at times, obviously, we're all human. That creeps in, and we have to guard against it, because that doesn't do us any good. You get frustrated and you get upset, and you can’t play the next play. We’ve got to continue to fight, and do the best we can.”
Kickoff vs. Virginia is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 9 at 3:00 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Jalen Mitchell: Geoff Burke - USA TODAY Sports)
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