Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Ole Miss
ATLANTA - The Louisville Cardinals (0-0, 0-0 ACC) will kick off the 2021 season under the lights and in primetime, heading on down to Atlanta, Ga. to square off with the Ole Miss Rebels (0-0, 0-0 SEC in the annual Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game.
Here are some of the more notable storylines heading into Monday night's game:
Louisville Preparing for Fast Pace
Ole Miss plays at one of the fastest paces in all of college football, thanks in part to the tried and true spread offense ran by head coach Lane Kiffin. They are coming off of a 2020 season in which they ran the fourth-most plays (81.6) and put up the third-most yardage (555.5 YPG) in all off FBS.
"That is what Ole Miss does well, they make you defend the whole field; east, west, north, and south," head coach Scott Satterfield said in his weekly press conference. "They do a good job with that; they utilize their tempo to make the defenses unaware of what's going on because it's happening so fast."
The program has had an entire offseason to prepare for this kind of style, and they have a plan to try and combat this high-octane attack: get lined up, get the call in, and get ready for the next play. It sounds simple, and it's easier said than done, but the Cardinals can greatly increase their chances of victory if they execute in this one area.
"We see it on film, defenses are looking around for all call, they are not where they are supposed to be when the ball is snapped, and then the offense is getting the throw out quickly to the side, or a vertical route," Satterfield said. "That is the number one key for us is alignment."
Matt Corral Presents Early Challenge for Secondary
In just his first season as the full-time starter, in Kiffin's first season with the Rebels, quarterback Matt Corral put the SEC on notice. Starting all 10 games, he completed 70.9 percent of his passes for 3,337 yards and 29 touchdowns - marks that all ranked in the top seven nationally.
"He can make all the throws, he can throw a tight window, and he throws a great deep ball, in addition to being very accurate," Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield said. "He is one of the better quarterbacks in the country, and it's why he's been mentioned up for Heisman (Trophy) recognition, because he makes it all go."
He can not only throw the ball over 60 yards through the air, but has an incredibly quick release to go with it. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound redshirt junior is also adept at deceiving defensive backs with his eyes, and 'seeing' receivers open.
"He does a great job on looking the DB's off," Louisville defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. "He's so quick to come back to his second or third read, that it's like-oh my god, you guys got to make sure you're not out of position with your eyes. He does a great job with that."
On top of the secondary having to stay poised and concentrated, Louisville will have to generate some pressure in the front seven in order to make Corral uncomfortable. The last thing the staff wants is for him to have as much time in the pocket, and that will be difficult due to the speed in which Ole Miss operates.
"We also have to be able to have different packages in on defense, I think that will help our pass rushing ability as well," Satterfield said. "You have to put them in situations where it's a little bit more dropped back so they do hold the ball a little bit longer and now that's where you can create some pressure."
Underrated Rebels Rushing Attack Awaiting Louisville
While Louisville is undoubtedly expecting an onslaught through the air, Ole Miss is far from a one-note offense. Last season, the Rebels averaged 344.9 passing yards per game, which ranked seventh in FBS. On top of that, they also posted 210.6 rushing yards per game, which not only came in at 26th in the nation, but led the FBS.
Most of this effort is spearheaded junior running back Jerrion Ealy, who returns for his junior season in Oxford. In 2020, he rushed for 745 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards per carry in the process. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound back plays much more physical than his frame suggests, and has good overall speed to boot.
"The running game is really good, and it's not just the running back. They motion some receivers in the backfield, running some jet sweeps with them, and doing certain things with the backs and receivers," Louisville defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. "They've done a tremendous job of just putting the guys in position to be able to make plays both with run, as well as the pass."
And it's not just because of the efforts of the guys running the balls. Ole Miss has a pretty solid offensive line, to the point that Brown thinks it could be the most underrated part of the Rebels' entire offense. The stats back up this claim, as most of their run-based offensive line metrics from Football Outsiders were in the top 50 in all of FBS last season.
Cards Not Showing Complacency vs. Ole Miss Defense
As many points as Ole Miss puts up, their defense allows just as much. In fact, that side of the ball was one of the worst in college football last season, surrendering 519.0 yards and 38.3 points per game.
At face value, it seems like Louisville's offense will be able to score at-will against such a porous defense. But even if this was the case, the team is not heading into the matchup with this mindset.
"Complacency is not a thing that we've been thinking about," quarterback Malik Cunningham said. "We know that's a good opponent, great defense led by some good guys. We just got to go in there like every game is the last game, take what the defense gives us, try to limit those mistakes, and capitalize those mistakes that they're going to make."
Cunningham cites their own performance on offense last season as a reasoning to not act like points will just be given to them. Plus, Ole Miss does boast a ton of experience on that side of the ball. Out of the eleven defensive starters listed on their pre-game depth chart, nine are upperclassmen and seven are seniors.
Coaching Staff Placing Emphasis on Little Things
On top of working on execution and fundamentals, the Louisville coaching staff has been placing of heavy emphasis on correcting the little things that build up over the course of a football games.
"One of the things we did this camp also was every night, we we’re showing clips of things that have happened either to us or other teams throughout the last few years, just crazy plays and things that we're just trying to learn," Satterfield said.
Satterfield specifically highlights the field position battle, kicking game and pre-snap penalties. If the Cardinals can start to take the right direction in those areas, he believes it will greatly increase their chance at victory.
Cunningham Becoming More Comfortable as Pocket Passer
As accurate of a passer as quarterback Malik Cunningham is, one knock against him last season was his tendency to make limited reads and want to use his legs to take off. Other than turnovers, that has been the area of his game he has worked on the most.
"This whole camp, there's been kind of a thing they had where I couldn't run outside the pocket if I didn't have to," he said. "I've developed a lot, and I'm good at doing that. It's carried over to fall camp, the rest of our camp and a little bit into the beginning of Ole Miss prep."
Not only has his effort to be more of a pocket passer not been a difficult adjustment, but he likes his newfound view and approach to the offense.
"Staying back there, and looking for stuff down the field in the pocket, and checking the ball down, is something I like doing, and something I want to do," he said.
(Photo of Marshon Ford: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:
Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter - @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram - @louisville_report
You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @GeneralWasp on Twitter
