Numbers to Know: Louisville football 2019
Louisville football ended its 2019 season with a 38-28 victory over Mississippi State in the Music City Bowl Dec. 30. In his first year as the program's head coach, Scott Satterfield was named the ACC Coach of the Year as Louisville returned to postseason play after missing a bowl game in 2018.
8
Louisville’s eight wins is a far cry from its expectation when the team was picked last in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) preseason media poll. After Louisville went 2-10 and winless in conference play last season, the Cardinals placed second in the Atlantic Division with five wins and capped the year with a victory over Mississippi State in the Music City Bowl.
1,525
Javian Hawkins had a phenomenal season, rushing for 1,525 yards as a redshirt freshman. He is the first running back in program history to rush for over 1,500 yards.
With 105 rushing yards against Mississippi State, Hawkins moved to third place on the school’s single season rushing list. He surpassed 100 yards or more in eight games this season.
Hawkins scored nine touchdowns and averaged 117.3 rushing yards per game.
1,276
Tutu Atwell became the first 1,000-yard receiver for Louisville since Harry Douglas in 2007. The sophomore finished with 70 receptions for 1,276 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Atwell broke Douglas’ single-season program record for receiving yards after hauling in nine receptions for 147 yards against Mississippi State. Atwell’s 70 receptions this year is tied for eighth place in program history for catches in a single season.
He had seven games with 100 receiving yards or more, which ties a school record for 100-yard receiving games in a season with Deion Branch, Arnold Jackson and Mark Clayton.
194.45
Micale Cunningham, who was named the MVP of the 2019 Music City Bowl, finished his redshirt sophomore year with a passing efficiency rating of 194.45, the best in school history. Cunningham completed 62.4 percent of his throws for 2,061 yards and 22 touchdowns with five interceptions.
He also ran for 578 yards, which is fourth on the school’s single season list for rushing yards by a quarterback.
500
Louisville averaged 447.3 yards of offense this season, but surpassed 500 yards five times. Louisville finished the season with 510 yards against Mississippi State.
The Cardinals surpassed 600 yards twice, accumulating 664 yards against Boston College and 608 yards against Syracuse, which both ended in victories for Louisville.
246
Louisville’s linebacking core went into the season as the most proven part of its defense. The linebackers were the most productive part of Louisville’s defense this fall.
C.J. Avery had a team-high 93 tackles. Playing the “star position” in Louisville’s 3-4 defense, Rodjay Burns finished with 83 tackles and 11 tackles for a loss. Dorian Etheridge, who started at middle linebacker for all 13 games, had 70 tackles and eight tackles for a loss.
The trio of junior linebackers combined for 246 tackles.
205.8
Louisville allowed 205.8 rushing yards per game against opponents this season. Kentucky rushed for a season-high 517 yards in the final game of the regular season, but the Cardinals showed some signs of improved in the Music City Bowl.
Mississippi State went into the bowl game as the 18 ranked rushing attack nationally, averaging 226.9 yards per game. Kylin Hill was the Southeastern Conference’s leading rusher, but Louisville limited him to three yards on seven carries.
Mississippi State finished with 145 yards in the loss to Louisville.
