Behind Enemy Lines: Q&A with Louisville Report on the Cardinals

An look inside at the Cardinals courtesy of Louisville Report's Matt McGavic.

NoleGameday caught up with Matt McGavic of Louisville report, the Louisville site on Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network, to get the inside scoop on the Cardinals. Florida State and Louisville are set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night.

READ MORE: Florida State Seminoles release depth chart for Louisville Cardinals

1. Louisville came up short in its season-opener against fellow divisional foe, Syracuse. After rebounding against UCF, what’s the mood of the team entering this game, and how important is it for the Cardinals not to fall to 0-2 in conference play? 

I’d say it’s probably cautious optimism. The game against Syracuse was abysmal on all fronts: offense, defense, special teams, energy and effort, coaching, all of it. It was so bad that many in the Louisville fanbase wrote off the team just after that one performance. Then they turn around and not only look much better, especially on defense, but they outright win against a good UCF team. This upcoming game is huge, because we’re not entirely sure which performance is closer to who Louisville is.

Was the Syracuse game the outlier? Or was it the UCF game? This matchup will most likely set the tone for the remainder of the year. 

2. Moving into his fourth season as the starting quarterback at Louisville, what are the expectations for Malik Cunningham this season? What’s the best way for a defense to limit his effectiveness? 

Over the offseason, Louisville made a concerted effort to work on Cunningham’s abilities as a pocket passer. In the first game against Syracuse, he seemed pretty uncomfortable staying in the pocket, and looked extremely hesitant to run. At UCF, he looked much more like his normal dual-threat self, although still a bit rusty through the air. Moving forward, Louisville is figuring out the perfect way to balance his natural running ability, and their newfound efforts to maximize his effectiveness as a passer. While he has done well under pressure in the past, it seems that early in the season, it has gotten to him a bit. Especially with the offensive line not dominating like they were expected to. 

3. The Cardinals are integrating a few new skill players into the lineup this season. Tight end Marshon Ford has been around for a while but who are some players that Florida State fans should be looking out for? 

The most impactful transfer for Louisville so far has to be former Tennessee running back Tiyon Evans. There were some conversations during camp that running back would be by committee, but so far, Evans has received the vast majority of snaps, and has looked very good so far with his combination of size and speed. He hasn’t been perfect though, and has sometimes struggled to hit the right holes, so expect other RBs to get some snaps as well. 

Through the air, Central Arkansas transfer wide receiver Tyler Hudson has also looked good. He might be an FCS transfer, but he has really good body control and a wide catch radius. 

4. Louisville has surrendered 208 yards on the ground in each of its first two games. The Seminoles come into Friday’s game with three capable running backs. How will the Cardinals try to have more success against the run defensively? 

They absolutely have to get more push up front. They struggled through the first five quarters of the year to get penetration and pressure in the backfield, but it started to materialize against UCF. ILBs MoMo Sanogo and Monty Montgomery did a good job at attacking gaps, while YaYa Diaby looked good setting the edge. 

That being said, All-ACC OLB Yasir Abdullah has been extremely quiet through the first two games of the year, and if Louisville wants to have any success containing the ground game, he has to get more involved. 

5. What do the Cardinals have to do to win the game, and conversely, what would lead to them losing the game? 

They have to play cleaner football. They haven’t been that great on third down and in the red zone, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that they have committed 19 penalties over the first two games. Several of them came on either came on third down, or gifted the opposing offenses automatic first downs. Louisville was almost lucky to beat UCF, considering they committed 12 penalties that game. If they stop shooting themselves in the foot, that will give them the best chance to win.

READ MORE: Former Penn State running back enrolls at Florida State

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