Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. Duke

The Cardinals are going bowling for the second time under Scott Satterfield thanks to an absolute beatdown of Duke.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Behind a career performance from Malik Cunningham, Louisville wrapped up ACC play in style, delivering a beatdown of Duke in Durham, N.C.

Before we close the book on the game and transition to the Battle of the Bluegrass against Kentucky, I wanted to provide some closing thoughts and observations from the game:

• First of all, what a change of tune around this program. During their 1-4 stretch, where Louisville could not hold onto a fourth quarter lead to save their life, it was hard to truly get excited about *anything* surrounding this team. The buzz was almost completely dead. Now, in just two weeks time, the narrative has completely shifted, and the fanbase has seemingly been invigorated by the performances in the last two weeks. Granted, Syracuse and Duke are the the cream of the crop in the ACC, but it was refreshing to watch Louisville lay the wood, and not ease up off the gas for the entirety of not one, but two straight games.
• Have a day, Malik Cunningham. Fans need to appreciate what they're witnessing, because when everything is all said and done, he could wind up as one of the all-time great quarterbacks in Louisville history, or at the very least, the most under-appreciated ones. We have not seen a performance like that since the Lamar Jackson days. 527 yards of offense. Seven total touchdowns. Only the second player in FBS history with 300+ passing yards and 200+ rushing yards in game. Sure, he wasn't perfect, as he had several missed deep balls in the first half, but that was single-handedly the best performance of his career. I audibly laughed during that 72-yard touchdown run, where no matter who Duke sent at him, they couldn't bring him down. And to think, this was all accomplished while he was sick with the flu and throwing up in between drives.
• I'll be honest. After Braden Smith went down for the year with his knee injury, I thought that this wide receiver core might struggle a bit. While there still isn't a "go-to guy" so to speak, the receivers have done an excellent job gelling with each other. Cunningham threw each of his five touchdowns to a different receiver, and five pass catchers logged at least two receptions. Ahmari Huggins-Bruce continues to show his potential stardom down the line, Jordan Watkins is as reliable as it gets on third down, and even the running backs got involved a lot in the passing game.
• Speaking of the running backs, I continue to be excited as to what lies in the future for Trevion Cooley. He has speed, agility, and is great in the receiving game. Every week, he does something spectacular, whether it be an individual move or a play. It was also nice to see Jawhar Jordan and Aidan Robbins get some playing time towards the end of the game, especially the latter with his 34-yard touchdown.
• Once again, this offensive line deserves heaps of praise for not only how they are currently performing, but how they rebounded from the poor start to the season. They only allowed Cunningham to get sacked once, gave up just two tackles for loss, and paved the way for Louisville's ball carriers to average 10.4 (!!!) yards carry. That's a first down every time they chose to run, which is insane. Sure, this was inflated a touch by Cunningham's otherworldly performance, but still.
• By all means, the defense played a good game, but there were still times where Duke was able to move the ball. The Blue Devils put up 458 totals, including 201 in the first half, and four of Duke's first seven drives went either 60+ yards or double digit plays. But, to give the defense credit, they epitomized bend but not break. On those four drives, three ending in a field, and the fourth ended in a turnover on downs. In fact, by the time Duke even scored a touchdown, Louisville already had 42 points.
• The secondary has really stepped up after the loss of Kei'Trel Clark. Chandler Jones, Greedy Vance and Qwynnterrio Cole all had eight tackles, including two for loss and a forced fumble by Cole. They weren't perfect, as they still let Gunnar Holmberg orchestrate those long drives, but they more than did their part.
• The linebackers continue to get stronger. C.J. Avery has played much better football as of late after a so-so first half of the season, Dorian Jones has settled into his new role after being thrust into it, and Marvin Dallas continues to make huge plays with his red zone interception. It was a quiet night for Yasir Abdullah and Jack Fagot, but the others made up for it.
• Turnover margin check: plus-two on the year!
• I'll close with this thought: There wasn't a lot Louisville could really prove against a lowly opponent like Duke, but they still went out and did it. Cunningham put on the best Louisville quarterbacking performance since Lamar Jackson, and they proved they could not only impose their will from the jump, but maintain that throughout all four quarters. Plus, they have now done the latter for two consecutive games. A season that was once viewed by many as a lost cause now has plenty of palpable buzz. Go out and win against Kentucky, and even the bowl, and head coach Scott Satterfield very well may gain all the goodwill he lost after the South Carolina fiasco.

(Photo of Justin Marshall: Jaylynn Nash - USA TODAY Sports)

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