First Look Towards the 2022 Football Season, the Offense of the Louisville Cardinals

When Louisville comes to the Bounce House, UCF Football will receive an opportunity to make a major statement about its 2022 football season.

Brian Smith | Jan 26, 2022

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The Sep. 10 matchup with Louisville will be huge for UCF Football. The Cardinals return Malik Cunningham at quarterback, one of the most dynamic passers and runners in the country. There are also really good skill position players for Louisville like running back Jalen Mitchell, tight end Marshon Ford, and wide receivers Tyler Harrell and Jordan Watkins. If UCF can fend off this talented team in the early portion of the season, it will be big for the Knights.

Media exposure, recruiting hype, more fans coming out to the Bounce House, and the UCF Football brand will expand. This is a great opportunity for the Knights to make it happen.

The Daily Knight podcast breaks it all down from Cunningham to Watkins and how the Knights have so much to gain by getting the "W" in this game. Here are a few key notes about Louisville before delving into the specifics of Louisville.

Cunningham is Back

For anyone that remembers the game against the Cardinals last season, he’s a true stud when it comes to athleticism. He made some poor throws at times, but he’s improved since the early portion of the 2021 season when the Knights played against him. His two games late in the season proved that (discussed heavily in the podcast).

His ground game will also be back. He ran for 1,034 yards and 20 touchdowns last season. Can the Knights contain such an incredible athlete during the second go-around? They had better.

Malik Cunningham's speed rating: 💯

@UofLFootball pic.twitter.com/XTTd0OX0j5
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) November 7, 2021

Skill Talent Returning

The big game that Ford had last year was actually against UCF, catching eight passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. He ended up with 49 receptions, 550 yards, 11.2 average, and two touchdowns. Ford is one of many skill players coming back for the Cardinals, but the most dangerous might be at running back.

Louisville started the freshman, Mitchell, at running back against UCF. He’s a big and powerful back at over 220-pounds. Keeping him at bay during his second season for the Cardinals will be critical. Then there’s the speed to contend with.

How many wide receivers average 29.1 yards per reception? While only heading into his junior season, Harrell caught 18 passes for 523 yards and six touchdowns. The Miami native is a burner that can take the top off a defense.

Here’s the full podcast discussing Louisville’s offense and what this game means to UCF as a program, as it will be a tone-setter for the entire 2022 season.

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