Talking Knights vs Cardinals with Louisville Report Publisher Matt McGavic
The UCF Knights will host the Louisville Cardinals on Sep. 9. To provide more information about Louisville’s best players, as well as Head Coach Scott Satterfield and his offensive play calling, Matt McGavic was gracious enough to provide an inside look from someone that covers the team closely.
McGavic is the Publisher of Louisville Report and is also a graduate of the University of Louisville, so he’s been around the program quite often. Here are four questions for McGavic and his responses.
1. Your opinion of the Louisville rush defense after seeing them against Syracuse, including which player should UCF fans watch closely when Isaiah Bowser, Johnny Richardson and the Knights run the football?
"Well, it certainly wasn't great against Syracuse. The one-two punch of Sean Tucker and Garrett Shrader ran the ball nearly at will against Louisville, rushing for just over 200 yards. The defensive line struggled to get a lot of penetration, especially in the middle, and the linebackers took a lot of poor pursuit angles. That being said, I do anticipate the run defense getting a bit better, because there's too much talent for it not to. Someone for UCF fans to keep an eye on is middle linebacker Monty Montgomery. He has been a defensive X-factor for a couple years now, and is a run defense/blitz specialist. He lives to rush into the backfield."
2. Has Scott Satterfield adjusted his play calling to be more balanced on first down or is he still run heavy?
"It's still pretty run heavy, at least through one game. I was anticipating a bit more wrinkles in the game plan considering that OC Lance Taylor is incredibly highly regarded as a coach, but his fingerprints were not really visible on the scheme against Syracuse."
3. Your thoughts about how Louisville handles playing in a hostile road environment after playing in the Carrier Dome?
"They certainly didn't handle it all that well against Syracuse, which was a bit surprising. The most surprising part was that they used vocally-audible changes at the line of scrimmage instead of more visual cues. That right there was incredibly confusing, considering this isn't Louisville's first time at the Dome. Louisville didn't look rattled per se, it was the Orange who actually had more penalties, but it seemed like they were incredibly ill-prepared from a communication standpoint."
4. Beyond the talents of quarterback Malik Cunningham, a true dual-threat quarterback, which Louisville offensive player is capable of producing electric plays?
"Definitely RB Tiyon Evans and WR Tyler Hudson, both of whom are actually transfers. Evans looked really good between the tackles, rushing for 89 yards and a touchdown in his Louisville debut. Cunningham and Hudson have developed an early repertoire, with Hudson hauling in eight receptions for 102 yards."
To learn even more about the UCF matchup with Louisville, check out the Louisville Report.
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