The bad news is the University of Louisville lost 37-14 to Georgia in the Belk Bowl. The consolation prize that UofL, because of its membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference, will continue to face high level competition on a consistent basis.
Any hopes for another big-time victory over a ranked opponent began to fade early in the second quarter with second-string quarterback Reggie Bonnafon struggling to move the offense. A surprising move by Coach Bobby Petrino, suggesting that he wasn’t all the happy with the choices of Kyle Bolin.
Bolin wasn’t connecting and Georgia was figuring out Brandon Radcliff. Offense was stalling, time to try something new. But Bonnafon was back to his back to his youthful quarterback ways, throwing an interception on his third passing attempt, Georgia scoring two plays later, going up 20-7.
Big mistake, Coach Bobby Petrino expecting Bonnafon to outmaneuver a serious defense any better than he had in previous outings. Bonnafon still way behind the curve, lacking the speed and instincts to overcome shortcomings and inexperience.
The second big mistake, one smacking of desperation, was trusting kicker Ryan Johnson to be able to pull off a trick play on the fake punt. Johnson’s unconstested pass attempt fluttering in the wind and falling fall short of the intended receiver.
One also has to question having James Quick out there again on kickoff returns, with that one-handed carry of his tempting the Georgia defenders, onlookers expecting the ball to come popping out at any time.
Georgia clearly the better team, with an offensive line providing strong consistent protection for its quarterbacks while reducing the vaunted UofL defense to onlookers on too many occasions. Georgia’s Nick Chubb, even better than advertised, racking up 269 of Georgia’s 305 yards on the ground.
Louisville will continue to have a steady diet of strong opponents, starting with Auburn in the first game next season. UofL finishing a challenging season with a very respectable 9-4 won-lost record. Encouraging that no one is trying to steal Bobby Petrino, with his history of taking significant steps forward in the second year of his tenures.
Charlie, I’m not here to gloat, but to say I feel your pain, and that is coupled within what was a great win against our your team. I feel your pain because I think Louisville fans will come to realize that Grantham has some key flaws in his scheme.. and those were on full display in the bowl game. I’m not the best x’s and o’s guy, but I read a great write-up after the game about it. Forgive me if this is overly simplistic, but the easiest way to explain it is he has built his defense around putting pressure at the line, at the risk of leaving the big play open. That’s not to say he does that on every play, mind you, it’s just the concept his defenses are based on. It’s the fundamental difference in Georgia’s scheme from his defense last year, and Pruitt’s defense this year. We’re now built to cover the field and keep the big plays from happening. We called it ‘3rd and Grantham’. We got burned on the wheel route more often than I care to remember. The other issue is his NFL mentality means he’s a little complicated, and Georgia exploited that when we were getting plays off before the Louisville D line was fully set. You just can’t rep it enough, and with limited practice time, the players need time to absorb and feel comfortable in the system. So it’s not that you won’t have success on Defense, but you’ll have a game or two where you wonder what the hell is going on with your defense, and it was on full display in the bowl game. He wasn’t real big on substituting during the game either, which means its hard for the guys to not get gassed by the end of the game, particularly if your offense keeps them on the field for large chunks of time. I’ve met the guy, and he’s not the jerk he’s been played out to be.. but he’s competitive. He’ll bust his butt to make you guys as good as he can.. but until he alters his system, I feel you guys are stuck with the same maddening issues we experienced with him. Next year will be better though, I’m sure. Best of luck to you and the Louisville program going forward, and thanks for a great game.
Thanks, dawgfan, for your insight. With so many UofL players graduating or leaving early for the draft, the challenges could be even more apparent next season. If the Georgia offense shows up like it did at the Belk Bowl, it could be an outstanding season for Georgia. Best of luck.
You know, that seems to be when we noticed the biggest problems. That whole lack of substituting thing means a lot of new guys getting their first game time experience, and those guys getting comfortable with it in game. That’s exactly why we were struggling in 2013 under Grantham.. a lot of 2012 talent departed, so it’ll be interesting to watch how your defense develop next year. Again, I’d like nothing more than for Grantham to get those weaknesses out while at Louisville. When the matchup favors his defensive style, it’s fantastic and really effective. You guys picked up a couple of UGA players that were under him… those guys are super talented and they know his system, so that’s a big plus. Petrino is an offensive genius, so you have a helluva opportunity to stay ahead of a potential maturing defense. Offensive Year 2 for Petrino should show great improvement, so I’m glad we got you guys in a bowl game in 2014! (although…. a reunion in the playoffs next year is certainly a possibility… but I’d be a fool to predict that we’ll get there at this point!). Louisville is going to be a fun team to watch, no matter what.