By Paul Sykes
The University of Louisville football team looks to improve to 500 today with a Noon kickoff against Connecticut in East Hartford. Louisville (2-3) must overcome the same litany of problems to beat the favored (3-2) Huskies at their homecoming.
- Third down conversions. The Cards are 91st in the nation at stopping opponents on third down. 42.2%. Hopefully, probable returning linebacker Brandon Heath will equal improvement in this area. UConn is different in offensive philosophy than the Cards previous opponent, Southern Miss, choosing to utilize their strong running game against opponents. The Cards need a few run stoppers to step up.
- Win the turnover battle. Louisville committed the only turnover in the USM game but still won. It marks the first time in Kragthorpe history at UofL that this has happened. UConn’s defense is solid and will bring the heat on starting Cards QB Adam Froman. Hurried passes could be deadly against the veteran Husky defensive secondary.
- Play 60 minutes. The Cards haven’t done it yet this year. They must not let UConn dominate the scoreboard and settle into a conservative, clock eating run game. In five games this year, the Cards have flopped three times in the first half and had to scramble in the second to win.
- Special team success. The Cards could use another Trent Guy game changing return today, if the situation presents itself. They must also reach the end zone on their kickoffs and Guy needs to eliminate the shaky catches on punts if he’s back there for them.
I see it as a close and low scoring affair, with the Cards narrowly losing one to the Huskies 17-14. Sonja is calling for a bigger margin of defeat…27-10.