Another grinder against a lower tier Atlantic Coast Conference team, the University of Louisville football team’s 20-10 win over Wake Forest Saturday in front of 51,463 fans at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
Similar to a number of games in the American Athletic Conference last season, the sleep-inducing, slow-motion yawners, Saturday’s game reminiscent of the challenges Charlie Strong faced getting points on the scoreboard. Maybe he wasn’t so conservative after all?
If Bobby Petrino, oft described as an “offensive genius” is having the same problem, there are some things to be worked out. And it could require some time, like maybe a recruiting class or two. The UofL coach admits the offensive unit isn’t performing at a high level, something painfully obvious the last three games.
“We kept killing ourselves,” Petrino said of his offense after Saturday’s game. “We’re still a work in progress.”
He gave thanks for having an impressive defensive effort, UofL allowing Wake Forest only seven first downs, converting only two of 16 third down attempts, and only 100 yards of total offense. Lorenzo Mauldin would tie his career high of three sacks and Gerod Holliman would make his sixth interception this season.
Reggie Bonnafon, stepping in for the injured Will Gardner at quarterback, was more than adequate despite a number of rookie mistakes, including a fumble on his one yard line allowing Wake Forest to score its only touchdown. Nice to see some mobility for a change, Bonnafon escaping several breakdowns in protection, turning some broken plays into gainers. He would be credited with 46 yards rushing while completing 16 of 32 passes for 206 yards.
Remember Brandon Radclliff, the hard-charging 5-foot-9 redshirt freshman listed as the fourth-string running back? Lots of fun to watch in mop-up duty up to now. He would finally get his chance Saturday and he would make the most of it, gaining 130 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns.
Leading rusher Dominique Brown would get pulled early after gaining a net total of one yard on three carries, and fumbling one of them, giving the ball to Wake Forest. Michael Dyer would carry 14 times for 41 yards.
Not quite living up to the season’s expectations thus far, but UofL will be 4-1 going into Friday night’s game at Syracuse.