Things have not gone swimmingly for the Louisville Cardinals in Week 9. The Cardinals trail the Virginia Cavaliers at halftime in Charlottesville, 10-7.
Many expected the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals to go into Scott Field in Charlottesville on Saturday afternoon and cakewalk over their cross-divisional rival Virginia Cavaliers.
Louisville has arguably the best player in college football in sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson. Virginia entered play at 2-5 on the year under new head coach Bronco Mendenhall. At halftime in Charlottesville, it is the home underdog Cavaliers that hold the 10-7 lead over the Cardinals.
This had the makings of a potential let down game for the Cardinals. Virginia has been a doormat of a team in the ACC for several years now, but the Cavaliers are definitely up for the challenge to upset Louisville.
There have been three things that have allowed Virginia to enter the second half with a three-point lead.
1.) The Cavaliers’ pass rush has been filthy, wrecking Jackson on several occasions. Is Chris Long play in this front-seven or something?
2.) Jackson hasn’t been particularly tight with his throws. His touchdown pass to wideout Jamari Staples was an outstanding throw, but he has not had great touch for most of this game. It doesn’t really help that his teammates keep dropping wide-open passes.
3.) A sneaky part of the 2016 Cardinals is that they are one of the most heavily penalized teams in the Power 5. It hasn’t mattered for most of this season, but rampant holding calls have stifled the Cardinals offense as much as the Virginia pass rush has.
Next: Ranking The 25 Best Rivalries In College Football
This would be a huge win for Virginia. It would be the first signature win for Mendenhall since taking over for Mike London in 2016. For Louisville, a loss to the Cavaliers might shatter the Cardinals’ chances at a New Year’s Six bowl berth. At this time, they are projected to go to the Orange Bowl as an at-large ACC team.