It appears that most everyone survived the trip to Indy. So now that we are past opening weekend and back to our regular work week hustle, we can take a quick look back at the victory over Purdue before we start to focus on North Carolina and their stupid basketball logo on a football helmet ( I’ll stop there before I say something to make Jordan cry).
I’m a positive, glass half full kind of guy. Therefore, I didn’t find any real long-term negatives from this victory.
Yes, there were 10 false starts. I don’t think you will ever see a game with zero false starts but I promise you that 10 will not be the norm. Redshirt freshman, Robbie Bell is the starting center. During the game, it was said that he was having trouble hearing Lamar clap (which is a signal). After the game, coach Petrino said that Robbie was still calling out the assignments for the offensive line when Lamar called for the snap. That timing will improve with experience. Remember, this was his first collegiate game, his first nationally televised game and his first game working with the reigning Heisman trophy winner. That’s a lot of pressure. I’m not worried about this at all.
The fumbles that haunted Louisville last year reared their ugly head again this year. It was that ” here we go again” moment. I for one, am not overly concerned like some of my bridge jumping friends. The problem was addressed and it will be taken care of. Will there never be another fumble? Absolutely not, but I promise you it will get better.
The biggest question mark going into this season was the offensive line. That line in question, gave up exactly zero sacks. Yes, ZERO. I’ll give you that if an average quarterback would have been behind that line, there may have been a sack or two but Louisville doesn’t have an average quarterback and the O-line blocked accordingly.
My point is that everyone thought that Louisville would just waltz into Indy and blow out Purdue because Louisville was simply better at every position on the field. The spread was 25 for a reason. However, that didn’t happen and I think it’s a good thing for Louisville. I don’t think they would have really learned anything about themselves had they blown out Purdue.
The games that Louisville struggled or looked flat in last season were games where they didn’t strike early. It seemed as though when they didn’t get that first big possession or early lead that they lost a little confidence and it took them a while to get going. I honestly believe that last years team would have lost vs Purdue. This years team didn’t panic or lose confidence when they fell behind. They had faith in each other and did their jobs. That’s huge going forward.
At the end of the season nobody will remember that Louisville only beat Purdue by 7. In the end it counts as a win no matter what. Anybody remember this last year….
That’s right, the eventual national champions beat Troy by 6 at home. Later they would escape with an overtime victory at home vs N.C. State after State missed a game winning field goal. Nobody remembers that. And nobody will remember a 7 point victory over Purdue either. It will be just another win. – Don’t @ me because I’m not saying they will win the championship, I’m just saying all you have to do is win sometimes. It doesn’t always have to be pretty.
I believe this game was a win – win for everybody. Louisville got the victory – Win. Louisville found out what they need to work on – Win. The O-line looked improved – Win. A lot of freshman got playing time – Win. Card forever, Jeff Brohm, made a good showing in his first game as Purdue head coach – Win. Nobody suffered significant injuries – Win.
It doesn’t start out any better than that, does it?
As Always, GO CARDS!
