Louisville Football remains on the road in Week 2 of the college football season as the Cardinals visit UCF on Friday night. This game marks fourth meeting between the two schools, with the Ville holding a 2-1 advantage in the series. The Cardinals are playing their first two games on the road for the first time since 2003.
While the record favors Louisville, 2-1, the series is split evenly since UCF joined NCAA Division I. The Cardinals first win over the Knights came in 1985, while UCF was still DII.
Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield knows that UCF will pose a challenge to his Cardinals, and much of that will come from the speed of the Knights' offense. UCF lit up South Carolina State, 56-10, last week, while recording 600 yards of total offense, including 308 yards through the air. The opponent was an FCS program, but Satterfield knows his Louisville defense will be tested.
"It's very challenging to slow them down," said Scott Satterfield. "He goes fast, he's got the up-tempo offense. You're having to defend all 11 when you have a quarterback like they have in John Rhys Plumlee, who can actually run and throw it."
"Last week he threw for over 300 yards. So, you not only have to defend the wideouts who can really run and the running back, but the quarterback too. We have to do a great job of tackling in space because what they're going to try to do is spread you out, create that one-on-one matchup somewhere, and then they got athletes that can run. So we got to do a great job of tackling in space, with your one-on-one tackles, and we also need to try to keep them behind the sticks. I think that'll be critical."
Last week, Louisville fell on the road to Syracuse. Malik Cunningham had 16 completions and 152 yards against the Orange, but Satterfield knows his offense will be challenged by the Knights as well.
"I think their defense is built on speed. They can run and a lot of the guys that played last year are back, especially in the secondary," continued Louisville's head coach. "They're not scared to go man to man. They'll come up in your face and play man to man defense on you. They get after it up front. And then they have a really good middle linebacker, #11 (Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste), that makes a lot of good plays. They have an experienced defense that is built on speed."
Let's take a quick look at the visiting Cardinals and hosting Knights:
Louisville Cardinals (0-1) | ACC
Head Coach: Scott Satterfield, 18-20 in Year 4 | 69-44 Overall in 10 Seasons
Louisville looks to bounce back from a season-opening 31-7 loss at Syracuse. The Cardinals scored with 1:10 left in the first quarter, but were stymied by the Orange defense the rest of the way. Louisville went 12-1 as a member of the American Athletic Conference in 2013, but has finished below .500 in three of the last four seasons. The Cardinals have 16 starters back from last year’s team, which went 6-7 and fell to Air Force in the First Responder Bowl. QB Malik Cunningham had 3,972 yards of total offense last year (2,941 passing, 1,031 rushing), but had two interceptions against Syracuse. RB Tiyon Evans, a transfer from Tennessee, had 89 yards on 13 carries in his Louisville debut. WR Tyler Hudson, a transfer from Central Arkansas, had eight catches for 102 yards.
UCF Knights (1-0) | AAC
Head Coach: Gus Malzahn, 10-4 in Year 2 | 87-42 Overall in 11 Seasons
UCF opened the season with an impressive 56-10 win against South Carolina State last Thursday as the Knights finished with a 600-91 advantage in total yards and a 29-9 margin in first downs. The Knights scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and their final three possessions against the Bulldogs. QB John Rhys Plumlee, a transfer from Ole Miss, passed for 308 yards and four touchdowns and had 86 rushing yards with a score in his UCF debut. UCF was picked third in the American Athletic Conference preseason media poll. WR Javon Baker had five receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown, while WR Kemore Gamble had three catches for 82 yards and a TD. RB Isaiah Bowser gained 83 yards with two touchdowns on 23 carries against the Bulldogs.
Last Time Louisville and UCF Met
In the last meeting, UCF knotted the score at 35-35 following a 6-yard touchdown run from quarterback Dillon Gabriel with 1:21 remaining but a Louisville interception returned for a touchdown gave the Cardinals a 42-35 lead, which was the final margin.
TV and Kickoff Information
Louisville at UCF will kickoff on Friday, September 9th at 7:30p E.T., 6:30p CT on ESPN 2.
