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Replacing a Heisman winner can be a daunting task, especially when his surrounding talent-level simply is not that good. That will be the exact case for the Louisville Cardinals in 2018. Star quarterback Lamar Jackson has taken his talents to the NFL, where he was the final pick of the first round. The hole he will be leaving coach Bobby Petrino is a scary one to think about. The fact this group won eight games a season ago speaks to just how spectacular Jackson was. With him gone, the offensive schemes are going to be changing drastically along with personnel. A recipe for a college football team that does not want to go “bowling”.
2018-2019 Summary
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With the Lamar Jackson era finally coming to an end, head coach Bobby Petrino and his Louisville Cardinals could be taking some significant steps back in the upcoming season. Every position in college football is almost replaceable — except for quarterback — not to a mention a star quarterback. And when you have a star quarterback and only go 8-5, you know there are a fair amount of problems with the team. The schedule for 2018 will also not be doing Petrino any favors. An opener against Alabama is indeed not on any team’s wish list, and a blow out loss there could derail the hopes of the players for the rest of the season. After going 4-4 in the ACC a year ago, Louisville will struggle to keep up this pace and could win as few as just two games in conference. It will be a rebuilding year for the Cardinals, and five wins would be miraculous.
Record: Wins 5, Losses 7
Week 1: Louisville 13, Alabama 34 (L)
Week 2: Louisville 28, Indiana State 7 (W)
Week 3: Louisville 35, Western Kentucky 17 (W)
Week 4: Louisville 17, Virginia 28 (L)
Week 5: Louisville 17, Florida State 28 (L)
Week 6: Louisville 18, Georgia Tech 21 (L)
Week 7: Louisville 39, Boston College 28 (W)
Week 8: Bye
Week 9: Louisville 28, Wake Forest 31 (L)
Week 10: Louisville 17, Clemson 28 (L)
Week 11: Louisville 41, Syracuse 24 (W)
Week 12: Louisville 21, NC State 34 (L)
Week 13: Louisville 24, Kentucky 20 (W)
