Petrino looks for more energy on defense
Louisville, coming off a game in which it allowed 66 points, will try to end a three-game losing streak when it plays at Boston College on Saturday.
The first order of business this week was to move on from a 66-31 home loss to Georgia Tech.
“Hard video to watch,” coach Bobby Petrino said. “I sat by myself watching the video of the defense first. Completely different than the way we played the rest of the year.
“I have been praising the defense for their effort, their enthusiasm, their energy, for flying around. But we did not play that way. We played tentative. We didn’t have guys running to the ball from the backside like you need to. For some reason our mindset was not what it needs to be.”
Certainly, Georgia Tech and its triple-option presents a rare challenge on the Louisville schedule. The task this week for the Cardinals (2-4, 0-3 ACC) will be different against Boston College (4-2, 1-1), which has a pro-style approach but could be missing a key piece.
As of Tuesday, the status of standout sophomore running back AJ Dillon was unknown. He suffered an ankle injury on Sept. 29 and was not on the travel squad last Saturday when the Eagles lost 28-23 to North Carolina State. Dillon is averaging 130.4 rushing yards per game.
While Petrino said film study this week contrasted his defense’s effort against Georgia Tech with what he considered a promising outing a game earlier in a 28-24 loss to Florida State — “it’s like two versions of the same people,” he said — his offense needs to pick up the pace, too.
The Cardinals are 115th nationally in total offense (340.2 yards per game) and 120th (out of 129 teams) in scoring at 20.5 points per game. Louisville expected to take a step back when quarterback Lamar Jackson left early for the NFL, but these kind of struggles on offense aren’t something you often find in Petrino’s past.
“Offensively, I think we’re making improvement,” Petrino said. “But we’re not consistent enough up front on the offensive line, making enough plays, to get into a shootout and have the ability to win.”