Louisville Defense Causes Three Turnovers, Scores Opening Touchdown
News: The Louisville defense had an interception for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and had two more turnovers to help the Cardinals beat Florida in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday.
Analysis: The Gators scored two touchdowns (one on a kickoff return) in the fourth quarter to close the gap somewhat, but the Cardinal defense came up with their best game of the season in the biggest game. They limited Florida to 286 total yards and had three turnovers.
Louisville Defense Stiffens After Allowing Two Long Touchdowns
News: The Cardinal defense allowed two long first-half touchdowns Thursday against Rutgers, but shut down the Scarlet Knights in the second half.
Analysis: The Cardinal defense did a surprisingly excellent job of containing Jawan Jamison and the Rutgers' rushing attack. Rutgers had just 53 yards on the ground. The special teams forced a fumble and the defense picked off two Gary Nova passes in the second half.
News: The Louisville defense allowed just 10 points in regulation and 241 yards, but it wasn't enough Saturday against Connecticut.
Analysis: The Cardinals were unable to move the ball until the end of the fourth quarter. The defense did force a turnover from UConn quarterback Chandler Whitmer and knocked him out of the game. On Saturday, the offense was the weak link for the Cardinals.
Louisville Defense Hopes to Rebound Against Huskies
News: The Cardinal defense is coming off a 45-point beating by the Orange two weeks ago. They hope to bounce back against Connecticut on Saturday.
Analysis: In 2011 the Cardinal defense held Lyle McCombs to just 33 yards. Louisville also forced two turnovers and the Huskies only had the ball for 21 minutes.
News: The Louisville defense allowed a season-high 45 points in the team's first loss Saturday against Syracuse.
Analysis: The Orange racked up 524 yards and had success through the air and on the ground. The Cardinal defense had looked like a weak link in the previously unbeaten team, and the unit simply had no answers for the Orange at home.
News: The Louisville defense forced four fumbles and allowed just 54 passing yards Saturday against Temple.
Analysis: The Owls do not have much of a passing offense, but the Cardinals forced them into a particularly putrid day. The defense helped the offense by giving them a short field multiple times.
News: The Cardinal defense had troubles slowing down the pistol offense of Cincinnati. The Bearcats ran for 196 yards.
Analysis:Louisville was helped by Bearcat quarterback Munchie Legaux's accuracy. The Cardinals had three interceptions, including one in overtime that more or less capped the game.
Louisville Defense Allows Run Yardage, Three Second Half Scores
News: The Louisville defense allowed 197 rushing yards to South Florida, but held B.J. Daniels to 189 yards and forced two turnovers.
Analysis: Senior cornerback Adrian Bushnell intercepted Daniels in the closing seconds as the Bulls were driving for what would have been a winning field goal. The Cardinal defense is just good enough, but pales in comparison to the strength on the other side of the ball.
News: The Cardinals allowed 35 points, but bottled up Ray Graham to beat Pitt on Saturday.
Analysis: The Cardinal defense is not the strength of the team. Two of the touchdowns came in the fourth quarter and neither brought the Panthers within ten points of the lead. Keeping the Panthers to 93 yards in 34 carries was impressive.
Louisville Defense Comes Through in Second Half Again
News: The Cardinal defense did not allow a second half point against Southern Mississippi on Saturday, which allowed Louisville to stay unbeaten.
Analysis: The game was played in very rainy conditions and neither team was able to throw the ball well. The Golden Eagles only had 25 passing yards, but ran the ball for 224 yards on 48 attempts. One of Southern Miss's scores came on an interception return, so the Cardinal defense only allowed ten points. The defense will be tested in two weeks at Pitt.
News: The Louisville defense had troubles with Florida International's spread offense, especially in the first half. After Panther quarterback Jake Medlock was knocked out, Louisville only allowed seven points.
Analysis: If the Cardinals are going to be a real threat to move up the national rankings, their defense is going to be less porous. They have some big hitters, but sometimes miss assignments which can't make coach Charley Strong happy.
News: The Cardinal defense allowed 20 fourth quarter points as North Carolina nearly made a great come back. The Tar Heels had 363 yards of passing, but just 47 yards on the ground.
Analysis: It looked like the uptempo UNC offense had an effect on Cardinal defense, which missed a lot of tackles as the Tar Heels went up and down the field to nearly erase a 25-point fourth deficit. The Cardinal offense was also slowed in the second half, so they did not help the team effort.
News: The Cardinal defense allowed just 14 points on Saturday, but Kentucky was able to rack up 373 total yards. Louisville created two fumbles in the red zone.
Analysis: The Wildcats converted seven of 13 third downs, so the Cardinal defense will have to tighten up against better opponents. Coach Charley Strong is a defensive specialist, so he will likely get things turned in the right direction.
News: South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels' MRI revealed a bruised AC joint in right (throwing) shoulder. His availability for this week's game against Louisville is up in the air. Daniels did not practice on Tuesday.
Analysis: If Daniels is unable to play, Bobby Eveld, will take over. Eveld is no stranger to filling in for Daniels, but he's certainly not as much of an offensive threat as B.J.
News: A bright spot for Louisville in their 21-9 win over Murray State was the defense, which picked off three passes and sacked the quarterback twice. The Cardinals relinquished just 291 yards of offense on the night.
Analysis: Given the struggles of the offense, it may take that side of the ball a little longer to get things going. Louisville's defense should be tested more by FIU in their next outing, with the Panthers featuring the explosive T.Y. Hilton.
News: Louisville, a team in need of depth at cornerback, added a player at the position this weekend with the arrival of junior college transfer Adrian Bushell. Bushell, who redshirted in 2008 at Florida, transferred to Coffeyville (KS) JC for the 2010 season and will have two years of eligibility remaining. He will not play on Thursday.
Analysis: Head coach Charlie Strong said that there's no timetable on when Bushell would be able to play since he's only been through two practices. But the Cardinals needed to add depth at corner, and to do so with a player who has Division I experience is a bonus.
News: After being arrested on DUI charges for the second time in seven months, Louisville cornerback Darius Ashley has been indefinitely suspended.
Analysis: Ashley was a big playmaker at nickelback last year and was expected to compete for a starting corner slot, but now it remains to be seen if he can return to the team.
News: The Louisville defense forced one turnover – a fumble – and recorded four sacks. The fumble was recovered in the end zone, giving the Louisville ‘D' a nice boost from a fantasy perspective.
Analysis: The Louisville defense fared pretty well, but the offense never got going, resulting in a 17 – 10 loss.
News: The Louisville defense forced one turnover – a fumble – and recorded three sacks.
Analysis: The Louisville ‘D' wasn't dominant, but it was certainly better than last week. Still, there are likely better defensive units available for your fantasy lineup.
News: The Louisville defense was unable to force a turnover and did not record a sack on Saturday against Pittsburgh.
Analysis: To be fair, Louisville was unimpressive on both sides of the ball. They'll hope to turn it around next week against Syracuse.
News: The Louisville defense forced three turnovers – two interceptions and a fumble – on Friday. Louisville did not record a sack.
Analysis: Louisville won the turnover battle three to zero, but it wasn't enough against the Bearcats.
News: The Louisville defense forced one turnover – an interception – on Saturday. Louisville also recorded five sacks.
Analysis: The Cardinals defense was dominant for the first time this year. Surprisingly, they only came away with one turnover.
News: The Louisville defense forced four turnovers – two fumbles and two interceptions - on Saturday. Louisville also recorded three sacks.
Analysis: This effort was an improvement versus last week's loss to Oregon State, but the Cardinals can't be happy about surrendering over 400 total yards to an inferior Arkansas State team.
News: The Louisville defense forced two turnovers – a fumble and an interception - on Saturday.
Analysis: Louisville also recorded eight sacks to round out a much improved effort in comparison to last week.
News: The Louisville defense surrendered 466 total yards and was unable to force a single turnover against Kentucky on Saturday.
Analysis: Hopefully, this unit can improve against Eastern Kentucky next week.
News: Louisville allowed just 17 points to West Virginia, but they still took the short end in a 17-9 decision.
Analysis: Louisville forced two turnovers and allowed just 273 yards against the Mountaineers. The Cardinals host Syracuse on Saturday.
News: Louisville surrendered 41 points to Cincinnati Saturday.
Analysis: Louisville didn't force a tournover and allowed 286 passing yards and 182 on the ground on Saturday.
News: Louisville surrendered 38 points Saturday to UConn.
Analysis: The Huskies accumulated 481 yards of total offense despite holding the ball for just 27 minutes. Don't expect much from the Cardinals this weekend as they travel to Cincinnati to take on the No. 5 Bearcats.
News: Louisville gave up over 400 yards of total offense and 23 points to Southern Miss on Saturday.
Analysis: The mediocre effort was enough to get the Cardinals' their second win of the year, but not to make many fantasy owners take notice.
