As widely expected, Louisville took care of rival Kentucky on Saturday, and did so by multiple scores. Still, the victory left some Cardinals fans feeling a little unfulfilled. The Cardinals didn't completely blow out the Wildcats, who hung close throughout the first half, and Teddy Bridgewater didn't put up huge numbers. Card Chronicle went through some of the reasons why the game felt somewhat disappointing, and much of it points back to expectations. The standards are high in Louisville these days, for Bridgewater especially.
Louisville vs. Kentucky reaction: Disappointing Cardinals victory has Wildcats searching for answers
The Cardinals didn’t win in dominant fashion Saturday, leaving Cardinals fans disappointed to some degree, but that’s not a bad place to be. Kentucky, however, has a lot it needs to sort out, including its quarterback situation.
Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Teddy Bridgewater is an amazing quarterback. We are so spoiled that any incomplete pass or any (gasp) bad pass is strange. Even when he misses throws by a small margin it’s almost shocking. Must have been the WR’s fault.
That’s not fair to Teddy, and expecting him to go 25-27 every game is just not realistic. On the bright side, this means that Teddy has room to improve. That’s a good thing.
[snip]
We beat UK by 2 TDs and it wasn’t really that close, no one got hurt, Parker made one of the best catches I’ve seen a UofL WR ever make, the defense looked good, and we beat UK by 2 TDs. And the best part? WE CAN STILL GET BETTER.
Enjoy it.
Speaking of that Parker catch, here it is, along with more highlights from the game.
On the Kentucky side, the fans are left once again picking up the pieces from another loss to the Cardinals -- Saturday’s defeat was Kentucky’s third in a row in this series. Of more immediate importance, though, is the fact that Kentucky still has not had a reliable option at quarterback emerge. Our Wildcats blog A Sea O Blue discussed the situation afterward:
[Offensive coordinator] Neal Brown Still Doesn't Have a Quarterback- Jalen Whitlow and Maxwell Smith both did some positive things on offense; both of them did some negative things on offense. Neither one has really showed why they should be THE guy at the QB position, which must be driving Brown crazy. Smith was 9 for 20 for 109 yards and no touchdowns while Whitlow was 8 for 17 for 105 yards for a touchdown pass and an interception. Whitlow, I believe, is the better overall player but has not shown the consistency that is needed. Smith was uncharacteristically inaccurate and finished the game on the sideline with an icepack on his injured shoulder.
The Wildcats did average a solid 5.5 yards per snap against Louisville, but there is no question that the team needs to be more efficient throwing the ball. Whitlow and Smith combined to average a meager 5.8 yards per attempt, and Whitlow’s interception came at a particularly bad time, with the Wildcats inside the Louisville 30 down 17-3 in the third quarter.
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