No. 1 Alabama played Louisville in Orlando on Saturday, and well, got away from the Cardinals pretty quickly. The Crimson Tide got out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, and ended up winning 51-14.
Louisville talked an extraordinary amount of trash before facing Bama, then lost by 37.
Bobby Petrino has still never scored more than two times against a Nick Saban defense.
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Before the game, head coach Bobby Petrino and Louisville players expressed, uh, lots of confidence.
Petrino:
If a cornerback can stop me one-on-one with no help, when he’s right in my face, then I’m not doing my job. I feel like every receiver in our receiving corps can honestly beat every one of their (defensive backs) one-on-one in coverage.
But I feel like with straight talent-wise, we have an upper edge against the secondary, 1,000 percent.
Defensive end Jon Greenard:
And two offensive linemen:
Louisville is the most recent team to want Bama. It usually goes great!
What’s even better is that including Saturday night’s result, Petrino’s never scored more than twice against the Tide.
That was an issue for Petrino during his tenure at Arkansas, when he faced Saban four times. In those meetings, Saban’s Alabama defenses held Petrino’s Arkansas offenses to an average of 11.25 points — less than even the Tide’s No. 1 defenses have given up on average in any year, including games against mid-majors and FCS teams:
- 2008: Alabama 49, Arkansas 14
- 2009: Alabama 35, Arkansas 7
- 2011: Alabama 24, Arkansas 10
- 2012: Alabama 38, Arkansas 14
Louisville had the country’s No. 64 defense in 2017 by yards allowed per play.
Sure, Saban’s defenses beat up on a ton of talented offensive coaches, but Petrino offenses are typically good.
In 47 games not coached against Saban, Petrino’s Arkansas offenses averaged 35 points per game. In 2009-11, his teams averaged about 38 per game. And in all three of those years, Saban’s defense held Petrino’s offense to its lowest point output of the season.
Also, please note how big Saban’s notes are from that low-scoring 2011 Arkansas game:
Petrino’s first game in years without Lamar Jackson came against Saban. But the Cardinals still have weapons they can use this season.
Petrino’s offenses in Louisville flourished under the Heisman-winning QB and current Baltimore Raven. But as Bill Connelly pointed out in his Louisville 2018 preview, the Cardinals’ offense won’t be nonexistent for the rest of this season:
-You don’t plug someone into Jackson’s role; you look at all the remaining components and build something new around them. And looking at what the Cardinals have instead of what they don’t, you find hope. Louisville has ...
-A four-star sophomore quarterback (Jawon Pass) who completed 70 percent in limited action last year and fills the “pocket passer” niche that Petrino has thrived with in the past.
-Last year’s top three receivers, each of whom averaged at least 9.1 yards per target with at least a 50 percent success rate in 2017.
-A trio of running backs (Dae Williams, Trey Smith, Colin Wilson) who combined to average 6.6 yards per carry in backup roles. Each is at least 6’ and 220 pounds.
-Four returning starters, who have combined for 77 career starts, on an offensive line that appeared to do its job better than the year before.
Per S&P+, Louisville had a 15 percent chance of beating the Tide.
Sounds about right! To beat Petrino’s own history against Saban, all the Cardinals needed to do was just score three times. Better luck next time, coach!
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