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Louisville Football vs. Marshall: First-half grades for the Cards
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It has been an entertaining first half between the Louisville football team and the Marshall Thundering Herd. We discuss the first half grades for Louisville below.
What a night that this has turned out to be for this game between Louisville football and the Marshall Thundering Herd. While Louisville’s defense has completely shut Marshall down, the Herd have also done a pretty good job of finding ways to get pressure on Lamar Jackson.
There was an expectation that the Cardinals would come in and blow the Thundering Herd out, but they have limited the big plays in this contest. Obviously the James Quick touchdown was a killer, but other than that the Thundering Herd have done an okay job in coverage and up front.
Even though the Cardinals have experienced some adversity tonight, they have been able to overcome anything thrown at them. Other than a couple of bad passes from Lamar Jackson, Louisville has been able to find different ways to shut Marshall down or keep the chains moving.
Jackson has five touchdowns already in this game and it looks like he may have a lot more before this game is over.
At the end of the day, Louisville is still up 35-7 going into the half and they have a lot that they can improve on going forward.
Sep 24, 2016; Huntington, WV, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) is tackled by Marshall Thundering Herd linebacker Chase Hancock (right) in the first half at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Special Teams: D
Seriously. How many different guys for Louisville are going to be missing field goals this season? A missed field goal late in the 1st quarter definitely gave Marshall and their fans a reason to get back into the football game. The Cardinals cannot afford to have that kind of thing happen next weekend in Clemson.
Penalties were also a problem for the punt return team in the first half. Block in the back penalties are field position killers, no matter who you are playing. Louisville cannot have these kind of controllable problems keep occurring.
The fumble right before the half was an absolute head scratcher. For a guy who had a great return last week, Alexander has now fumbled a punt and dropped an interception tonight.
If Louisville can just find a guy who can consistently make field goals, then they are really going to turn a corner this season.
Sep 24, 2016; Huntington, WV, USA; Marshall Thundering Herd quarterback Garet Morrell (12) throws a pass against the Louisville Cardinals in the first half at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Defense: A
Louisville fans need to be incredibly thankful for the defense they are putting on the field this season. The Cardinals have absolutely dominated Marshall’s offense so far in this game. Other than Alexander’s dropped interception, there really isn’t any glaring weaknesses tonight.
It was already going to be a tough first career start for Marshall’s Garet Morrell, but Louisville is making sure that he cannot even get started. The Cardinals have gotten great pressure this evening and it has made a big impact on the passing game of the Thundering Herd.
Can James Hearns get a big round of applause from the Louisville fanbase? This guy has come in this season and been a huge impact player on defense. He got another sack and forced fumble at the end of the first quarter. This guys is special.
Look for Louisville to continue bringing the house against Morrell in the second half of this game. It’s not looking like the Herd will get much going by the way of their offense for the rest of the evening.
Sep 24, 2016; Huntington, WV, USA; Louisville Cardinals running back Brandon Radcliff (23) stiff arms Marshall Thundering Herd safety Kendall Gant (14) in the first half at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Offense: B
Louisville started off this game kind of slow, not including the long touchdown pass from Jackson to James Quick early in the first quarter. However, you have to give some credit to the Marshall defense this evening. They have been able to get pressure in the backfield throughout the first half.
One has to wonder if that pressure bothered Jackson early in the first half, leading to his inaccuracy in the first quarter. They have actually done a pretty good job containing Jackson in the running game as well. The game-plan today might have been for Jackson to stay in the pocket, but that’s hard to tell at this point.
The offensive line needs to find ways to keep defenders out of the backfield in the second half. Even more important than that is Louisville needs to find a way to win this game and stay healthy going into next weekend.
Unlike Marshall, today’s game is not the Super Bowl for the Louisville football team. One okay half doesn’t define who this offense is and what they are capable of doing.
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