LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville's challenging season-opening slate began with a visit from No. 8 Notre Dame and it will be followed by a Saturday night matchup with FCS foe Eastern Kentucky after just four days of preparation. The Cardinals put up a good fight against the Fighting Irish before managing three points after halftime and falling 35-17 on Monday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ACC Network Extra. LINE: No Line
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First-year coach Scott Satterfield knows the quick turnaround from a physical matchup with a top-10 team will be difficult, but his team showed enough in the prime time loss for his confidence to be high. "The one thing coming into this game that we didn't know about was when we face adversity, how are these guys going to react to it," he told reporters Monday. "And they did a great job. So those are things we can build off of." Junior quarterback Jawon Pass had an uneven opener by completing only 12-of-27 passes and fumbling three times, but also rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns in the setback. He will take aim at an Eastern Kentucky defense that held Valparaiso to 184 total yards in a 53-7 win on Aug. 29.
ABOUT EASTERN KENTUCKY (1-0)
The Colonels leaned on running back Alonzo Booth in their opener, as the redshirt sophomore rumbled for 128 yards on only seven carries with three TDs. "I am very confident," Booth told reporters. "Being behind the people we had the last couple of years made me even more confident." Three players saw action under center, with starter Conor Blount - a transfer from Oregon State - hitting on 6-of-11 passes for 62 yards with one interception.
ABOUT LOUISVILLE (0-1)
All three of Pass's fumbles were lost to Notre Dame and the Cardinals put it on the ground five times as a team, giving the squad a legitimate concern going forward. "It's hard to fathom that because that's all we do in practice," Satterfield told the media. "It's just unfortunate. We'll work on ball security, obviously, as we move forward." A running-back-by-committee approach worked well with freshman Javian Hawkins and sophomore Hassan Hall combining for 191 yards on 30 carries.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Cardinals sophomore WR Tutu Atwell led his team with five catches for 47 yards in the loss to Notre Dame.
2. Louisville has lost 10 straight since a win over Western Kentucky last Sept. 15.
3. The Cardinals own an 18-8-1 series advantage, winning the most recent encounter in 2013 by a 44-7 margin.
PREDICTION: Louisville 38, Eastern Kentucky 16