Seminoles aim for improvement against Cardinals
TALLAHASSEE – Louisville’s Cardinal Stadium hasn’t be kind to Florida State recently. The Seminoles were humbled during a painful 62-20 road loss to the Cardinals in 2016.
FSU (2-2, 0-2 ACC) will return to the same stage Saturday in search of a win over Louisville (2-2, 0-1 ACC).
“We're hoping that we can build off what we did last week and put together a complete ballgame, something we hadn't done yet, and we're eager to do it,” FSU coach Willie Taggart said, alluding to the Seminoles’ win last week over Northern Illinois. “And it will be a perfect time to go on the road and to do that up in Louisville, a team that's beat us two years in a row.”
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN2.
Florida State’s upperclassmen remember how the Cardinals suffocated them by posting a combined 93 points during the past two meetings.
Senior defensive back A.J. Westbrook made his first career start against Louisville in 2016. He didn’t do so well, but neither did the No. 2-ranked Florida State team that suffered a blowout loss.
"It is something I always think about because it was when I first got out there and felt very embarrassed,” Westbrook said. “Just embarrassed. I always think back to that. Just try to capitalize on the things I can do [better]."
Last year Louisville pulled the rug out from under FSU by hitting a 34-yard field goal with five seconds left in the game. The ’Noles lost 31-28.
Both schools have changed a lot since then, and after the departure of former Heisman-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson, Louisville is still trying to develop a strong leader on offense.
The Cardinals have two dual-threat quarterbacks — sophomore Jawon Pass and freshman Malik Cunningham. Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said he has an understanding of who will start against FSU, but he declined to publicly announce his decision.
Florida State has spent the past week watching film, preparing for the quarterback duo.
“You've got to understand that Pass is one guy and Cunningham's another guy,” FSU defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett said. “We’ve got to recognize who's in the game and what they bring to the table. They are different in a lot of ways and so you got to be aware of who's in the game."
Pass has played in each game this season, going 38-of-75 passing for 454 yards. Cunningham jumped over Pass and earned the starting job against Virginia last week. He briefly played against Indiana State and Western Kentucky earlier in the season. Cunning is 22-of-34 passing for 198 yards.
Louisville lost 27-3 at Virginia. It was the second time during Petrino’s tenure that the Cardinals did not score an offensive touchdown.
“We're coming off a very disappointing loss at Virginia, one where we didn't feel like we played the way we're capable of playing, particularly on offense, so we've got a lot of things to work on, a lot of things to fix,” Petrino said. “We've got to start moving the ball and get the ball in the end zone and score points.”
Florida State and Louisville are very similar teams offensively. Both are struggling to earn first downs, with FSU ranked 12th in the ACC and Louisville ranked 13th. Third-down conversions have been hard to come by, with the Cardinals last in the ACC and FSU not much better at 13th.
Offensive-line protection is inconsistent for both teams. Both are ranked at the bottom of the conference in tackles for a loss surrendered.
Defense is the glaring difference between the conference rivals. The Cardinals are last in defending thirddown conversions while FSU is fourth in the conference at defending thirddown conversions.
Statistics aside, the intangibles could play a role Saturday’s game.
Westbrook says he is a far different player than he was in 2016.
"I've grown a lot. It is like I told them, it is just the way I walk around, the way I carry myself, the confidence I have on the field,” Westbrook said. “It is just different, totally different.
"I'm definitely looking forward to getting up there.”