NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WDRB) – Three games into the 2019 football season, the University of Louisville football team was almost down to its last quarterback standing on Saturday in Nissan Stadium against WKU.
But, fortunately for the Cardinals, no matter who was under center, wide receiver Tutu Atwell was too fast to cover. The sophomore caught four passes for 141 yards and three touchdowns, including scores of 62, 46 and 9 yards, to lead Louisville to its second straight win, 38-21.
After sophomore Malik Cunningham had led the Cards to a 31-14 lead, he took a shot to the head, lost his helmet and had to leave the game.
Enter redshirt freshman Evan Conley, whose second pass was a 62-yard touchdown strike to Atwell, and the beat went on for the Cardinals.
While U of L beat the Hilltoppers (and the spread), the victory also put a spotlight on the team’s depth issues. With gametime temperatures on the field in the mid-90s, U of L’s defense wore down at times in the second half, and the kind of offensive penalties that often are the result of fatigue started to show up.
Still, Louisville rode solid defensive play – including a couple of fumble recoveries – and a determined rushing attack to its second straight victory after a 10-game losing streak.
The Cards went 10 plays on each of their first two scoring drives, each of which ended with touchdown passes from Cunningham to Atwell, to lead 14-0. After WKU got a 77-yard TD pass from Steve Duncan to Josh Simon, Louisville put together an 8-play drive, capped with a 20-yard Javian Hawkins TD run, to go up 21-7, and a Blanton Creque field goal late in the half left it at 24-7, where it looked like the half would end.
Then Rodjay Burns scooped up a Duncan fumble and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to put the Cards up 31-7 with 47 seconds left in the half.
U of L had a little less steam in the second half, but with its lead, didn’t need it.
The Cards were efficient, getting better than 20 yards per completion and holding WKU to just 30 yards on the ground.
Cunningham was good while he was in there, going 8-13 for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the air and running for 46 yards on 16 carries.
WKU came in determined to stop Louisville on the ground and make it win through the air. The Cards did largely thanks to Atwell, who had four catches for 141 yards and three touchdowns.
Now, Louisville turns its attention to ACC play, with a visit to Florida State on Saturday.
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