After Louisville’s 49-7 rout of Ohio on Sunday, junior quarterback Teddy Bridgewater offered an anecdote, which was indicative of the Cardinals’ performance.
Bridgewater said before the game that Louisville wide receivers junior Eli Rogers and redshirt junior Michaelee Harris told Cardinals offensive coordinator Shawn Watson that the Cardinals goal was to score every drive.
While the Cardinals didn’t score every possession, they scored touchdowns on seven of their 12 possessions, as the No. 9 Cardinals dismantled the Bobcats in every facet of the game.
“Coming into this game, Eli Rogers made a comment, Michaelee Harris made a comment to coach Watson that if we don’t score every drive then something is wrong,” Bridgewater said. “Today, our goal was to try to keep the punter off the field. I think we punted maybe once or twice, the entire unit just performed at a high level.”
The Cardinals struck first and quickly, and set the tone for the rest of the game. Bridgewater methodically picked the Bobcat defense apart, converting each of his first six passes and capping the drive with a 34-yard touchdown to redshirt senior wide receiver Damian Copeland.
The Bobcat defense had trouble all game getting Louisville’s offense off the field, as Bridgewater finished the day 23-28, throwing for 355 yards and five touchdowns in three quarters of action. He also excelled at sharing the ball, as eight receivers caught his passes.
Ohio coach Frank Solich said everyone involved needs to accept the blame and move forward.
“I just thought we’d be a little more polished in terms of how we executed and how we operated in all phases of the game. It’s just disappointing.”
Copeland finished with 98 yards and two touchdowns, while redshirt junior Kai De La Cruz racked up 116 yards and two touchdowns.
“It (the game) felt like practice,” De La Cruz said. “It just felt like what we were doing all week, all camp, it just felt very easy executing that good.”
Louisville’s defense, which returned 12 starters, was stout the entire contest, only allowing 273 yards. The Cardinals bottled up Ohio redshirt senior quarterback Tyler Tettleton, who was 11-23 with 140 yards and limited redshirt senior running back Beau Blankenship to just 22 yards on the day.
“I definitely believe they’re a top 10, maybe even a top five team,” Tettleton said. “I’ve been here for five years now and I think the other team that kind of compares to (Louisville) is the 2010 Ohio State team when they went to the Sugar Bowl ... they’re talented top to bottom.
Offensively, the Bobcats had trouble generating and sustaining drives, as they recorded just 11 yards during two first quarter drives.
Ohio also failed to convert a first down until the score was 21-0 Louisville, which converted 25 first downs to Ohio’s 13. The Bobcats didn’t score until the third quarter, when redshirt senior running back Ryan Boykin scored on a ten-yard touchdown run.
“Obviously we can’t be pleased,” Solich said. “We’ve got to understand that we played a poor football game. There’s no reason for us to be a poor football team.”
Ohio redshirt senior cornerback Travis Carrie said multiple factors contributed to the defeat.
“It was a combination of a lot of things,” Carrie said. “We didn’t execute on defense. As a whole, if you don’t do that I think there’s a breakdown as individual groups. So I think that was a challenge for us making sure everyone was on the same page to show that we were playing together.”
To make matters worse, the Bobcats were hit with the injury bug early in the contest. Redshirt senior captain Keith Moore hurt his ankle and did not return. While redshirt senior offensive linemen Jon Lechner and Sam Johnson exited with shoulder and knee injuries.
The Bobcats will return to Peden Stadium for their home opener on Saturday against North Texas at 7 p.m.
“It’s just another game, another week. Another shot to be 1-0, and that’s how we look at it going into every week,” Tettleton said. "We’re just trying to be 1-0. Obviously, this one hurts getting beat this badly, but I think the guys realize there is so much more football left to be played.”
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