Cards Preparing for Top 10 Showdown Versus Florida State
September 12, 2016 | Football
No. 2 Florida State invades Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
No. 10 Louisville will host No. 2 Florida State at noon in front of a sell-out crowd and a national television audience on ABC with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit calling the action.
"Florida State is a great program," University of Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino said. Â "They've been to the championship game; they've got a ring on their finger. We knew that if we were going to make a run in this conference or run to get to the goal that we want, that we had to find a way to beat them, so we are looking forward to the matchup."
Jumping up three spots in the polls this week, the Cardinals are flying high after a 62-28 win at Syracuse last Friday behind quarterback Lamar Jackson's record-setting performance. The native of Pompano Beach, Fla., set an ACC record with 610 yards of total offense -- accounting for 411 yards passing and 199 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
"He's doing a great job," Petrino said of his sophomore quarterback. "I'm excited about, you know, how well he's throwing the football. And we've been able to get the deep ball back in our offense, which has really helped us. I think our receivers have done a great job of getting open and going up and catching balls that are contested. So we're working hard at it. We know that we're not going to be as open as we were that last couple of weeks, but I still believe we'll be able to get some matchups and find a way to get open."
While Jackson has been the catalyst, the Cardinals are receivng production from a lot of different people, with one being running back Brandon Radcliff, who recorded a career-high 156 yards rushing and a touchdown against Syracuse -- the third time cracking the century mark versus the Orange.
"We've improved on our run blocking and opened up some holes," Petrino said. "You know I think working the package together. Some of it is the offensive line. Brandon seeing things and hitting things fast, finding the holes, hugging the walls, the way we work on in practice."
"You can really see improvement in that. You know we're carrying out fakes and guys are going with our quarterback at times. That opens up some run lanes for some big plays, and I think it's just a team effort. Working together and everything getting a little bit better."
Leading the nation in scoring and total offense, the Cardinals will face a big challenge in the quick and physical Florida State defense, which includes DeMarcus Walker, who leads the nation in sacks with 4.5
"It starts up front with them, Â they are very physical," Petrino said. Â "They've got two guys inside that do a great job using their hands, and they hold the point, job of keeping linebackers free. Obviously, they've got a great pass rusher who we've played now for a couple of years. We are very familiar with him, he is a very skilled guy, but he's a guy that plays with great effort."
The city of Louisville is buzzing with anticipation for Saturday's top 10 match-up -- the first in Louisville since 2006 when the No. 5 Louisville defeated No. 3 West Virginia. While that game was special, Saturday's contest could be even better with two explosive offenses taking the field.
With a 32-4 record at home, Petrino's teams have played well at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, which will be electric for the heavyweight tussle.
"I think it'll be great," Petrino said about his home crowd. "Our fans will be awesome, and they will be fired up, and I think it's a hard place to play. It certainly gives us an advantage defensively particularly on third down. It'll be fun. This is what we want, this is the games we want to play in. It's what the city and Louisville fans want to come to and it's really a credit to Tom Jurich and our administration that we've got all of this here in the city."
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