2019 Season in Review: From the Bottom to the Top

Expectations for the 2019 University of Louisville football season were at the lowest than at any point in school history.

Coming off a 2-10 season, which saw the Cardinals finish winless in the Atlantic Coast Conference at 0-8, and giving up 50 or more points in five-straight games.

Morale was at an all-time low, and the players were left searching for answers to turn this program back to respectability.

At the ACC Kickoff in July, the Cardinals were picked dead last, not only in the ACC Atlantic Division, but looked upon as being the worst team in both divisions of the conference.

However, in December of 2019, Director of Athletics Vince Tyra pointed to Scott Satterfield to be the one who could turn this program around, and little did the AD know that it would be sooner than expected.

Opening the season with a loss is never a good thing, but anyone who tuned in on Labor Day night could see the program was headed in the right direction.

No. 9 Notre Dame scored on the first drive of the season, and it looked like the Fighting Irish was going to set an ugly tone for the Cardinals at the onset of the season.

However, the Cardinals would take a 14-7 first quarter lead on a 17-yard run by Jawon Pass, and not only was Cardinal Stadium was on fire, but the players were gaining confidence.

Tied at 14-14 in the second quarter, the Cardinals had an opportunity to take the lead heading into the half, but a key turnover led to a Notre Dame touchdown before the half, and an early third quarter turnover led to another score.

The 35-17 final didn't look good on paper, but for the Cardinals, it was a glimpse of what was to come for the rest of the season.

"I was proud of our guys," Satterfield said. I was extremely proud of them and the way they fought. We wanted to win. They battled a very good football team to the end, and at that point I knew we could have a tremendous season."

The Cardinals blanked Eastern Kentucky 42-0 for the first win on the Satterfield era, and the first shutout since 2013.

After a win over Western Kentucky the following week, the Cardinals went down 21-0 to Florida State on the road, but battled back to a 24-21 advantage in the fourth quarter on a 74-yard touchdown strike from Micale Cunningham to Dez Fitzpatrick. The Cardinals had an opportunity to go up 10 late in the game, but a turnover in the red zone ignited a 14-0 FSU run to extend the Cardinals' league losing streak to nine games.

However, that streak was about to be over.

The Cardinals would snap their nine-game conference losing streak in impressive fashion by holding off Boston College 41-39, behind 172 yards on the ground from Javian Hawkins, and 100+ yards receiving from Seth Dawkins, Tutu Atwell, and Dez Fitzpatrick.

Facing a ranked opponent on the road, the Cardinals set a school record with 111 combined in a 62-59 wild win over Wake Forest – the first victory over a ranked opponent on the road since 2011.

After a loss to Clemson, the Cardinals pulled off another huge league win with a 28-21 victory over Virginia. Cunningham and Hawkins accounted for two touchdowns apiece, including one each in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals converted a late third-quarter fumble recovery into Cunningham's 25-yard scoring run with 14:22 remaining for a 21-14 lead. Hawkins added a 17-yard TD with 2:46 left for a two-touchdown cushion that proved critical as the Cavaliers made a last charge.

"That there, was a great team win," Satterfield said. "We made big plays on offense and made a big stop on defense to secure our third league win, which no one thought was even possible when we took the field in August."

Heading to Miami with five wins in their pocket, the Cardinals had a lot of confidence in facing the Hurricanes. However, that didn't come to fruition in a 52-27 loss.

The Cardinals headed to Raleigh with their second opportunity to become bowl eligible. Trailing 10-7 in the second quarter, the Cardinals, behind three touchdown passes from Cunnigham, ignited a celebration in the locker room with a 34-20 win -- the school's sixth of the season.

The good fortunes would continue the following week in a win over Syracuse. Cunningham passed for a career-best five of six touchdowns accounted for, including a 14-yarder with 1:24 remaining to seal Louisville's 56-34 victory over Syracuse.

Cunningham passed for three TDs and rushed for a 20-yard score in the first half alone. The sophomore added a 28-yard scoring pass early in the third, one of several the Cardinals needed during a wild second half in which the schools alternated touchdowns three times.

The Cardinals outgained Syracuse 608-510 and came up huge on third down, converting 8 of 11 chances. Cunningham's arm and feet were key, though he had plenty of help from Hawkins and Atwell.

After closing the season with a loss against Kentucky, the Cardinals saved the best for last in the Music City Bowl versus Mississippi State.

The Cardinals rallied from a 14-point deficit by scoring 31 straight to finish their big turnaround from 2-10 last season. Hawkins led Louisville with 105 yards rushing, and he ran for a TD late.

Cunningham put Louisville ahead to stay with a 24-yard TD pass to Devante Peete with 5:01 left in the third. Pass scored when he recovered the ball after Gary McCrae chopped it out of Stevens' arms. Cunningham added an 8-yard TD pass to Ford early in the fourth for a 31-14 lead.

The eight wins was definitely a great team accomplishment, but there were so many outstanding individual achievements.

Hawkins moved into third place on the school's single season rushing list with 1,525 yards, becoming the first Louisville running back to rush for 1,500 yards. After rushing for 105 yards versus Mississippi State, the 5-foot-9 back tallied his eighth 100-yard rushing game of the season, moving him into a tie for second place (Lamar Jackson, 2016) for most 100-yard games in a season in Louisville history.

Wide receiver Tutu Atwell, who was named first team All-ACC, broke Harry Douglas' (1,265, 2007) school record for most receiving yards in a season with 1,276 yards and tied the mark with 12 touchdown receptions. He closed the 2019 season with 70 receptions for 1,276 yards. He caught nine passes for 147 yards to move into a tie for eighth place on the single season list for receptions.

The native of Miami, Fla., recorded his seventh 100-yard receiving game, which tied a school record for the most 100-yard games in a season, equaling Deion Branch (2001), Arnold Jackson (1998) and Mark Clayton (1982). Atwell has recorded eight 100-yard games in his career, which is tied for ninth all-time.

"It was such a fun, exciting season," Satterfield said. "There were so many people who put in a ton of work, but all the credit goes to the players. They bought into what we were preaching and worked so hard. I was so happy for them to see all that success. They certainly deserved it, but it's on to the 2020 season."

Players Mentioned

Malik Cunningham

Seth Dawkins

Dez Fitzpatrick

Gary McCrae

Jawon Pass

Devante Peete

University of Louisville Athletics