Louisville Football: Micale Cunningham just wrapped up 2020 QB battle

The looming quarterback battle for Louisville football may have just been shut down after Micale Cunningham’s Music City Bowl performance.

Every offseason, there are certain position battles that grab everyone’s attention and for Louisville, it seemed like it’d be at quarterback. That was before Monday evening.

The Cardinals began the season with junior Jawon Pass but he was injured and that gave both Micale Cunningham and Evan Conley — both underclassmen — chances to prove themselves.

Conley has been a pleasant surprise as a freshman, passing for 613 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions but Cunningham is the guy that may have just sealed the competition for next season, playing like a stud in a Music City Bowl win over Mississippi State.

The sophomore quarterback had a good season overall, but capped it off with 279 yards and two touchdowns while completing 16-of-23 passes. Oh, and he was second on the team in rushing with 81 yards on 16 carries. He accounted for 360 total yards and two touchdowns, leading the Cardinals to an eighth win.

You can bet Cunningham treated this as a tryout for the starting job and he knocked the performance out of the park.

After a rough game against Kentucky to end the regular season, the outlook at the quarterback position looked grim, but things have changed, especially with the Music City Bowl breakout.

Satterfield’s job got that much easier as he had one of his best games of the season, showcased accuracy, good decision-making, his legs and a strong arm en route to a 38-28 win over an SEC team. If you’re the first-year head coach, you have to feel good moving forward with Cunningham leading the way.

Cunningham finished the 2019 season with 2,000-plus passing yards and 22 touchdowns with only five interceptions. What quarterback controversy?