Louisville Football: 3 reasons the Cardinals will struggle in 2020

After a surprise 2019 season, Louisville football’s high expectations heading into 2020 will not be met if they cannot address some major weakness.

The Louisville Cardinals were one of the nation’s best stories in 2019.

After a 2-10 campaign in 2018 that led to the firing of Bobby Petrino and saw the Cardinals drop all eight of their conference games, getting blown out 56-10 at home by arch-rival Kentucky, Louisville put together an 8-5 season in 2019 that ended in a Music City Bowl victory over Mississippi State.

Fresh off a breakout season, many are tabbing the Cardinals as a top 25 team heading into the 2020 campaign.

With 2019 ACC Coach of the Year Scott Satterfield leading the charge and a dynamic offensive trio of Micale Cunningham, Javian Hawkins and Tutu Atwell set to light up the scoreboard, it’s easy to see why Louisville would be looked at in this light.

However, there are some major concerns specifically on the defensive side of the ball that should give fans and media pause before pegging the Cards among the nation’s top 25 squads.

Here are three reasons the Cardinals may see some significant struggles in 2020.