Louisville Football: 3 takeaways from gutsy road win over UCF

1. Louisville goes as Malik Cunningham goes

Let me preface this takeaway by saying that Louisville left way too many points on the field. There were numerous opportunities to add on to the score or even get on the scoreboard right before halftime, but sloppy mistakes and poor decisions stymied that.

Now on to the actual point here: Malik Cunningham is a serious difference-maker.

As if this wasn’t already obvious, Louisville goes as Cunningham goes. If he struggles, the team struggles; if he excels, Louisville looks like a legit ACC contender. We saw him play an average first half against the Knights on Friday and his team was down 14-7 at the half. In the second half, he looked much more confident and the Cardinals pieced together a 13-0 run to win the game.

Sure, he could afford to finish some drives better, but he moved the ball. His play had UCF’s defense on its heels and he can really take over a game when he’s playing to his potential.

Cunningham finished the game with 201 passing yards, 121 rushing yards, and a touchdown.