Upon Review: How UVA challenged U of L's line

It's not a new topic this week for the University of Louisville football team or its fans.

If the University of Louisville hopes to live up to the 27-point Vegas spread that favors the Cardinals in their Saturday afternoon game at FIU, they'll have to play a lot better on offense, especially on the offensive line.

FIU, a program that has lost 17 of its last 22 games, still has one of the better pass-rushing defenses in the country so far this season, at least statistically speaking.

The Panthers (1-2) rank eighth in the country in team sacks, with 11, and are 23rd in the nation in third-down defense. FIU's opponents -- Bethune-Cookman, Pittsburgh and Wagner -- have converted just 12 of their 41 third downs for first downs so far this season.

Louisville (2-1) should beat FIU comfortably, but the strong defensive numbers are not lost on U of L offensive coordinator Garrick McGee.

"They're sound," McGee said. "They have a really good third-down pressure package."

To rout FIU, or at least win with relative ease, Louisville must improve on its performance in the 23-21 loss to Virginia.

The Cardinals ran 70 plays on offense against Virginia. On 29 of those plays, Virginia's defense either pressured or sacked a Louisville quarterback or arrived in the backfield before the running back crossed the line of scrimmage.

Virginia defenders were within arm's length of a throwing Louisville quarterback, mostly redshirt sophomore Will Gardner, 15 times on Saturday, including four hits on the quarterback as he released the ball.

The Cavaliers also sacked Gardner twice and forced freshman quarterback Reggie Bonnafon out of bounds for another sack after Bonnafon's pocket collapsed.

On 10 of Louisville's 27 rushing attempts, a would-be tackler was in the running lane or near the running back before he reached the line of scrimmage.

Gardner finished Saturday's game with a woeful stat line: 14 completions in 34 pass attempts, 164 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions. Bonnafon was 6 of 9 for 39 yards, though 34 of those passing yards came on Louisville's last-gasp possession in the final minute of the first half.

"The nature of being a quarterback is, when things don't go well, you take the blame," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said Monday.

"But it really is all 11 guys. Part of it is our protection and our breakdowns. Part of it is our routes not being where they're supposed to be at times. Part of it is not getting the ball there. When you're not executing the way you should, you see certain things show up play after play, and that's why we weren't able to move the ball and get going."

Not all was lost from the Virginia defeat.

Of the 26 plays on Louisville's three scoring drives, Gardner was sacked once and pressured twice. Running back Dominique Brown gained 41 of his 74 yards on those drives, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. His other 13 carries went for just 33 yards.

Gardner's first-quarter touchdown pass, a play-action 9-yard toss to freshman Charles Standberry, was blocked well. Brown feigned taking the handoff and barreled into the line of scrimmage, occupying two Virginia defenders and buying Gardner just enough time to find the coming-open Standberry in the back of the end zone.

But a complete review of the game film also shows multiple miscommunications by those tasked with protecting the quarterback.

On one play, Virginia defensive tackle David Dean jukes past Louisville center Tobijah Hughley and immediately pressures Gardner before he's even had a chance to set his feet.

On another play, Louisville started with an empty backfield, one tight end and four receivers. Gardner was in the shotgun, and Virginia rushed five defenders and dropped six to cover U of L's pass catchers.

With tight end Gerald Christian running a route, the situation presented five individual one-on-one blocking options for Louisville. But Virginia defensive end Eli Harold cut inside in an attempt to get to the passer, and the miscommunication began.

Five Louisville offensive linemen blocked four Virginia pass rushers, leaving Henry Coley unnoticed and untouched until he sacked Gardner.

Of course, any review of games reveals multiple mistakes or miscommunications from both teams, and Gardner, who took blame for the passing game's struggles on Saturday, had his own errors.

Of the seven batted-down or deflected passes he threw against Virginia, four of them came without any pocket pressure.

"I've got to find throwing lanes, and I have to stand tall in the pocket," Gardner said Tuesday.

If anyone knows that the offense as a whole has to improve, it's McGee. Obviously he's the offensive coordinator, but last year, he was the head coach for UAB when the Blazers beat FIU 27-24 in mid-October.

FIU finished 1-11 in 2013, and Louisville bludgeoned them 72-0 for one of those losses.

This year's team, McGee insisted, is better.

"They're improved. They've recruited very well," he said. "They've got different guys out there on the field."

Follow Louisville beat writer Jeff Greer on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).