CARDINALS

Louisville football faces new challenge at BC

Jeff Greer
@jeffgreer_cj

The University of Louisville football team's progress in recent weeks, particularly on offense, has Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino hopeful that his players can rebound from their painful loss to Florida State.

Louisville takes on what Petrino calls a "big and physical" Boston College at 7:15 p.m. Saturday in Chesnut Hill, Mass., with the game set for an ESPN2 broadcast.

BC (6-3) is one of the nation's top rushing offenses, ranked 10th in the country, and presents a different type of challenge than Louisville's experienced this season, Petrino said.

"They give you a lot of different formations," Petrino said, adding that BC loves to use two-tight end sets to overwhelm the line of scrimmage.

"There's a lot for us to prepare for in a short period of time."

Louisville's defense dropped a few spots in the national rankings after FSU's 42-31 win at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

The Cards fell all the way to 32nd in the nation in pass defense. They're still in the top 10 in scoring, total and rushing defense, and their three interceptions of FSU quarterback Jameis Winston kept Louisville ninth nationally in takeaways.

But it wasn't until the fourth quarter of Thursday's game that Louisville's defense lost its mojo, Petrino. Winston being the talented signal caller that he is — and the reigning Heisman Trophy winner — certainly helped the Seminoles, too.

"It was a combination of both," Petrino said, before repeating what he told the media after last week's game.

"(Winston) made throws most of the other guys in the country can't make."

Much of the progress for Louisville has come on offense, where the return of DeVante Parker and a fully healthy Michael Dyer have jolted the Cards in back-to-back strong performances.

Parker, a 6-foot-3 receiver with first-round NFL draft potential, opens up Louisville's offense, Petrino said. His ability to run after catches and the space created by defenses keying on Parker have helped the Cards' offense see "massive improvement" from the first six weeks they played without him.

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).