Mauldin: Cards done looking down on foes

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The University of Louisville's football team struggled with its motivation for lesser opponents last season, linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin said Sunday at the ACC Football Kickoff.

The Cardinals posted consecutive statement bowl wins over the past two seasons, walloping Florida and then Miami on national television. But those performances left some wondering why U of L didn't play with that same kind of intensity in its American Athletic Conference games against minnows like Memphis.

Louisville coasted through that Memphis game, edging the Tigers 24-17 on senior day at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

"The guys last year, they were relaxed when we played the Memphises or the smaller schools in the conference," Mauldin said. "You don't do that. You go play as hard as you possibly can and don't let up on anybody. I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen for our defense this year."

The star senior, who moved from defensive end to outside linebacker this off-season, said motivation was never a problem when Louisville would play big-name programs.

The 2013 Sugar Bowl win over Florida, with U of L returning most of its top players from that team, put Louisville in the "favorite" role for the first time in a decade. The Cards were expected to win each of their games in 2014, with a schedule that drew criticism for its perceived weakness.

The weight of those expectations hurt Louisville in its 38-35 loss to Central Florida, Mauldin said. U of L led 28-7 in the third quarter before relinquishing the lead in a wild fourth quarter.

"We went seven or eight games undefeated, and then you bring UCF in here and you sleep on them after the first half," Mauldin said. "After that, we said we're not doing that ever again."

His first mission as captain this fall is to root out some of those inconsistencies with his teammates' motivation.

"Every team is the same," Mauldin said. "We are going to play Florida State like we play Boston College. We're going to play Notre Dame like we play Clemson."

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