SPORTS

Sullivan | Mismatch let Cards 'play a lot of guys'

Tim Sullivan
@TimSullivan714

Bobby Petrino opened the second half with a backup quarterback and a fourth-string running back. He substituted freely. He blitzed infrequently. He killed the clock with running plays.

If the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals was trying to run up the score on Murray State Saturday night, he sure spent a lot of time tapping the brakes.

But when your freshman quarterback is as blessed as is Reggie Bonnafon, and your running backs are numerous and nearly interchangeable, the quality of your mercy can be severely strained.

Louisville drubbed its overmatched visitors, 66-21, and the 25th-ranked Cardinals were hard-pressed to keep it that close.

This is what usually happens when FCS schools overschedule in the interests of balancing their budget. This is what made Clemson's 73-7 rout of South Carolina State so tedious Saturday afternoon and McNeese State's scare of Nebraska so startling.

Every once in a while, some unheralded and underfunded upstart will catch Goliath between gulps and do what Appalachian State did to Michigan in 2007, what Georgia Southern did to Florida last year or what North Dakota State did to Iowa State just last week. Yet as much as those upsets delight us and disrupt the natural order, their rarity rivals the big slot machine jackpot that keeps the suckers coming back.

FBS schools such as Louisville are able to award 85 scholarships. FCS schools such as Murray State are limited to 63. The difference typically shows up both in top-flight talent and quality depth and the games have tended to be so lopsided that the Big Ten Conference has agreed to stop scheduling them.

Other than an extra home date and a virtually guaranteed victory, there isn't much to recommend stepping down in class. If you dominate, you're suspected of beating up on an opponent ill-equipped to compete. If you struggle, it's seen as a sign of serious problems. And if you happen to get beat, it's probably a good time for losing coaches to update their resumes.

Let the record show that Louisville struggled for exactly one possession Saturday night. Will Gardner's first pass fell incomplete, guard Jake Smith was charged with a false start prior to the next snap and Petrino was compelled to send out his punt team before his Cardinals could pick up a first down.

What followed was more along the (Las Vegas) lines of what you'd expect. Louisville scored on nine straight possessions, and with only a cameo appearance from its leading rusher, Dominique Brown. Petrino played four quarterbacks and gave Bonnafon a long enough look to produce one passing and two rushing touchdowns. Freshman L.J. Scott, who was allowed only one touch in Monday's game against Miami, carried 11 times for 126 yards on this night, his best bolt spanning 68 yards.

"We got to play a lot of guys," Petrino said. "And I think that was the best thing about the night. We wanted to make sure we played a lot of players."

Under different circumstances — say, a more competitive opponent — Bonnafon's showing might have been sufficient to ignite a full-blown quarterback controversy. Gardner was not particularly sharp, completing 13 of his 22 attempts, and Bonnafon's running ability provides Petrino a weapon he would be wise to exploit. The former Trinity High star finished his first collegiate drive with an eight-yard touchdown run, scored from 16 yards out in the third quarter, and completed eight of his 11 passes.

"I have been putting in work at practice for awhile," Bonnafon said, "and to finally come out here and see it pay off felt great."

Petrino said he considered saving Bonnafon with an eye toward keeping a redshirt year in play, but the freshman's arm, mobility and progress proved too tempting.

"The thing I liked so much was the confidence," Petrino said. "We've got to evaluate the video (but) since the first day he came here, I've been impressed with his maturity.

"He's very talented. He still needs to pick up the timing, anticipating, throwing the ball before guys are open. (But) he opens up our offense a little bit."

If nothing else, Bonnafon forces Louisville's opponents to devote practice time to defending him. He gives Petrino another gear when it's time to take his foot off the brake pedal.