Sullivan | No quarterback controversy for Cards

Bobby Petrino's mistake was giving us too long a look at Reggie Bonnafon. Give a backup quarterback enough time, surround him with enough talent, allow him to demonstrate what he can do against an overmatched opponent, and you have opened Pandora's box, discovered dynamite and commenced playing with matches.

Petrino reaffirmed Monday that there is no quarterback controversy at the University of Louisville; that Will Gardner had not lost his job by completing 66 percent of his passes with four touchdowns, no interceptions and two victories in two games. This is as it should be.

Though Bonnafon was mostly dazzling in his collegiate debut Saturday night — completing eight of his 11 passes, running for two touchdowns — Murray State was mostly dismal. To extrapolate based on that unrepresentative sample would be as risky as betting the ranch on last week's lottery numbers.

Yet because Gardner is still finding his way and following the tough act that was Teddy Bridgewater, and because Bonnafon produced four touchdowns in four possessions off the bench Saturday night, Cardinal fans are naturally curious about the permanence of Petrino's pecking order.

It's quickly become a popular topic on message boards, in social media and, Sunday afternoon, at the Mellwood Art Fair. While perusing photographs of bourbon barrels, a dilettante sportswriter was approached with a conspiratorial whisper: "Off the record," the man asked, "who should be the quarterback?"

Some wonder whether Bonnafon, the freshman from Trinity High, will supplant Gardner as the starter. For others, it's simply a question of when. For Bobby Petrino, though, public debate is premature and probably counterproductive.

Football coaches like quarterback controversies the way they like hemorrhoids. They serve mainly to instill doubt in the player whose confidence is most essential and, potentially, to create division in the locker room. They provoke a lot of questions coaches would prefer to avoid answering

"All anyone ever wants to talk about is the backup quarterback," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told reporters Monday. "It doesn't matter where you are or who you are, that's the story."

Players can move up and down the depth chart at other positions almost imperceptibly. They can spend a few plays on the sideline without sparking speculation or requiring explanation. But when a quarterback comes out of a game and he's not on a gurney, his status becomes subject to intense and sometimes ill-founded interpretation and requires regular reassurance.

"Will Gardner's our starting quarterback," Petrino said Monday. "We're very, very comfortable with how Will's developed and how much better he was in Week 2 than in Week 1. It was great to get Reggie in there. I was very impressed with the way he played, the way he handled the huddle, everything that he did.

"This is a Monday, and the players are off. I'm certainly not going to make any decisions on the playing time (for Saturday's game at Virginia), but there's no question Will Gardner's our starting quarterback."

Like most experienced coaches, Petrino was careful to cling to the present tense in assessing a competition that could continue for as long as three years. If Gardner, a redshirt sophomore, currently shows a stronger command of the offense than does Bonnafon, that's not an insurmountable edge. Conversely, as Bonnafon gains a better grip on Petrino's playbook, his running ability becomes a more attractive asset.

For now, though, Gardner is clearly the guy. How long that lasts depends on how well he plays, how fast Bonnafon improves and what other quarterbacks Petrino might attract. Could be years. Could be weeks.

"Will knows that he's our starter and that we're behind him 100 percent," senior tackle Jamon Brown said Monday. "Reggie did come out and he did some great things, but that was more about trying to get Reggie ready for the future. Will knows that he's the starter. We all know that he's the starter."

If Reggie Bonnafon's time is coming, it has not yet been scheduled.

Tim Sullivan can be reached at (502) 582-4650, by email at tsullivan@courier-journal.com, and on Twitter @TimSullivan714