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Published Nov 13, 2022
The Hoagland Team at RE/MAX Premier Properties Presents: The 3-2-1
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Ty Spalding  •  CardinalSports
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This is your 3-2-1, where we break down three things we learned this week, two questions we have and give one prediction.

The content is brought to you by The Hoagland Team at RE/MAX Premier Properties.

We are proud to partner with Matthew Hoagland and his team as they will be the presenting sponsor of this feature.

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THREE THINGS WE LEARNED:

1 - There's a reason Clemson rarely ever loses at home.

Let me start by making this very clear: I'm not saying that Clemson isn't a good team, or that the only reason they win at home is because of a friendly whistle. I'm not saying that Louisville would have won if the calls went differently. What I am saying is that what we witnessed yesterday was a disgrace, and even if Louisville played a perfect game (they didn't) it would have been difficult to overcome the egregious blown calls.

There wasn't just one or two calls that went against Louisville. There were a NUMBER of calls that impacted the flow of the game, and impacted the score of the game.

Let's start with the phantom pass interference call that went against Josh Minkins that led to seven points.

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This was a critical play before halftime that allowed Clemson to take a 17-7 lead into the break, instead of a 10-7 lead into the break. Josh Minkins played this ball as well as you can, and the referee back by the line of scrimmage through a flag. The referee standing right by Minkins and Shipley, did not call a thing.

The next play that comes to mind is an obvious offensive pass interference or hold.

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How do you miss this? The ball is thrown beyond the line of scrimmage, therefore the wide receiver can't block down the field. It's pretty cut and dry. The officiating crew, somehow, didn't see anything.

That become a trend - not seeing what everyone else is seeing.

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Again, how do you miss this? Jawhar Jordan's helmet is twisted sideways as the Clemson defender brings him down by the face mask. What are we looking at, stripes?

Hits on the quarterback, across all of football are closely looked at week in and week out. Not at Clemson, apparently.

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This was another critical down and what should have been an automatic first down, resulted in Louisville getting stopped. Whether targeting is clear or not, it's almost always reviewed. Not at Clemson.

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Brock Domann threw a ball up for grabs on a fourth down, and most of us watching at home were wondering what Domann was thinking. Well, he threw it up because there was a penalty down the field. Never mind.

I'm not even a 'blame the refs' guy, but I found myself very frustrated with the officiating and given how talented Clemson is, it would have been virtually impossible for Louisville to overcome everything that went against them.

I wasn't the only one frustrated -- Scott Satterfield was as well.

"It's just very frustrating for me to watch some of the stuff that happens out here week in and week out."

I'm not a morale victory person, but I came away impressed with Louisville's resiliency. They didn't roll over, and Scott Satterfield recognized that, too.

"We didn't quit. When you can keep doing that you're going to give yourself a great opportunity to win football games."

2 - It's going to be a long year for Kenny Payne and the Louisville men's basketball program.

Look, we all understood coming into the season that this is very much a rebuilding year, and it's going to take time for Kenny Payne to get things going in the right direction. I think everyone would have accepted a 16-14 or so record. What I don't think most would accept is a single-digit win record. After dropping the opener to Bellarmine, Louisville got beat at the buzzer on Saturday at the hands of Wright State. With the loss, Louisville is 0-2 to start a season for the first time since 1999. I'm not asking for the world, and I don't think most of the fan base is either. Bellarmine and Wright State are formidable mid-majors, but regardless of the lack of talent on this Louisville roster, there's no reason that Louisville should be 0-2. Bellarmine followed up the win at Louisville by losing to Morehead State. Wright Stat lost to Davidson at home.

This isn't a well-constructed Louisville roster, this roster doesn't have five stars up and down the the lineup. But, they have enough talent to beat mid-majors at home. The schedule from here on out, for the most part, gets much more difficult. Louisville gets Appalachian State at home before heading to Maui, where the Cards will likely face two ranked teams. The non-conference slate features Maryland, Western Kentucky, and Kentucky, and the wins are looking harder and harder to find.

There have been some positives, specifically with individual players.

With 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals vs. Wright State, Jae'Lyn Withers is the first Louisville player to have a double-double in points and rebounds plus 5 steals since Terrence Williams had 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 steals in a 78-63 win vs. Providence on Jan. 13, 2007.

Thanks to Kelly Dickey for providing that stat, and yes, Jae'Lyn Withers has been an obvious bright spot. But, anyway you slice it, what we've seen thus far isn't good enough. From an effort standpoint, from a fundamental standpoint, it hasn't been up to Louisville basketball's standards.

3 - The Governor's Cup is there for the taking.

Things have shifted in a major way over the last month as Louisville now has a very live shot at going into Kroger Field and winning. Kentucky just lost at home to Vanderbilt, a team that hadn't won an SEC game in 1,120 days. Vanderbilt had a 26-game losing streak in the conference, and took down Kentucky.

The offensive struggles in Lexington run deep as Kentucky's offense has fallen to 84th in the SP+, which would be the worst finish of the Mark Stoops era. Vanderbilt converted 11-of-17 third downs against a Kentucky defense that was supposedly the strength of their team. NFL prospect Will Levis has continued to struggle, and finished the game against Vanderbilt with only 109 passing yards. The offensive line has been a weakness for Kentucky all season, and Levis took four more sacks against Vanderbilt.

Now, Kentucky gets the No. 1 team in the country, Georgia, which should be a very physical and draining game. Louisville has to take advantage of this opportunity, as a reeling Kentucky team is staring another loss in the face.

TWO QUESTIONS:

1 - What is the status of Malik Cunningham?

Malik Cunningham injured his left hand during the win over James Madison, and had a minor procedure last week. He wore a padded-glove on his left hand, and it didn't seem to impact his ability to throw the football. However, on the last play of the first half, Cunningham took off running and was slow to get up. He went to the locker room and came out in street clothes. The word from UofL was that Malik Cunningham would be out for the rest of the game with a shoulder injury. Cunningham didn't appear to be wearing a sling, or anything of that nature, and looked very engaged on the Louisville sidelines. Scott Satterfield will address the media on Tuesday, and will likely provide an update on Cunningham then.

2 - What's going on with Sydney Curry?

Arguably Louisville's best player last year has gotten off to a slow start to say the least. Curry has just three points through the first two games, and didn't attempt a shot against Bellarmine. Something just seems off with Curry. Some of it could be related to him being out of shape, but it just feels like there's more to Curry's struggles. Louisville is facing an uphill battle the rest of the way, and it will be increasingly difficult to stack wins without Curry being at his best.

ONE PREDICTION: Louisville will upset someone in Maui.

The Maui Invitational field is loaded. Louisville is 0-2. Nothing is going right. I'm calling it now, Louisville will beat a team they aren't supposed to beat in Maui. The Cardinals will almost certainly be underdogs in all three games. Outside of the first round, Louisville's opponents aren't known yet. Beating Arkansas is a tall order, but I think Louisville wins at least one game during Feast Week.