Louisville makes quarterback change, will start Malik Cunningham

Redshirt freshman quarterback Malik Cunningham will make his first collegiate start Saturday at Virginia, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino announced Monday.

Cunningham relieved redshirt sophomore Jawon Pass in Louisville’s last two games, rallying the Cards to wins over Indiana State and Western Kentucky.

In those two games, Louisville has scored on eight of the 12 drives in which Cunningham started and finished them – five touchdowns and three field goals.

Since a solid first start against Alabama, Pass has not led a drive that ended in points.

Earlier:Bobby Petrino on Louisville's quarterbacks: 'We got to look at Malik'

“(Cunningham) gives us energy,” Petrino said. “He gets the guys around him to play hard.”

Cunningham is also a better rusher, the most effective one on the team through three games. In only five quarters of action, Cunningham has a team-high 33 rushes for 183 yards. He had 129 of Louisville’s 204 rushing yards Saturday against WKU, and he did not get sacked.

Petrino said he hopes the change will jump-start a dormant Louisville offense.

The Cards are averaging 5.02 yards per play this season, ranking 12th in the ACC and 109th in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision. They have just 10 plays of 20 yards or more, tied for 100th in the FBS.

Petrino said this summer he thought the team’s offense would be better this season. The 2017 team had 92 plays of 20 yards or more, ranking sixth in the country.

Also:Petrino previews Louisville football vs. Virginia, reviews WKU game

“I said I expected them to be better,” Petrino said. “I expect a lot of things. I get some, and some I don’t get. You have to have high expectations. Looking at what we got coming back, and I feel good about what’s going on. But right now, we’re not obviously getting that done.”

Cunningham was 10-for-18 passing for 88 yards against WKU. But the offense has deeper problems than the quarterback. On the first play of a fourth-quarter drive Saturday, Cunningham had senior Jaylen Smith open on a deep post with nobody around him. The on-target pass went through Smith’s hands.

Bringing Cunningham up to speed is another task. Louisville’s coaches designed this year’s offense around Pass, a more traditional pocket passer, and gave Pass almost all of the first-team reps during the spring and summer.

Petrino admitted they did not expect to make this change.

Pass and Petrino met in the head coach’s office Sunday to talk about the decision, and Petrino conveyed that he wasn’t happy to bench Pass.

“It’s not at all what he expected and how he expected things to go,” Petrino said. “I thought he played well against Alabama. But we just haven’t been driving the ball and getting the ball in the end zone.”

For the game:How to watch Louisville football vs. Virginia on Saturday

Good news:Louisville football: London Iakopo 'feeling a lot better' after injury

Pass was benched after the first quarter against WKU, finishing three drives, two of which ended in punts, one in an interception. He threw three incomplete passes, all of which hit the receivers’ hands.

Pass began the fourth possession and took a sack on first down to end the first quarter. After the break, Cunningham took his place.

“The one I didn’t like was the sack,” Petrino said. “He’s out of the pocket, he knows he can just throw the ball away. He did have a guy open earlier on that. To go from (first down) to second-and-16, that’s hard.”

Cunningham stepped in for the last three plays of that drive, starting with second-and-16 from his own 19-yard line. He ran the ball all three times.

It was an indicator of how drastic the quarterback change will be. The offense belongs to the speedster now.

Jake Lourim: 502-582-4168; jlourim@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @jakelourim. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/jakel.

Up next

When: 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Where: Charlottesville, Virginia.

TV: FOX Sports South Radio: WHAS-840.