The Cardinal Countdown: 3 Days Until Kickoff

2021 Season Recap: Stud. Absolute Stud. Not sure what else to type. QB1 went for 1,034yd on the ground (1st on team, 5th in ACC), over 2,900 yards in the air (6th in ACC, 38th nationally), and 39 total TDs. He did just about everything you could have asked from him all year and his play kept the Cards in games. He wasn’t perfect, but he did what he had to do to put the team in a position to win week in and week out. One of the Top 5 seasons statistically in UofL football history without question.

2022 Season Outlook: Nothing I type here is going to new or fresh in regards to my take on Malik. The gift and the curse of following one of the best to ever do it in the sport is something we shouldn’t take lightly, and I think the weight of that is frustrating for him, but please, I’m begging you, do not downplay Cunningham as a “Lamar Light” or something less than a Top 5 QB all-time. The only thing separating him from Jackson, Brohm, Bridgewater, and Redman are the wins, and while that is a key stat it is not on him alone to produce it. This will be my last time covering him on the countdown and it’s great platform to lay out some truths as to where he is today statistically. Pardon the “rawness” of the data. I didn't have time to make pretty charts or graphs. I have failed you, Malik hasn’t...

Sweet Tweet:

Malik in 2022….get your popcorn ready.

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2021 Season Recap: Last year Riley was just hanging out down in Murfreesboro, TN reading up on Civil War history and snagging INTs like it was his day job. Riley finished 2021 with 5 picks, tied for 4th nationally, while playing in only nine games. He added 153 return yards to those five picks and took one to the crib for good measure. He also had a handful of TFLs, a couple sacks and 9 PBUs. Following up on a very productive 2020 Riley is ready to make the leap. Dude has been an animal at the G5 level…and now he plays for us.

2022 Season Outlook: While many expected to see Riley in the mix at corner this year I’ll be the first to say I was a bit shocked to see the “OR” next to Tre Clark’s name with Q Riley as the other option for Week 1. If my man has been showing out to the level that he is on par with a healthy Clark, we got some DUDES in the secondary this year. Of course, we still need to see it translate to gameday when the lights are on, but Riley would be a great addition to this group and a guy who may have a couple years left in the program. About 97 days ago I kicked off this countdown and touched on the significance of the transfers, but even I’m surprised by how quickly they have positioned themselves to not only see the field but be impact players from Day one. The secondary needed some help and Riley can be a significant reason they turn things around this year.

Sweet Tweet:

I knew I liked this guy. “QR Code” scans the court likes he scans the field…looking for weaknesses, and then embarrasses your family on tape. If I’m the young man that got dunked on I’m pulling a Kanye and grabbing the hard drives, they must be destroyed.