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Louisville Looks to Improve as Marshall Game Nears

Louisville Looks to Improve as Marshall Game Nears
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By Louisville Athletics
Sep. 20, 2016 | LOUISVILLE, KY
By Louisville Athletics Sep. 20, 2016 | 08:02 PM | LOUISVILLE, KY
Through the first three games of the season, there hasn't been an offense as explosive and consistent as the University of Louisville.

Leading the nation in scoring and total offense, the Cardinals are operating as a well-oiled machine heading into Saturday's non-conference game versus Marshall. CBS SportsNetwork will broadcast the game with Carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor and Jenny Bell announcing.

Known for offense and explosive plays, lighting up the scoreboard always brings a smile to head coachBobby Petrino's face, but the seventh-year head coach wants his high-powered offense to eliminate the mistakes.

"Yeah, and that's what was fun watching the other day was how physical they played, how hard they played, how they communicated," Petrino said. "You know we still had some mistakes, we still had some errors, but they were mistakes because of things, new looks that we saw or you know a call that we made, but it really wasn't that look. "

Even though there were mistakes in the offensive explosion, Petrino can't fault the overall effort of  his team.

"There were zero effort errors," Petrino stated. "Our guys played hard and played physical. You know they graded out as well as we have throughout the season."

Offensive coordinator Lonnie Galloway, who is in his first season with the Cardinals, likes what he sees out of his offensive especially his receivers, but wants to see 100 percent effort on every play, which is something he hasn't seen as of yet.

"You know, the thing I always tell the group and tell the wide outs is the one thing you can control is your effort," Galloway said. "When we can get 11 bodies playing with 100% effort, then I'll say we're getting closer, so right now we don't have that."

One wide out who has seen his production sky rocket and always plays with great effort has been seniorJames Quick, who led the Cards with seven receptions for 122 yards in the big win over Florida State.

Inconsistency has plagued Quick throughout his first three seasons, but Galloway feels his senior speedster has made great strides this season because of the work he has put in.

"He just did a lot of ball drill stuff," Galloway said.  Sometimes, you trust your hands, but you need to see ball all the way in. We've had some drops, we had four against Syracuse, but there is always a chance because you're out there in the spotlight. I mean you're either going to catch it or drop it and everyone is going to see it."

With the Florida State win in the rear-view mirror, the Cardinals returned to the practice field in preparation for Saturday's non-conference game versus Marshall. The Cardinals understand the excitement is over, but it's time to move on.

"Absolutely, the excitement has gone down, but we're still excited to go out there and play another game, "Quick said. "We have to go out there and focus in and prepare for Marshall, so it's just going out there and working hard."

Marshall, 1-1 on the year, will be a tough challenge, and Quick is expecting a solid defensive effort out of the Thundering Herd.

"They do a lot of man-to-man, so it's just coming out and really working our techniques. Our techniques have to be great if we expect to win," Quick added.

With all the attention focused on the Cardinals and the No. 3 ranking, the players have turned off their television and put on the video in preparation for the next challenge.

"Basically, just stay grounded," Quick said. We take it a day at a time. We have to prepare one day at a time. You have to win each day. You can't just win on game, you have to win in practice.  

 

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