It’s a common question we ask ourselves after the first game of the season: How much can we really take away from the first game? In declarative form, it’s a common saying we imply after the first game of the season: It’s just one game.
However, let’s look at this through an optimistic lens. I’ve been optimistic about Scott Satterfield all offseason, and Saturday’s performance by the Bearcats confirmed why I was optimistic this offseason.
There was one stat I kept going back to the last two months of the offseason. Satterfield’s offenses at Louisville were the only offenses to average BOTH 200 yards passing and rushing over the last four seasons.
Well, how’s 667 yards of offense and 66 points in game one? To put that performance into perspective: Louisville only eclipsed 600 yards of offense three times in four seasons under Satterfield. Louisville also only got to as high as 62 points on multiple occasions in Satterfield’s four seasons at the helm.
In six seasons under Luke Fickell, the Bearcats got to as high as 63 points twice and only eclipsed 600 yards three times in six seasons. Given, they racked up 741 total yards in a 2018 win over Alabama A&M, but they never got to 667 yards of offense again.
As for Emory Jones, who made a statement with his debut, his 345 yards passing are the second-most in his career. It’s also only the second time in his career he’s eclipsed 300 yards passing in a game.
For as many questions as this team had going into the season, three transfer receivers combined for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Plus, the offensive line, starting four new players, only surrendered two sacks.
We all hear, it’s just one game. But given all the questions that surrounded this program coming into their first season in the Big 12, yesterday confirmed to any optimistic Bearcats fan this offseason why they felt that way, including myself.
It’s just one game, but what a one game it was, offering a glimpse of what this team could look like this year.
