Well yesterday the football season finally got underway as the Cats went into Cardinal Stadium and got spanked. The game was nothing short of disappointing but there were a few highs from the game. Here are the points I consider the good, the bad and the ugly.

The Good:

The Improved Offense: Last year the offense was atrocious and coming into the year Phil Steele picked the Cats to have one of the worst in all of college football. I think its safe to say the Wildcats aren’t going to be near the bottom of the FBS this season. Max Smith owned the position in a way he never did last season. He found his receivers and made plenty of big-time plays. He was the catalyst for several big drives and kept the Cats in the game, at least for a little while. The offense looked a million times better.

The Youth: The best thing about the offense is the influx of youth. Max Smith and Josh Clemons are just sophomores and will be the anchors of the offense for years to come. The wide receiver corps got big plays out of the freshman and sophomores. The Lord of Leg came in and had an amazing punt pinning Louisville deep in their own territory. The future of the offense looks very bright and for them to be looking good already this year is definitely a good omen. The foundation of the program looks solid as the Cats perhaps continue to rebuild.

The Bad:

Missed Chances: The Cats left too many points on the table. If the Cats are going to reach a bowl this season there is now no room for error. The offense must absolutely capitalize on every opportunity as the defense doesn’t appear to be able to help them out in any way. The team can’t be fumbling deep in enemy territory or giving up big plays on third and long.

Being Outplayed: Speaking of big plays on third and long the Cats where simply outplayed at nearly every position. Simply put the Cards seemed to want the game more and out hustled the team and fought harder on each play. If the boys in blue are going to pull off an upset in SEC play they will have to dig deep and bring the fight to the field the Louisville brought. As much as it pains me to write Louisville just had the stronger will to win and found a way to get it done every time their back was against the wall. That is how great teams play.

The Ugly:

The Defense: The defense was the only good thing last season. They were the primary reason we were able to take down Tennessee and were able to hang with Georgia. Well this year the loss of Trevathan and Guy were much bigger than expected. The defense was inept and Louisville was able to score at will. They can be better as their is a lot of talent on that side of the ball, but yesterday it just did not click. Whatever was wrong needs to be fixed fast before the team gets embarrassed by the elite teams of the SEC.