Louisville vs. Virginia football: QB Malik Cunningham out, Brock Domann to start

Louisville football will be without star quarterback Malik Cunningham against Virginia on Saturday.

The athletic department confirmed the news the redshirt senior won't start because of concussion-like symptoms minutes after Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde reported Cunningham did not make the trip to Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Cardinals will also be without running back Jalen Mitchell for a fourth straight week after he suffered a lower leg injury against UCF on Sept. 9 as well as Tiyon Evans and safety Kenderick Duncan, the team's leading tackler. Head coach Scott Satterfield said Tuesday that Mitchell was close to being available, while Evans and Trevion Cooley, the nature of whose injury was undisclosed, would be day-to-day. Cooley, who will play, is presumed to be the team's starting running back.

Cunningham was diagnosed with a mild concussion, a source close to the quarterback said earlier in the week, after experiencing what Satterfield called “probably concussion-like symptoms” on Tuesday during his weekly press conference. Satterfield said the Cardinals’ quarterback “took two shots” during the third quarter of the Week 5 contest against Boston College last Saturday and was evaluated by doctors both times.

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After the second hit, Satterfield was informed by doctors Cunningham couldn’t go back into the game, and Cunningham was taken into the locker room. He finished the day with 186 yards and a touchdown on 19-for-28 passing in addition to 62 yards and three more scores on 15 carries.

Cunningham had started 40 straight games for the Cardinals, a program record.

QB Brock Domann to start for Louisville

In Cunningham’s place, backup Brock Domann will get the start, the first time he's been QB1 in a game since his days at Independence Community College in 2020. Domann closed out the Cardinals’ Week 5 contest against Boston College, but only had one completion, good for 19 yards, with an interception to end the game as U of L fell to the Eagles 34-33.

In two appearances, including mop-up duty against South Florida on Sept. 24, Domann is 6 of 16 for 92 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. The Colorado Springs, Colorado, native played at four colleges, his last stop in the junior college level at Independence (Kansas) Community College before joining the Cardinals and winning a battle for the backup job during training camp in August. He beat out Evan Conley, who was still recovering from offseason hip surgery, for the job.

Nathan McElroy, who was also part of the backup quarterback competition in the fall, will most likely be behind Domann. The sophomore, who led Trinity High School to back-to-back state titles, has yet to play a game for the Cardinals.

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More injuries in the backfield

After coming into the season with a loaded group of running backs, the Cardinals are down to Cooley, Jawhar Jordan and true freshman Maurice Turner with Mitchell and Evans out.

Evans, a transfer from Tennessee, won the starting running backs job during fall camp and capitalized on the opportunity. After Cunningham, he's the team's leading scorer with three touchdowns and the second-leading rusher behind Cunningham with 263 yards on 53 carries.

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Evans has struggled with injuries for most of the year and missed the Cardinals' home opener against Florida State, which ended up being a 35-31 loss. Jordan started in his place and tallied 91 yards on 17 carries in the contest. Cooley followed up with 34 yards and a score on 10 totes to go along with four catches and another TD for 36 yards.

Louisville football trying to avoid 0-4 ACC start

Losing Cunningham puts Louisville in an even further bind with the team still searching for an ACC win after falling to Syracuse, Florida State and the Eagles to start the season.

The Cardinals will have a bye next week, which gives Cunningham, Evans, Mitchell and Duncan a chance to recover. Their schedule only gets tougher after this week, though, with games against Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, James Madison, NC State and at Clemson up next before the regular-season finale against Kentucky.

Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Alexis_Cubit.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football Malik Cunningham out with concussion vs. Virginia