Bobby Petrino has a decision to make - Jawon Pass or Malik Cunningham?

Louisville's coach has not yet named a starting quarterback for the WKU game on Sept. 15.

Whether Bobby Petrino makes the choice or Jawon Pass’ turf toe makes it for him, the Louisville football team’s quarterback decision this week could have an impact on the next two or three seasons.

The Cardinals need a reliable quarterback to make a bowl game this season, whether it’s Pass or redshirt freshman Malik Cunningham, an athletic replacement who stepped in Saturday against Indiana State.

Pass may be healthy Saturday, or he may not be. He may play well if he does play, or he may not. He may end up remaining the starter of the future, or it may be Cunningham.

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Here are some thoughts on six of the ways this could end:

Case 1: Healthy Pass plays well, keeps job

If Pass is available for Saturday’s game against Western Kentucky, the guess here is that he’s still the starter, even after he was inconsistent against Indiana State and Cunningham won the game in relief.

Petrino still seems to think Pass is the best quarterback, but he still must play well going forward with an undetermined level of pain in his toe. The WKU game will give him a good tune-up before the ACC season starts.

If Pass shows Saturday was just a rain-soaked fluke, he’s the quarterback of the future. Louisville’s strength over the offseason came from having a set starter in Pass. Keeping him in place is probably the best outcome.

Case 2: Healthy Pass struggles again, still keeps job

Pass’ throwing was uneven before he injured his toe Saturday. He tried to force a throw, and it turned into an interception. If he lacks consistency again this week, Petrino will have another decision to make, accounting for both health and production.

If he sticks with Pass the rest of the season, Petrino’s and the program’s future might rest on the fate of that decision. The 2018 season will be evaluated not only for its win-loss record but for how it sets up 2019. The Cardinals have more talent and experience returning at almost every other position next season. They need to have a quarterback solidified by the time they head into the offseason.

If it’s not clear that quarterback is Pass, and Louisville’s record regresses again this season, Petrino’s job might be in jeopardy entering 2019.

Case 3: Healthy Pass struggles again, enter Cunningham

Or, Petrino could decide to make a change at quarterback for performance reasons. This seems unlikely, as the coach implied Monday that the switch Saturday came mostly from Pass’ injury.

But if he benches a healthy Pass, Petrino breaks eight months of understanding that Pass is this team’s replacement for Lamar Jackson. It’d be clear that he’d be changing gears to his backup in Cunningham, and even Week 3 is a little late to be trying that. If Cunningham is also ineffective, does Petrino stay with him? Does he go back to Pass? Does he try freshman Jordan Travis?

In his career, Petrino has almost always gone forward with one true starter at quarterback. It’s risky to leave any more uncertainty as to who that is.

Case 4: Cunningham beats out healthy Pass in practice this week

The last possibility to come out of Pass staying healthy is that Cunningham is simply more impressive with his performance after Saturday’s game. Again, it seems unlikely that the coaches deviate after eight months of promoting Pass as the starter, giving him the first-team reps and watching him develop with an extra year of experience.

But if Cunningham is the guy, then it may be an extra boost of confidence for him. His throwing ability has been a question, so he’ll have to work on that.

Louisville wouldn’t get very far in the ACC with a run-first quarterback. Teams with stronger defenses, like Boston College and Clemson, will stack the box and slow down Cunningham in the ground game.

Case 5: Pass is injured; Cunningham starts, secures job

It is entirely possible — maybe even likely — that Pass is out with turf toe Saturday. The Cardinals shouldn’t have any trouble with WKU anyway. After that is when it gets interesting.

Petrino said Monday he’s confident in Cunningham’s arm. If the young speedster gets a chance in the coming weeks and takes advantage of it, Louisville’s plans for the future change radically. Pass is a captain. He’s the established player. The coaches spent an entire offseason gearing the offense toward him. Cunningham is an entirely different player.

If Cunningham proves himself, though, he does open some doors for this offense with his running ability. It’s too much of a stretch to compare him to Lamar Jackson, but coaches have mentioned Cunningham in the same sentence as the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner on more than one occasion.

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Case 6: Pass is injured; Cunningham struggles in relief

This case even opens up several further branches. If Cunningham and Louisville lose to Virginia, for example, does Petrino wait until Pass recovers and go back to him? Does he decide one quarterback change is enough and ride out the season with Cunningham, for better or worse? Is it time for Travis?

This might be the least desirable outcome for Louisville. The worst-case scenario is that this issue drags on into midseason and the Cards start losing toss-up games against Georgia Tech and Wake Forest because of quarterback play.

When Pass returns, presumably another choice would be to play two quarterbacks. Asked about that idea Monday, Petrino said he’d prefer to stick with one. He recalled rotating two in 2004, Stefan LeFors’ last year and Brian Brohm’s first, because LeFors was the starter but Petrino wanted to give Brohm a chance for the future.

This situation doesn’t seem comparable. But it’s another option.

Jake Lourim: 502-582-4168; jlourim@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @jakelourim. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/jakel.