Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. Washington

The Cardinals took down the Huskies in the Sun Bowl to head into the offseason on a three-game winning streak.

Louisville Caulin Lacy's (5) touchdown is celebrated during the 91st Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl game against Washington on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024 at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas. / GABY VELASQUEZ/ USA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Taking on Washington in the Sun Bowl to wrap up their 2024 season, the Louisville football program was able to hold off a furious fourth quarter comeback, escaping with a 35-34 victory from Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas.

Before we close the book on the game and transition to the Cardinals' offseason, I wanted to provide some closing thoughts and observations from the game against the Huskies:

• First of all, what a strong end to the season for Louisville. After the debacle that was the Stanford game, I couldn't help but have thoughts start to creep in that the team could mail it in to end the year after such a tremendous let down. Especially considering how the end of last season panned out. But this team deserves a lot of credit for their mental resolves both in the final three games and this game against Washington, and now they're ending the season on a three-game winning streak instead of a losing streak. I won't lie, I did start to get some Stanford flashbacks considering that they were up by two touchdowns and the Huskies were a two-point conversion away from winning. That being said, winning plays were made when they absolutely had to be made - by both veterans who opted to play the game and fresh faces who were thrust into bigger roles.
• There were certainly some ebbs and flows to Jeff Brohm's play calling in this one. There were great moments as well as some moments that were head scratching - but at least it was a lot better than the game plan for last season's Holiday Bowl. I wasn't a fan of him running up the middle on fourth and short considering his stance on doing just that from back in the regular season, but the fourth down play call to Duane Martin was beautiful. I was actually surprised that Louisville threw the ball as much as they did (particularly early on), especially given that Harrison Bailey didn't exactly start the game super crisp. But credit to Brohm for putting the trust he did in Bailey to figure it out, which was then complimented by an increase in the run game in the second half. I was also mildly surprised we didn't see any packages at all for Deuce Adams at quarterback.
• While the offensive plan by the coaches had some ebbs and flows, the defensive plan was the epitome of boom or bust. I'm probably going to catch some flak for saying this, but the defense didn't actually play that bad. Washington ran 68 total plays, and 229 of their 472 total yards came on just six passing plays. That means that on the other 62 plays, UW averaged a measly 3.9 yards per play. The problem is that those six plays were incredibly, incredibly awful coverages busts. Some blame lies on players for lapses in awareness, sure, but having multiple plays where Washington receivers are, quite bluntly, running wide-ass open is unacceptable. Which is a shame considering 75 percent of the game plan was successful.
• While there were plenty of plays made by season-long contributors, a handful of greenhorns deserve a shoutout for their performances. As previously mentioned, Bailey wound up settling in and doing a great job managing the offense. WR Antonio Meeks finally was able to see some solid playing time and had a nice touchdown catch. CB Rae'mon Mosby playing fairly well and was more physical than I expected. Not having guys like Ja'Corey Brooks, Ashton Gillotte and Quincy Riley certainly made things difficult, but everyone else on the team stepped up and made it far from an impossible task to win.
• I'll dive into the offensive side of the ball first. Hand up, I did not expect Bailey to play as well as he did. While he did throw a little bit higher at times than I would have liked, for the most part he did a great job of managing the offense, and actually gave Louisville a decent QB run option when he had to use his legs. His teardrop pass to Antonio Meeks for a touchdown was absolutely beautiful.
• Of course, his cast of characters in the passing game also did a great job as well. Chris Bell made a couple of tough grown man catches. Caullin Lacy took a massive shot just short of the goal line and still fought for the end zone, then did it again on his end-around. Nate Kurisky ran a great route for his touchdown, and Mark Redman had a clutch third down catch.
• Water is wet, the sun rises in the east, and both Isaac Brown and Duke Watson had phenomenal games on the ground. But while this duo does deserve credit themselves for combining for nearly 200 rushing yards, the offensive line deserves a massive shout out. For starters, they did not allow a single sack for the SIXTH time this year, and opened up some massive holes for Brown and Watson. Considering the injuries this unit has had to deal with, the fact that they have operated at such a high level has been incredible.
• Alright, now onto the defense. I've already established some of my thoughts on how they performed, and I do want to add that UW quarterback Demond Williams Jr. is much, much better than I expected him to be. Where this unit shined was in their front seven. They held Washington to under 100 yards rushing, and were able to get a good amount of pressure on the backfield (five sacks and 10 tackles for loss). Additionally, this area of the field made some clutch plays down the stretch. Both Rene Konga and Stanquan Clark got sacks in the final sequence, and Antonio Watts of course made the play of the game with his two-point conversion pass breakup. Then Jordan Guerad was named the defensive MVP for game after leading the team in tackles while also getting a sack and two tackles for loss. The bulk of Louisville's defensive issues certainly were not around the line of scrimmage, especially in the second half where Washington was getting manhandled at the point of attack.
• As for the secondary, well.. they were not as consistent. As mentioned earlier, some of the issues here were due to the fact that the play calls resulted in some bad coverage busts at time. But on top of that, there were some plays where the execution wasn't the best. In particular, Washington and Williams did seem to pick on M.J. Griffin and Corey Thornton at times. Though, playing devil's advocate, it's hard to play as many snaps as some of the starting defensive backs did when they were that thin. Plus, there were some good plays made by the secondary as well. Tahveon Nicholson got the scoring started with a pick-six off of a tremendous read, and Tamarion McDonald got a crucial pass breakup at the goal line in the final sequence. Like I said, outside of the six passes for 229 yards, Williams threw for just 145 on his 26 other attempts. Not great, not terrible, just not consistent.
• Special teams also played a role in the victory. Brock Travelstead ended the year perfect on PATs (which is a bigger deal than you realize, especially considering the final score), Carter Schwartz did a great job punting the ball after having to take over following Brady Hodges' late opt-out, and Lacy had a great punt return to set up Louisville's second touchdown. All three phases matter.
• It wouldn't be right if I didn't comment on the officiating. Did this crew just not believe in facemask penalties? On either side? Not to mention the fourth down pass interference call that allowed Washington another chance to win was one of the most egregious calls I've seen all season. But, thankfully, it didn't cost Louisville.
• I'll close with this thought: Was this season as successful as last years? Considering it's fewer wins and Louisville didn't make a return to Charlotte, by definition, no. That being said, the momentum heading into the offseason is much, much different than it was this time a year ago. This season certainly had it's fair share of "what if's," but two of their four losses came to College Football Playoff teams - and one of their wins came against the eventual ACC champion. Brohm's first two seasons at the helm have been a rousing success (19 total wins), and it has the potential to serve as the foundation for much more success later on down the road.

(Photo of Caullin Lacy: Gaby Velasquez - USA TODAY NETWORK)

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