Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. SMU

The Cardinals are now on a two-game losing skid after falling to the Mustangs at home.

Louisville’s Isaac Brown gets a first down against SMU this Saturday. / Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program is now on a two-game losing streak after winning their first three to open up the season, falling 34-27 to SMU for their first loss in conference play this season.

Before we close the book on the game and transition to the matchup at Virginia, I wanted to provide some closing thoughts and observations from the game against the Mustangs:

• First of all, this was a golden opportunity for Louisville to prove that the disjointed efforts against Georgia Tech and Notre Dame were one-off performances. It was a chance for them to show to both fans and the college football world as a whole that the mistakes and miscues committed in those games were outliers, and that they weren't emblematic of this team's overall identity. Well, as the saying goes: once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern. We now have a large enough sample size to suggest that Louisville has some major issues when it comes to their play-to-play organization and focus. The most damning part about it is that it's not just one person or coach. Multiple parties, both on the field and on the sideline, are at fault for why Louisville is now staring at a two-game losing streak. Never say never, but unless some significant overhauls occur, the dream of getting back to Charlotte for the ACC Championship and maybe even contending for a spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff is nearly dead.
• There are a lot of parties at fault here, but it all starts with the man up top. Once again, head coach Jeff Brohm's game plan for the offense had several questionable decisions - whether it was the play calling, the personnel groupings or simply the situational awareness. For starters, Louisville's prowess when it comes to running the ball is not what it was last season and they are clearly a much better passing team, so it baffles me why Brohm is still calling run/pass plays at roughly a 50/50 split. I never thought I would complain that a Brohm offense wasn't passing enough, but alas, here we are. SMU had shown in the last couple games that their secondary had been suspect and their run defense was stout, so I'm not sure why they didn't adjust their calls as such. Additionally, I'm not sure what happened to Brohm's situational awareness, but he has gotten way, WAY too aggressive. Why are you going for it on fourth down, in the red zone, with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter of a tie game? Take the points, man! He built up a lot of goodwill after what he did last season, but the honeymoon is now over.
• Brohm's not the only coach here that deserves some flak, Ron English deserves it as well - if not more. Louisville's defense wasn't nearly as bad vs. Georgia Tech and Notre Dame as people want to think it was, but it was a flat out inexcusable performance from this unit against SMU. Every coach who has ever faced a Rhett Lashlee-coached team knows that he likes to go up tempo. Yet for some reason, English and the defensive staff as a whole struggled all afternoon long to get the calls to the players in time, and SMU jumped all over it. There was a complete lack of organization when it came to the defensive play calling for most of the afternoon. We're nearing the halfway point of the season. They still should not be having problems with the new in-helmet communications (or whatever else is the reason for the disorganization). On top of that, you would think they would know how to defend a running quarterback after facing three-in-a-row prior to this game. That 59-yard touchdown from Kevin Jennings perfectly encapsulated the issues on the day. It's 3rd and 2 and you're coming out of a timeout. How do you let that happen? Better yet, how do you not see it coming? Also... how do you let SMU get massive chunk plays on the first play of a drive *four* times? Just a terrible plan of attack from the defensive staff.
• Yes, the coaches failed the players with a poor game plan on both sides, but the players didn't exactly light the world on fire either. That being said, a few guys deserve some credit. Tyler Shough continues to show that he is the best thrower of the football to play for Louisville since Lamar Jackson (maybe even Teddy Bridgewater), and made several throws that came with a high degree of difficulty. Ja'Corey Brooks made a phenomenal catch and adjustment on his 86-yard touchdown. Isaac Brown is a star in the making, and showcased his explosive speed, underrated power and pass catching capabilities. Ahmari Huggins-Bruce seems to have finally re-found his groove since returning to Louisville. Tayon Holloway made a great third down play in coverage in the fourth quarter of a tie game. M.J. Griffin and Stanquan Clark were fairly reliable for the majority of the game.
• Alright, now it's time to start having the uncomfortable discussions about the players. For the second game in a row, the Louisville's offensive line put together an atrocious performance - especially when it came to pass protection. On the majority of Shough's drop backs, he had pressure in his face. It's honestly an impressive feat by him that he was as effective as he was. Not to mention that Louisville now has some massive concerns at the two tackle spots. Jonathan Mendoza has struggled at times at right tackle, and was a liability vs. SMU. Monroe Mills - who was already good but inconsistent - is likely going to miss significant time because of his injury, and his backup in Rasheed Miller didn't have a great game either. Trevonte Sylvester is more of a tight end/tackle hybrid than a true lineman. It might be time to insert Renato Brown back into the starting lineup or give someone else a shot, because what's going on right now isn't working.
• Going back to the personnel criticisms with Brohm for a moment: it's time to make Isaac Brown the bell cow running back in this offense. Whether it's through the air or on the ground. he has dazzled in every single game up to this point. No offense to Donald Chaney Jr., but he just isn't playing nearly as well as Brown is - both as a runner and pass catcher. Even in the short yardage situations where he *should* thrive, Chaney has been hit-or-miss, and Brown is starting to show that he can run between the tackles effectively.
• Also, it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world to utilize more 12 personnel sets with Mark Redman and Jamari Johnson. Those two tight ends are too good and have too much potential to only have six combined targets. Especially since Caullin Lacy wasn't much of a factor in this game with how well SMU defended the drag routes, and that Chris Bell was nearly a no-show.
• Well... time to talk about the defense. Where do I even begin here? There wasn't any area of the field that did well, point blank period.
• The biggest surprise was the fact that Louisville couldn't get any pass rush to going hardly at all. Either the defensive line was completely stonewalled at the point of attack, or they overshot Jennings and allowed him to extend the play. Of his 29 drop backs, Jennings was pressured just seven times, and was not sacked once. The depth and talent on Louisville's defensive line was hyped up as a strength of the defense heading into the season, and so far, their ability to get after the quarterback has been extremely underwhelming. It doesn't even matter that they were able to limit running back Brashard Smith and force SMU to be one-dimensional.
• While I'm on this topic, where has Ashton Gillotte been? If you told me he would have just one sack and two TFLs five games into the season, I'd call you a liar. Considering he led the ACC in sacks last season, the former All-American has been extremely disappointing through roughly the first half of the season. And don't tell me "it's because he gets held every play." It's football. Holding in some form occurs on literally every single play. If he's the NFL talent like we think he can be, that shouldn't be a problem.
• Not only could the pass rush not get home, but Louisville's linebackers and defensive backs didn't hold up their end of the bargain in coverage either. I know part of this was because the staff was struggling to get the calls in time, but at some point, you just have to look forward and make sure you don't give up a massive play simply because you're not paying attention. I get that the depth was tested because Quincy Riley was still out and Devin Neal left the team, I do. But far too many times, Louisville gave up plays through the air simply because someone was out of position - and that is inexcusable to still be happening.
• Yes, the officials sucked again. Yes, I don't think it was the right call that Smith's fumble was overturned (his shin was down but his knee wasn't? Make it make sense). But I'll say the same thing I said last week: it wasn't the reason why they lost.
• I'll close with this thought: Louisville's coaching staff has to do some serious soul searching this week. Play calling aside, this team has some real issues from an organizational standpoint. If Brohm and Co. want to make sure that this two-game skid doesn't snowball into something much worse, they need to get their act together in a hurry. The schedule isn't getting any easier.

(Photo of Isaac Brown: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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