Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. Miami

The Cardinals found themselves on the wrong end of the shootout against the Hurricanes.

Oct 19, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals wide receiver Chris Bell (0) runs the ball against the Miami Hurricanes during the first half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program found themselves on the wrong end of a shootout this past weekend, falling 52-45 to No. 6 Miami for their third loss in four games.

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

• First of all, despite everything that has transpired up to this point for Louisville, this was a game where many believed (myself included) the Cardinals still had a chance to win simply because of Jeff Brohm's track record in big time games. Sold out crowd, top-ten opponent, national TV treatment: This game had all the ingredients for Brohm to pull off the upset special like he seemingly has done at least once per year since becoming a head coach. Sure, Louisville did still have a chance to win this one up until the final minute or so. But like we have seen so many times this season, their various hinderances - whether self-inflicted or not - proved to be much too much to overcome. At this point, we more than a big enough sample size to show that there are a bevy of issues plaguing this team, whether it be with the players on the field or the coaches on the sideline.
• Speaking of the coaches, when it comes to the offensive staff vs. the defensive staff, they were on polar opposites. Offensively, we have been waiting all game long for Jeff Brohm to have a play calling game like this. The tight end screen, the wildcat formation with Isaac Brown, the fake punt, the decision to use a moving pocket when it was clear that Louisville was having issues on their offensive line, et cetera. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the end-of-game clock management on Louisville's final drive, but they didn't recover the onside kick, so it's a moot point. We have been waiting all season long for Brohm to break out of his vanilla and predictable play calling tendencies we have seen this season, and we finally got it. Miami seemed lost defensively at times in part because of the scheming done by Brohm and company. Not sure why it took until just past the midway point of the season, but better late than never I guess.
• Then... there was the defensive game plan. Look, Miami came into this game with the No. 1 total and scoring defense. To act like Louisville was going to hold Miami in check for the whole game is disingenuous, and the execution from the players certainly didn't help either. But this was a terrible game plan from Ron English and the defensive staff. For starters, even with English coming down to the sideline, whenever Miami did go tempo (which wasn't super often), there was still a lot of communication issues between the coaches and players. Also, the decision to not bring more pressure on Cam Ward for large swaths of the game - whenever it was evident that pressure was working in spades - was a head scratcher. Although this might be because Louisville has had to settle for putting out a more simple scheme because of the communication issues, and Cam Ward made them pay dearly for it. Stretching back to the end of last season, and we're getting to the point where it may not be an issue with the players on defense (and there are issues there), but an issue with the scheme itself. Additionally, why is Ashton Gillotte taking any snaps at linebacker? Put him on the edge where he belongs and keep him there. It's not that difficult.
• Okay, I do want to touch upon the offense first, because they will get lost in the shuffle because of how poorly the defense played. The more that we see Tyler Shough play, the stronger my belief grows that he is the best thrower of the football to don a Cardinal uniform since Teddy Bridgewater. Some of the throws that he made, such as his first touchdown pass to Ja'Corey Brooks that was in an insanely tight window, were NFL-caliber. His ability to make throws both at various different arm slots and while on the arm is incredibly impressive, as is his ability to navigate the pocket and sense when pressure is coming.
• Of course, along with Shough performing exceptionally, his supporting cast of pass catchers also thrived. Ja'Corey Brooks is slowly developing into Louisville's top prospect for the 2025 NFL Draft, and just keeps making plays. Chris Bell had a great bounce back game after his immaturity got the better of him at Virginia. Caullin Lacy continues to get better after coming back from his collarbone injury, and looks to be getting more and more comfortable as time passes. I still am of the belief that Brohm needs to get tight ends Mark Redman and Jamari Johnson more involved in the offense, but they had a handful of good moments in this game as well. Hopefully Johnson's ankle/foot injury on the hip drop tackle isn't as bad as what it appeared to be in real time.
• It might have taken until the midway point of the season, but we finally got a game in which Brohm didn't call a 50/50 split in terms of pass vs. run. While 106 rushing yards doesn't seem like a lot, that's a number that factors in Shough's sacks as well. Isaac Brown, Duke Watson and Donald Chaney Jr. all got some solid runs in, and runs were called at times that caught Miami off guard. Though I was a little surprised that Brown's efficiency after the first quarter went significantly down, and his fumble on the goal line was a mistake that absolutely cannot happen.
• The one area of the offense that didn't have a good day was, unsurprisingly, the offensive line. The six linemen that played in this game gave up a combined 22 quarterback pressures. I get that Miami has one of the better defensive lines in the ACC, but this was an inexcusable performance. I hate to single out players, but it's getting to the point where it might be time to bench right tackle Jonathan Mendoza. Once Monroe Mills returns, which sounds to be sooner rather than later, it might be in the Cards' best interest to give Rasheed Miller a chance to start at right tackle. Or anyone else to be honest.
• Alright, now it's time to talk about the defense. Where do I even begin here? Yes, we can make the argument that the coaches are not putting the players in the best position to succeed, but the basic defensive execution was severely lacking. For starters, this might have been one of the worst tackling performance I have ever seen. Pro Football Focus says there were only 13 missed tackles, but just watching them play, that number seems like it should be in the 20's. Poor attack angles, ankle biting, not wrapping up, you name it. Not only did Miami collect a whopping 155 rushing yards after contact, they also had 175 receiving yards after the catch. Both numbers by themselves are inexcusable. Again, Miami has some very, very good skill position players. But the basic defensive fundamentals seemed to be thrown clear out of the window during this game. The worst part is that this wasn't the first time we have seen subpar tackling out of them this season.
• Another area that was severely lacking was that, more often than not, Louisville was flat out bullied at the point of attack. Miami's offensive line - especially when it came to run blocking - enforced their will against the Cardinals' front seven almost all afternoon, routinely helping short runs turn into chunk plays (such as Damien Martinez' go-ahead 30-yard rushing touchdown). Couple that with the aforementioned atrocious tackling, and it's no wonder that they gave up over 200 rushing yards.
• Again, Miami came into this game with the No. 1 passing offense in the FBS, so it was going to be a matter if Louisville's pass coverage could bend but not break. Well, they certainly broke. The biggest issue, yet again, was that Louisville could not defend the middle/intermediate part of the field. Of Cam Ward's 319 passing yards, 192 of them came on throws less than 20 yards downfield in between the numbers. Louisville's linebacking corps, and to an extent their safeties, were abused all afternoon long in pass coverage.
• A few defenders do deserve some recognition. After having a very slow start to the season, Thor Griffith got a fair amount of playing time and made an impact in the middle of the line - on top of the forced fumble that led to a game-tying score. T.J. Quinn, for as up-and-down he has been this year, had arguably his best game of the season.
• Special Teams hasn't been particularly noteworthy this season, and they weren't perfect against Miami, but they had a good overall game. Obviously, Lacy was due to break off a long run, and he finally was able to do so. Jaleel Skinner also had a great final block on that return as well. Brady Hodges didn't punt much, but this was one of his better games. Though Brown's fumble lost for a Miami touchdown was set up on a bad holding penalty on the punt (yes, it was a hold, I checked. Not sure why the referee seemingly waited until the TV timeout to throw the flag though).
• Ugh. I hate having to have the discussion about officials every damn week, but I feel like I have to now. I've already long established that ACC official are atrocious, so fans should probably keep that mind heading into the game. But that decision to reverse the fumble call was infuriating. Was it a bang-bang play in terms of arm moving forward/not moving forward? I think so. But again, the call on the field was a fumble, and you need "indisputable video evidence" to reverse it. The evidence in question was very much "disputable."
• I'll close with this thought: after winning at Virginia, Louisville had a golden opportunity to recapture momentum and salvage what could have still been a very good season. But now? Season-long issues continue to persist on both sides of the ball, and there's no sign that either the players or the coaches can turn them around at this juncture of the season barring a major turnaround in terms of personnel or scheme decisions. Not to mention that every one of the remaining five games in the regular season is either on the road or against a ranked opponent. Unless they pull off a miracle turnaround, Louisville could struggle to get to over .500 to finish the season. With a roster this talented, that's simply not good enough, and changes to Brohm's staff could be in order if that comes to pass.

(Photo of Chris Bell: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

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