Louisville Operating With Increased Focus Following First Loss and Bye Week
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In the football world, bye weeks can sometimes seem like they last an eternity. They certainly serve a valuable purpose, but whether you're a player, coach or a simply fan, waiting on that next game while the rest of the football world is in action can be a drag.
It can seem like even more of a drag if the team you play, coach or cheer for is coming off of a loss. That's exactly where the Louisville football program found themselves.
Previously riding the high of taking down a top-10 opponent and winning their first six games of the season, the Cardinals (6-1, 3-1 ACC) then ran into their first roadblock of the Jeff Brohm era in their last time out with a 38-21 loss at Pitt back on Oct. 14. Players, coaches and fans alike then got to stew on that loss for an extra week, as this was preceded by their lone bye week of the 2023 season.
"Bye weeks are never a whole lot of fun when it happens after a loss, but that's life, and we have to live and learn and try to find ways to improve and get better," Brohm said. "There are plenty of things that we need to do to get better. So, I think this past week was used to get guys as healthy as we can because that's very important as well, and then to try to identify the weaknesses we've had and make sure we're getting better in those areas and improving."
An area that Brohm wants the team has a whole to improve upon is efficiency. Offensively, despite out-gaining Pitt by 142 yards, three turnovers inside the red zone proved to be their undoing. Defensively, Louisville allowed seven chunk plays to the worst offense in the ACC, and a Pitt team that had gone to their backup quarterback in hopes of a spark. Even on special teams, Brock Travelstead missed a 47-yard attempt.
With a difficult second half of the season coming, Brohm said that getting refocused was of utmost importance for Louisville during their bye week.
“I think they were as disappointed as all of us in the loss, and I’m pretty sure it hurt them just as much, which it should," Brohm said. "I think they care, so the issue is getting refocused and dialed back in. We have to realize that we’re playing some good football teams and that these games mean a lot each and every week. While we got off to a good start, it means nothing. You’re judged on how you do at the end of the year."
Fortunately, the entire program seems to have taken this message to heart. While Louisville's players did have last Thursday through Saturday off, the time they did spend inside the practice facility during the bye week was well spent, utilizing it to work on their fundamentals and get refocused on the task at hand.
"We got to go back and study a lot of fundamental things," wide receivers coach Garrick McGee said. "Each coach would go on the field for those workouts, and we had some technique things to really concentrate and focus on. We spent both days working on certain things that we think that we need to be able to execute to move forward. I think it was really good for us, in regards to our fundamentals and techniques."
The players weren't the only ones honing in on their respective crafts during the bye. McGee also noted that the coaching staff spent time studying their own concepts, working to formulate game plans that best suit the players and their strengths and weaknesses.
Put it all together, and you have a team that appears to be operating with a renewed sense of focus. Considering a top-20 opponent in Duke is on the horizon, and a berth in the ACC Championship is still very much attainable following UNC's stunning loss to Virginia, Louisville will have to stay focused in order to achieve their goals for the season.
"Losing, that's a feeling that we don't like," wide receiver Jamari Thrash said. "It puts a bad taste in our mouth. So we just try and move on from it, focus on Duke right now as a team. We just took that L and moved on from it. Hopefully we'll end this week with a W."
Kickoff against the Blue Devils from L&N Stadium is set for Saturday, Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Jack Plummer: Charles LeClaire - USA TODAY Sports)
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