Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Virginia
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With the Louisville football program inching closer to clinching berth in the ACC Championship, they'll conclude a three-game home stand with a short turnaround, hosting Virginia in their final home conference game of the season.
Here are some of the more notable storylines heading into Thursday's game:
Injury Report
With it being so late in the season, injuries are starting to pile up across the college football landscape. Louisville and Virginia are no different.
In their last game against Virginia Tech, the Cardinals were short star wide receiver Jamari Thrash and standout cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr, while several others were game-time decisions. Head coach Jeff Brohm didn't specify timelines for any player, but noted that they were working as hard as they could to get guys healthy.
"We're going to continue to try to get them healthy and get them on the field," he said. "When that'll happen – with a few of them, I'm not for sure. Some of them are day to day, some of them may be longer."
Virginia is also dealing with injuries at key positions. Starting quarterback Tony Muskett suffered a high-ankle sprain on the fifth play of the Cavaliers' last game vs. Georgia Tech, forcing Anthony Colandrea to burn his redshirt and enter the game.
Running back Mike Hollins - who is their short yardage specialist - suffered a neck injury against the Yellow Jackets, but head coach Tony Elliott noted that he "looks good" and is "moving around well." Freshman standout linebacker Kam Robinson was dealt a knee injury, and is a game-time decision.
Louisville Prepared for Short Turnaround
Football is already a physical and tough enough game as it is. Having to get ready for the next game with two days of rest and preparation removed from your week only further increases the level of difficulty. Fortunately, Brohm says that Louisville - from players to coaches and training staff - has had plenty of foresight to deal with the short week.
“I think we can adjust and adapt to that pretty well," he said. "We try to be forward thinkers in what we do and how we prepare. We have to get guys ready, but yet take care of their bodies and get them to the game healthy, fresh, and able to go full speed. Back to the question about the short week, we’ve had some physical games here. The pads won’t be on as much, it will be a little more mental learning, but we will be on the field and we’ll go through all the same scenarios and make sure we’re not missing the boat on that at all."
As previously noted, dealing with injuries on short weeks is one of the most difficult things in football to manage, especially when you play a bruising and physical brand of football that Louisville has in recent weeks. However, regardless of who is healthy and able to play and who is not, Brohm is confident that whoever is in will step up to the plate.
"We’ll work through it as much as we can, and every day is valuable," he said. "Even the guys that didn't play have tried to get healthy as fast as they can, they want to get on the field. And some of them are suffering some pretty good nicks and bruises and probably more than that. So I give them a lot of credit that they want to go out there and help their team win, and the other guys are ready in case they can't go do that.”
Louisville's Offensive Identity Shifting to Run-Heavy Approach
Everyone knows that Jeff Brohm's M.O. as a head coach is sporting high-flying offenses that light up the scoreboard with an electric vertical attack. But ever since the Cardinals returned to action from their bye week, they've leaned on their ground game to do the heavy lifting on that side of the ball.
“I think every team is different," Brohm said. "You analyze and evaluate who your playmakers are and make sure they get the ball. What are your strengths: defense, special teams, offense and all those things. I think that whatever format we have been using is working."
In their games against Duke and Virginia Tech, Louisville passed for just 268 yards, while rushing for an impressive 465, out-scoring the Blue Devils and Hokies by a combined score of 57-3. Star all-purpose back Jawhar Jordan had a career day against Duke with a 163-yard and two-touchdown day. But when he was limited against VT, Isaac Guerendo stepped in and had a career day as well collecting 146 rushing yards and three scores on the ground.
“Well, (Isaac) is a great young man," Brohm said. "He's come in here and been a fantastic teammate from day one. He’s been very unselfish. We feel like we have some depth in the running back room, and they all play a vital role."
Malik Washington Poses as Virginia's Biggest Threat
When you look at the season-long stats for Virginia, it doesn't paint a pretty picture. The Cavaliers are allowing 32.4 points per game for the No. 113 scoring defense in college football, while only putting up 23.1 points per game offensively (92nd nationally). But if UVA has a chance to pull off an upset, it will likely come thanks to the efforts of wide receiver Malik Washington.
Despite opposing defenses keying on him all season long, that hasn't slowed down Washington at all. The 5-foot-8, 194-pound speedster's 79 catches ranks second in all of the FBS, while his 1,044 receiving yards come in at third nationally. He also has six receiving touchdowns on the season to boot.
The advanced stats also back up Washington's effectiveness as well. With a Pro Football Focus grade of 90.0, he is the third-highest graded receiver in the FBS, behind only LSU's Malik Nabers and Ole Miss' Tre Harris.
The bulk of his damage comes in the short area of the field. His 46 targets between 0 and 9 yards downfield come in at fourth nationally, while his 38 receptions are third. His 95.8 grade on such passes ranks fourth among FBS receivers, per PFF.
(Photo of T.J. Quinn: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)
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