Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Murray State

Here are the more significant storylines to follow ahead of Louisville football's matchup vs. Murray State:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After pulling off their biggest comeback victory in eight years during their season-opener against Georgia Tech, the Louisville football program is making their triumphant return to L&N Stadium, hosting Murray State for their first home game of the Jeff Brohm era.

Here are some of the more notable storylines heading into Thursday's game:

Louisville Expecting Massive Crowd for Jeff Brohm's First Home Game

Much like how last week's season-opener was a milestone for Jeff Brohm in that it was his first game as the head coach of his alma mater, the home-opener against Murray State will be one as well considering it will be his first home game as the new head coach.

With how much buzz and interest there has been surrounding the program since Brohm was hired, Louisville is expecting there to be a massive turnout for his first ever home game.

"I expect it to be probably the largest crowd we've had since COVID," athletic director Josh Heird said. "I'd love to have a crowd similar to the one against Notre Dame in 2019, and I don't think that's out of question. I really don't. ... You only get to see Jeff Brohm's first home football game that he's coached as the head coach (at Louisville) one time, and that's Thursday night."

When Louisville hosted Notre Dame for that matchup in 2019, which was game one under then-head coach Scott Satterfield, the Cardinals welcomed 58,187 fans into Cardinal Stadium - the current attendance record at the venue. Louisville's largest post-COVID crowd came during the 2021 matchup against Kentucky when 55,018 fans came to watch.

"We’re expecting a good crowd," Brohm said. "It's the first home game, and we're excited to get in our home stadium. I can't predict how many, but I know if you play a good brand of football, and your team shows fight and grit and toughness, and you find ways to improve each and every week and compete at the highest level you can, people are going to come watch."

Cardinals Eager to Show Improvement Following Inconsistent Season Opener

While Louisville was able to secure a win in Brohm's first game, anyone who watched it can tell you that the Cardinals played far from the cleanest football, especially in the first half. The second quarter was particularly egregious for both sides of the football.

With the Cardinals facing a short week following their 39-34 win over Georgia Tech, the team is "eager" to show that they can correct what went wrong and play much more efficient football.

"It's great to get back on the field right away and get back at it," Brohm said. "I think our guys understand that there's work to be done. I think we understand mistakes were made from myself all the way down included. We're eager to try to fix those problems that we have. I think it's a 'show me' world and we got to prove ourselves, It's important that we go out this week and prove that we can execute and play sound football."

Offensively, he wants to see the passing game - mainly quarterback Jack Plummer - take a noticeable step forward in terms of sharpness, accuracy and overall consistency. He also wants to improve on their ghastly 1-for-11 third down mark, and cut down on the untimely penalties. Defensively, a focus is improving the communication with both players and the coaches. 

Louisville Not Overlooking Murray State

While matchups between FBS and FCS are typically very one sided in favor of the FBS team, Louisville isn't expecting Murray State to just roll over when they come to town. Brohm and his staff know that if you take a perceived inferior opponent for granted, they can and will beat you.

"The one thing I've told my guys, when Murray State comes in here on Thursday night, every one of those players would rather be in your shoes, and playing on the big stage," co-defensive coordinator Mark Hagen said. "All those guys wanted to be Division I players, and felt like they should have been, and they're going to have a chip on her shoulder with something to prove."

Week one of the college football season didn't feature and FCS-over-FBS upsets, but there were a handful of Group of Five-over-Power Five upset. Baylor, Boston College and Purdue, who all lost at home to Texas State, Northern Illinois and Fresno State, respectively, this past weekend.

The Racers are coming off of a decisive 41-10 win at home over Presbyterian, and will be looking to parlay that momentum on the road against Louisville. They out-gained the Blue Hose 484-to-159, got eight different receivers involved in the passing attack, and ran the ball 44 times for 231 yards and three touchdowns with only one player getting double-digit carries.

Considering that Louisville could have very easily dropped their opener against Georgia Tech, combined with having a target on their back, that is serving as motivation to want to perform and take Murray State seriously.

"To me, it's all about us and how we go about things," Hagen said. "I always preach that you're only guaranteed 12 opportunities. We're down to 11 now, so don't waste one on Thursday night."

Brohm Wanting Quarterback Jack Plummer to Play More Relaxed

Part of the reason that Louisville found themselves facing a two-score deficit at halftime against Georgia Tech was because their passing game. Quarterback Jack Plummer completed just three of his first 10 passing attempts, and went only 8-of-17 for 90 yards with a touchdown and an interception over the course of the first half. He finished the game throwing 18-for-31 with 247 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

After having the opportunity to have in-depth conversations with Plummer and have a chance to break down the film from the game, head coach Jeff Brohm believes that it really only came down to a heightened case of first game nerves and jitters.

"I think sometimes he gets in the game, and he's pressing so hard and wanting to do well so much that he's just a little jittery," Brohm said. "I just think he was jittery, may have caused him to misfire on a couple easy throws that really could have helped us. He understands that, and that's part of being a quarterback."

With how much pressure Plummer puts on himself in practice, Brohm says it's now a matter of simply relaxing when it's time to get to the actual game.

"If he can relax and do what he does every day in practice, and throw with conviction, and stand in there and be tough and realize that he can make those throws," Brohm said. "If not, get out of the pocket and go make a play. He has the capability, just have to relax and go out there and play."

Defensive Coaches and Players Working to Communicate Calls More Efficiently

While Louisville's defense was able to dominate Georgia Tech's offense for three quarters, during the second quarter, is was the other way around. The defensive front wasn't getting the push they were previously getting, the secondary was allowing large lapses in coverage, leading to GT putting up 28 points and 282 yards in the second quarter and take a 13-point lead into halftime.

A lot of this was simply due to lapses in effort and an uptick in missed assignments. But, Brohm and Hagen both noted that during that second quarter, there were times where coaches struggled to get the defensive call to the field in time, and players struggled to communicate it amongst themselves.

Moving forward, Louisville is working to streamline this communication between the players and coaches so that everyone is on the same page in a much more timely manner.

"We've addressed that," Hagen said. "We always do tempo periods during practice, but we took a five-minute period yesterday just to address the logistics of getting calls out quickly and everybody being on the same page. We made a tough one on guys. We just signaled it one time to force them to get their eyes over to us, lock in on the live signaler, and make the call. We're just going to continue to emphasize those things."

(Photo of Jarvis Brownlee Jr.: Brett Davis - USA TODAY Sports)

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