Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Stanford

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

Sep 28, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Louisville Cardinals wide receiver Ja'Corey Brooks (1) celebrates after a touchdown catch against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program is coming out of a bye week and is back in action this weekend, traveling across the country for a matchup with ACC newcomer Stanford.

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

Injury Report

Louisville continues to get good news on the injury front.

After suffering a scary injury in the previous game against Clemson where he had to leave the field in a neck brace, linebacker/safety Benjamin Perry will be able to play this weekend against Stanford. Head coach Jeff Brohm also noted that he was "hopeful" that running back Maurice Turner (ankle) would be able to return for the first time since the Jax State game.

As for Stanford, injuries are starting to pile up. Defensive back Zahran Manley was recently ruled out for the remainder of the season. Safety Jay Green hasn't played since the Clemson game. Safety Omari Porter and QB Elijah Brown have also been banged up.

Louisville's Defense Turning a Corner in Recent Weeks

For the majority of the 2024 season, the defensive side of the ball for Louisville struggled mightily. In their first five games against power conference competition, the Cardinals gave up 431.6 yards and 31.2 points per game, along with 6.35 yards per play.

But over the last couple game, Louisville's defense has found their stride. The communication issues that had been plaguing them seem to have been shored up, and the Cardinals have also been playing with a higher degree of physicality.

Against Boston College, the Cardinals limited them to just 318 yards, 27 points and 4.6 yards per play as part of a 20-point comeback win. The next week against Clemson in Death Valley, while they gave up 450 yards, the Tigers averaged just 4.5 yards over 101 plays and put up just 20 points.

“I definitely think that they believe that they can perform at a high level," head coach Jeff Brohm said. "As we’ve identified problems throughout the season, the bottom line a lot of times we’ve just given up a lot of easy, wide-open plays. For whatever reason the bust was, coaching-wise, player-wise, we had it. So, it was a matter of we have to clean up these things here. We have to make this team earn their points. I think if you make them earn it and you challenge things every play, you don’t give up something wide open, you’re going to have good success.

"I think last week our defense definitely responded in that aspect; it helped us play a cleaner game. Obviously, we had some good things happen to us on special teams as well that gave us momentum. But it has to be about making the team earn their points, earn their yards. I think if we do that and do not give up those types of easy plays and big runs, and wide-open passes, we can play efficient, really good football."

Stanford Struggling in First Year With ACC, Year Two Under Troy Taylor

Two offseasons ago, Troy Taylor opted to leave his job as Sacramento State's head coach for the same position at Stanford. In his first year with the Cardinal last season, the rebuild was evident, as they went just 3-9 for the year and 2-7 in Pac-12 play.

Year two of Taylor's rebuild and Stanford's first season in the ACC hasn't exactly gone much better.

So far, the Cardinal are just 2-7 on the year and 1-5 in ACC play, and are in the midst of a six-game losing streak. During Stanford's losing skid, which started after pulling off an upset at Syracuse in their ACC opener, the average margin of defeat has been a whopping 26.0 points.

In fact, Stanford is still looking for their first home win against an FBS team under Taylor, and just their second home win in two years. Their only win at home since Taylor took the job was a 41-7 decision against FCS foe Cal Poly back on Sept. 7 of this season.

“We go into every game with the same amount of pressure,” Taylor said earlier this week. “We want to win them all so really, there is no pressure in terms of that. It’s just the preparation and the process of getting ready and then going out and making it happen on the field.”

As you can imagine, neither side of the ball is performing particularly well. Stanford's main struggles have come on the offensive end, as their 315.9 yards and 20.4 points per game rank just 122nd and 117th, respectively, in the FBS. The Cardinal defense has been better, but only marginally, with their 412.9 yards and 34.6 points allowed coming in at 105th and 121st in the FBS, respectively.

Cardinals Hoping to Carry Recent Momentum Through Bye Week

Along with their defense, Louisville as a whole has been trending in the right direction. The Cardinals were able to pull themselves out of a 20-point deficit at Boston College for a 31-27 win on Oct 25, then most recently before the bye, they earned their first ever win over Clemson, taking down the then-ranked No. 11 Tigers 33-21 in Death Valley.

But then Louisville went straight into their bye week, potentially cooling momentum heading into the final few weeks of the season. However, Brohm and Co. wanted to make sure the Cardinals were able to keep up the aforementioned momentum through the bye.

On top of resting players and getting more reps to younger or inexperienced players, Brohm and his staff used the additional off time to continue making adjustments to issues that have come up over the course of the season.

"I do think that the last six quarters, we've made improvements since the second half of the Boston College game," he said. "We got to build on that. It's important that all three segments continue to push themselves to perform their best.

"We've identified numerous things that have happened throughout the year, that have not gone our way, and we've tried to rationalize why it happened from a coaching standpoint. Then also, how can we get our players to perform at the optimal level, and the best level they can. I think we've made some improvements there. We've got to continue to do that and make sure that the plan is precise, is easily understandable, and we can go out there and execute and play fast."

Louisville Unfazed by West Coast Travel Element

With the inclusion of both Cal and Stanford into the ACC this season, of course, that comes with teams on the East Coast having to make the trip out to the West Coast. So far this season, there have been instances where the traveling team has had difficulty adjusting to the time difference.

Miami barely escaped Cal with a 39-38 win, while NC State scraped out a 24-23 win over the Golden Bears. While Stanford's conference games at home haven't been as close, recently, Wake Forest had to skate by with a 27-24 win in Palo Alto.

While Louisville will also be subject to the long travel and the time change, they don't think it will be a major factor in their on-field performance.

“Well, we’ve talked about it a lot and I’ve done it a lot as a player, going east to west, and I think we have a good plan," Brohm said. "Stay on your normal routine as much as you can. We prepare all week, and we go out there, the plane ride is a bit longer than normal. You get there and have your meetings and go out the next day and play. We’re not going to over-emphasize all those things."

It might seem like arrogance at first, but there are other factors at play. Louisville made a trip out to the West Coast just season for the Holiday Bowl, and they're aslo coming off of a bye week. Additionally, it's a 3:30 p.m. kickoff, so it will be a day game through-and-through for the Cards with the time change.

“I think it helps," Brohm said when asked about the favorable kickoff time. "We always love getting up and going out and playing, and not sitting around the hotel a whole lot. But it doesn’t always happen. So, I think the timing is good. We like the schedule we have when we get out there."

(Photo of Ja'Corey Brooks: Matt Cashore - Imagn Images)

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