Louisville Report

Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Stanford Cardinal

The Cardinals head out west on the other side of their bye week to face the Cardinal.

Matthew McGavic

Louisville Cardinals linebacker TJ Quinn (34) holds the ball after making an interception against Virginia Tech as the Cards rolled past the Hokies 34-3 Saturday. Nov.4, 2023.
Louisville Cardinals linebacker TJ Quinn (34) holds the ball after making an interception against Virginia Tech as the Cards rolled past the Hokies 34-3 Saturday. Nov.4, 2023. / Matt Stone/Louisville Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
In this story:

No. 19 Louisville Cardinals (6-3, 4-2 ACC) at Stanford Cardinal (2-7, 1-5 ACC)

- Kickoff: Saturday, November 16 at 3:30 p.m. EST
- Location: Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif.
- Weather Conditions: Partly cloudy skies. High around 60F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -20.5
- All-Time Series: First Meeting
- Last Meeting: N/A

Game Notes

Louisville

  • The Cardinals face the Cardinal for the first time and are playing in California for the fourth time in school history. Louisville played in the Holiday Bowl last season, at San Jose State in 1990 and the Pasadena Bowl in 1970, posting a 0-1-2 record all-time.
  • Head coach Jeff Brohm’s team is 5-1 on the road in ACC play after the 33-21 win at Clemson on Nov. 2. Louisville is looking for its fifth-straight league victory away from L&N Stadium when they face Stanford. The streak is the longest since the 2013 season when the Cardinals spent one season in the American Athletic Conference. Louisville’s last loss in the ACC on the road was a 38-21 defeat at Pitt last season.
  • 8 straight wins when not allowing a sack, last losing in a 34-33 loss to Virginia during the 2021 season. Shough has thrown 70 passes without being sacked.
  • 4 100-yard rushing games for running back Isaac Brown. The rookie has rushed for 800 yards through nine games — the second-most by a freshman.
  • 4 game winning streak in road ACC games since 2023. Louisville is 3-0 on the road this season in league contests after the 33-21 win over No. 11 Clemson.
  • 9 straight wins for the Cards under head coach Jeff Brohm when allowing 30 points or less since taking over in 2023.
  • Running back Isaac Brown has been named one of three finalists for the Paul Hornung Award, given annually to the most versatile player in major college football. He was also announced as one of 14 semifinalists for the seventh annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award presented to the most outstanding freshman player in college football.
  • There is no question the Cardinals have played until the end under head coach Jeff Brohm in his two seasons leading the program. In 23 games, the Cardinals have played in 11 one-score games under Brohm, with the Cards posting a solid 7-4 record in those contests.
  • Louisville will play its second game in November after opening the month with a 33-21 win at Clemson. The Cards are 164-175-5 all-time in November, including a 101-81-2 at home and 63-94-3 on the road.
  • Head coach Jeff Brohm is 4-1 during the month of November at Louisville and his teams are 23-10 all-time.
  • Louisville entered the College Football Playoff Rankings at No. 22 based on its strength of schedule and three one-score losses to three opponents currently ranked in the top 15.
  • The Cardinals are -2 in turnover margin, but UofL has only lost nine all season through nine games — three coming in a 31-27 win at Boston College and three in a loss at Notre Dame. That means, in the other seven games, the Cards have only yielded the ball to the opponents just three other times
  • The Cardinals are 9-2 in games under head coach Jeff Brohm where a running back rushes for 100 yards in a game, including a 3-1 mark this season. Freshman running back Isaac Brown owns all four games over the century mark this season.
  • Ja’Corey Brooks and Isaac Brown couldn’t be further apart in their collegiate careers, but the
    duo are closing in on history. Brooks and Brown are closing in on becoming the fourth duo to record 1,000 yards receiving and 1,000-yards rushing in the same season.
  • Injuries have been a major problem on the offensive line this season as eight different players have made starts in 2024. Lance Robinson and Victor Cutler are out for the season with injuries, while Austin Collins, a starter in the first seven games, will miss at least one more game with an injury. Eight different players have made starts on the offensive line this season and the team has used five different versions of a starting lineup.
  • Head coach Jeff Brohm has been pretty balanced on offense when it comes to the amount of rushing and passing plays he has called this season. Overall, the Cardinals have rushed 271 times and have scored 17 touchdowns compared to 316 passing plays and 18 touchdowns.
  • After scoring first in 12 of 14 games during last season’s 10-4 season, the Cardinals have only scored first in four of nine games. They are being outscored 73-58 in the first quarter this season. Boston College held a 20-0 lead at the half before Louisville mounted its comeback.
  • Tyler Shough, who is off to a 6-3 start as the starter, has been the catalyst for the success in the offense this season. The seventh-year player has thrown for a career high 2,504 yards and 20 touchdowns through the first nine games. Shough will make his 10th start of the season on Saturday against Stanford— the most in his career as a collegiate quarterback.
  • Defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte has been a sack machine and added one to his total in the win over Virginia. Gillotte added one sack to up his total to 24, which moves him into a tie for seventh place all-time with Marcus Smith on the school’s all-time sacks.
  • Teams are starting to learn to not throw the football in the direction of cornerback Quincy Riley. In 54 career games at Middle Tennessee and Louisville, Riley has registered 14 career interceptions after recording one in the win over Jacksonville State — the seventh since transferring to Louisville for the 2022 season.
  • T.J. Quinn has moved back into second on the team with 53 stops after recording 24 tackles in the last three games. The junior has five or more tackles in seven of the nine games this season.
  • The Cardinals head into Saturday’s game versus Stanford tied for the national lead in blocked kicks with five after blocking a pair of field goals in the win over Clemson. Tayon Holloway blocked a field goal and returned it 55 yards for a TD against Georgia Tech, while Dan Foster and Devin Neal have blocked punts this season.

Stanford

  • The final home game of the season takes place on Saturday afternoon as Stanford hosts No. 22 Louisville inside Stanford Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 pm PT on ACC Network.
  • Despite a lot of recent travel into the Eastern Time Zone, Stanford will not leave the Bay Area during its final three games. The season concludes with road games at California and San Jose State.
  • Stanford is looking to snap a six-game losing streak, with five of those losses coming in ACC play. The last win for the Cardinal was its inaugural ACC game at Syracuse on Sept. 20.
  • The Stanford defense has been significantly better at forcing offenses into mistakes in year two under Willie Shaw Director of Defense Bobby April. The Cardinal has forced 13 turnovers through nine games, compared to just 11 during the entire 2023 season. Stanford is also one of eight FBS teams with an interception return touchdown, fumble return touchdown and a special teams touchdown.
  • This year's Cardinal team is one of the most aggressive in the country. Stanford has gone for it on fourth down 26 times, tied for fifth-most in FBS. The 14 successful fourth-down conversions are tied for 12th-most in the country.
  • Ashton Daniels put up one of the best rushing performances by a Stanford quarterback in program history at NC State. He carried the ball 11 times for 129 yards, tying the 55-year record set by Don Bunce in 1969 against Washington State. He also scored twice, including a 67-yard run in the first quarter that marked the longest rush by a Cardinal since 2022.
  • Young players have been making an impact for the Cardinal all season long. Two freshman running backs have over 260 yards (Micah Ford and Chris Davis Jr.). 81.7% of the team's receiving yards are from underclassmen, the highest mark in college football. Redshirt sophomore Elic Ayomanor is the team's leading receiver with 46 receptions for 592 yards and five touchdowns.
  • Continuing on the theme of youth, 14 different Cardinal have made their first collegiate starts in 2024. That is tied for the eighth most in FBS and leads the ACC. 18 players have also made their collegiate debuts this year, totaling 41 collegiate debuts in the first two years under Troy Taylor
  • True freshman running back Cole Tabb made his collegiate debut at NC State. He became the third freshman running back to debut in 2024 for the Cardinal, and made an immediate impact in the backfield. In his debut, Tabb carried the ball 11 times and ran for 72 yards. The 11 carries are the most by a Cardinal in a collegiate debut since Toby Gerhart in 2006. His 72 yards from scrimmage were the most since Christian McCaffrey had 122 against UC Davis in his first collegiate game in 2015.
  • Stanford's offense has been finding a more consistent rhythm over the last few weeks, highlighted by its most recent game against NC State. The offense scored four touchdowns and had big performances from its rushing and receiving corps.
  • Outside linebackers David Bailey and Tevarua Tafiti have been coming to life in the last few weeks, both accomplishing feats that have not happened for years by fellow Stanford defenders. Bailey leads the Cardinal with six sacks this season, a new career-high. The last time a Stanford player recorded at least six sacks in a season was Casey Toohill, who totaled had eight sacks in 2019.
  • Stanford has shown a knack for taking the ball away from the opposition in 2024. With one more turnover forced against NC State, Stanford's defense has 13 turnovers in nine games after producing just 11 during the entire 2023 season. Tied for 55th in the country in turnovers forced, Stanford also is tied for 32nd in fumbles recovered with six.
  • Despite the defense creating more turnovers, the offense has struggled to take care of the football. Stanford has a -5 turnover margin with 18 turnovers lost on the season. Only eight teams in the country have turned the ball over more times than Stanford.
  • 2023 was a season of development for the Cardinal. 20 players made their collegiate debuts in 2023 and 18 made their first career starts. Stanford had 2,112 snaps taken by freshmen in Coach Taylor’s first season on The Farm, the seventh most freshmen snaps in the FBS. Four ACC teams were included on the list, including the top three teams: Clemson, South Carolina, and Miami.
  • Continuing to build on a breakout 2023 season, Elic Ayomanor is one of the most dangerous receivers in the ACC and has shown his big-play ability throughout his redshirt sophomore season. Ayomanor scored a touchdown in three consecutive games to begin ACC play, the longest such streak of his career. He became the first Cardinal with touchdown receptions in three-or-more games in a row since Brycen Tremayne did so in the first five games of 2021. He actively is tied for eighth in the ACC in receptions and ranks ninth in receiving yards.
  • Standing at 6'7", Aristotle Taylor is built for blocking kicks. That is exactly what Stanford has used him for in 2024 and it is paying dividends through two-thirds of the season. Taylor blocked a field goal against Cal Poly on Sept. 7 and then blocked an extra point at No. 17 Clemson on Sept. 28. He is one of nine players in the FBS to record multiple blocked kicks.

Depth Charts

Here are the depth charts for both teams ahead of their matchup: Louisville vs. Stanford

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Cardinal, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of the Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Stanford

Uniform Report

Louisville will be wearing black helmets with white jerseys and red pants; while Stanford has yet to announce their uniform combination.

Additional Coverage

(Photo of T.J. Quinn ; Matt Stone - Louisville Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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Published
Matthew McGavic
MATTHEW MCGAVIC

McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic

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