Louisville Ready for First Power Conference Test vs. Georgia Tech

The Cardinals host the Yellow Jackets for their ACC opener this weekend.

Louisville Cardinals running back Keyjuan Brown (22) rushes down the field during their game against the Austin Peay Governors on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Ky. / Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Up to this point, it's hard to call the Louisville football program's start to the 2024 season other than dominant. The Cardinals have out-scored their two opponents faced 111 points to 14, and have out-gained them 1,181 yards to 396.

Of course, given the competition faced, this kind of start wasn't exactly unexpected. Their first opponent in Austin Peay hails from the FCS ranks, while Jacksonville State comes from the Group of Five. Neither the Governors nor the Gamecocks have presently much of a worthy challenge.

That changes this Saturday. After taking a very early bye week, the Cardinals will finally face their first power conference competition of the season, hosting Georgia Tech at L&N Stadium for their ACC opener.

“They’re battle tested, without question. They’ve proven that they can play some good football, so I give the credit where credit is due. They’ve done a really good job. The one game they lost, they lost by three points, on the road, against a good opponent. So this is a good football team and you can tell by watching on video, looking at their win-loss record, they’ve got good players, they’ve got some veterans. So, yes, this is a challenging football team that we’re going to have to play good football to win and I think that’s how it’s going to work in this conference."

As Brohm noted, Georgia Tech has certainly had their feet put to the fire up to this point. The Yellow Jackets had the honor of playing in the very first college football game of the season, and took advantage of it, taking down then-No. 10 Florida State 24-21 over in Dublin, Ireland during week zero.

After following that up with a 35-12 win over Georgia State, Georgia Tech cracked the AP Top 25 heading into week. However, their stay in the poll was short lived, dropping their ACC opener at Syracuse 31-28. Most recently, Tech was able to rebound and then some, throttling FCS foe VMI to the tune of 59-7 this past weekend.

Georgia Tech's early success has been primarily driven by a dynamic offense, powered by one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the conference and country in Haynes King. A dual threat, King has completed 76.4 percent of his throws for 962 yards and six touchdowns to just one interception, while also rushing for 158 yards and three scores.

On top of that, King has plenty of weapons around him. The tandem of Malik Rutherford and Eric Singleton Jr. is an deadly one-two punch at wide receiver, as they have combined for 38 receptions for 525 yards and three touchdowns. Chase Lane and Avery Boyd have proven to be a solid supporting cast in the passing game as well.

Plus, with head coach Brent Key's background as an offensive lineman, you already know that GT loves to run the ball. Jamal Haynes, who broke the 1,000-yard mark last season, already has 213 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

“Well they have a veteran quarterback - it starts there," Brohm said. "[Haynes King] is very efficient in what he does and he can run the football, so that gives you a lot of options, and they utilize those with a lot of misdirection. They run the ball downhill as well and they display the head coach’s personality: being physical at the point of attack and running the ball at you, making you defend that as well with some play action off of us. They do a good job of controlling the football and getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly and being efficient with that."

While the Yellow Jackets are powered by their offense, the key to their early success has been a defensive turnaround. Last season, Georgia Tech was abysmal on that side of the ball, allowing 437.1 yards per game for the No. 120 total defense in the FBS. After last season, Key brought in Duke's Tyler Santucci to be the defensive coordinator.

While it's early, and the defense hasn't been perfect at times, it is much improved over what it was last season. Through four games, the Jackets are giving up only 317.5 yards per game for the No. 66 total defense in college football. Most of this is because of their efforts against the run, with GT's 98.5 rushing yards allowed per game coming in at 32nd nationally.

It's a defense that, like Louisville's, is a solid blend of returners and transfer newcomers. Linebacker Kyle Efford, safety LaMiles Brooks and cornerback Clayton Powell-Lee have been making plays for a while at Georgia Tech, and that has kept up so far this season. Meanwhile, transfers such as defensive linemen Romello Height (USC) and Jordan van der Berg (Penn State) have also made an early impact.

"At the same time, I think they’re better on defense this year," Brohm said. "They’ve made some changes there, you can notice it on film, they’ve done a good job each week. So, I think it’s a very balanced football team that doesn't beat itself, that will challenge other teams to play harder, more physical than they do, and if you can’t step up to that challenge, then they’re going to win the game.”

Put it all together, and you have a team that will certainly give Louisville a worthy challenge this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST. That being said, Louisville's player feel like they are up for the task.

"The first two wins were good as a team, they build the morale and stuff," linebacker/safety Benjamin Perry said. "But the coaches have emphasized that ACC play is very important, conference play is very important. Going from last week to this week, yes, it's a step up in competition. But every game is important, because we got a big end goal."

(Photo of Keyjuan Brown: Clare Grant - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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