Behind Enemy Lines: Five Questions for Louisville On SI's Matt McGavic
The Miami Hurricanes have had its best start since the 2017 season sitting at 6-0 and ranked as the No. 6 team in the country. Superstar quarterback Cam Ward has taken this program to the next level and will continue on his blazing Heisman campign as the Hurricanes walk into Louisville to face the Cardinals after a much needed bye week.
Everything To Know For No. 6 Miami At Louisville, Week 8 College Football TV Schedule
Ahead of Miami's matchup with Louisville, Miami Hurricanes On SI sat down with Matt McGavic of Louisville On SI to find out more about the Cardinals:
1. At this point last season, The Cardinals were en route to an ACC Championship appearance, this season feels a lot different. What have been the differences between the two?
Whether it’s with the players or the coaches, Louisville can’t seem to get out of their own way. Ever since they started facing power conference competition, the Cardinals have been plagued by self-inflicted mistakes. They might not commit penalties at the rate that Miami does, but there have been several drive-killers up to this point. A handful of position groups and individual players have also not lived up to how we thought they would perform. And that’s just with the players.
The coaching staff has also had a hand in this disjointed start as well. The biggest one has been on the defensive side of the ball. Communication between the coaches and players has been a major issue for Louisville (more on that in a bit). Then on offense, Jeff Brohm (who is the playcaller) has been very bland and predictable so far this season. We keep waiting for the game where Brohm’s offensive scheming plays a role in the final outcomes, like how it happened so many times at WKU, Purdue and last season, but it hasn’t happened.
2. Have the losses to SMU and Notre Dame prepared the team for another highly-ranked opponent?
So one change that Louisville made after the loss to SMU was that Brohm had defensive coordinator Ron English come down from the booth and make his calls from the sideline. As previously noted, the Cardinals had struggled mightily with getting the defensive calls in time, and SMU caught them off guard for the majority of the afternoon. Against Virginia, while the defense certainly wasn’t perfect, the communication aspect was much, much improved, and Louisville was able to have a respectable defensive game plan.
3. One of the weaknesses the Hurricanes have are allowing big plays. Does Louisville possess “big play abilities”?
They absolutely do, they’re just inconsistent with it at times. Alabama transfer wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks has had an incredible first half of the 2024 season and has made several spectacular and game-flipping plays. He’s not the fastest wideout on the roster, but QB Tyler Shough has developed a chemistry with him unlike some of the other offensive weapons. South Alabama transfer slot receiver Caullin Lacy certainly has big play ability after he was one of the more prolific pass catchers in the FBS last season. But he’s coming off of a broken collarbone and has been up and down in the three games he’s seen since returning.
But the main playmaker to watch out for is running back Isaac Brown. He might be just a true freshman, but he’s already turning into one of the better players on this offense - if not the team as a whole. He’s easily the fastest player on the roster, so there’s big play potential there. But as games have gone on, he’s become much more comfortable at the college level, so both his shiftiness and ability to run with power are slowly getting better. Not to mention he’s already the best pass-catching running back on the roster.
4. The secondary has had issues this season and is playing against the No. 1 passing offense in the country. How concerning is it for Louisville who can play undisciplined football at times?
It’s very concerning. For starters, the secondary has had some injuries/attrition. Star corner Quincy Riley had to miss a couple of games because of an ankle injury, Corey Thornton is playing with a broken hand, and reserve safety Devin Neal entered the portal after Tamarion McDonald took his starting job.
But even with that, they have routinely either played out of position or just failed to make a play (tackling has been a bit of an issue at times with this secondary). But what has been the most concerning has been the play of the linebacking corps in pass coverage. There’s no other way to say it: pass coverage in the short/intermediate middle part of the field has been flat-out atrocious. The linebackers are certainly much better at defending the run, but they have been a massive liability against the pass at times.
5. The Cardinals are banged up and luckily the bye is next week, but do those key injuries leave the team at a major disadvantage against the Hurricanes who are getting key players back after their bye?
Something to note is that two of Louisville’s better defensive linemen this season Rene Konga and Tramel Logan didn’t play last weekend at Virginia due to undisclosed injuries. Konga has been one of the highest-graded defensive tackles in the FBS per PFF, and Logan is the team’s TFL and sack leader. Add in the fact that the defensive line has been a little bit of a disappointment this season compared to how they faired last year, and this has the potential to turn into a big mismatch with how good the Canes’ O-lIne is. I say potential because Louisville plays injury news super close to the vest, so we have no clue who will be able to suit up or not until kickoff is nearly here.
