In an earlier version of this story, LEO Weekly incorrectly stated that the SMU Mustangs moved from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The SMU Mustangs transferred from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) this year to the ACC.
Louisville football is going through some serious changes.
As teams across America are experiencing their own headaches (Georgia to Alabama, then Alabama to Vanderbilt, and many, many others), Louisville sits in the middle of what many see as a legitimate cause for concern.
This comes after not only losing to a powerhouse in Notre Dame, which many (myself included) would say is a fair loss to a good team, but also to the SMU Mustangs, who only just this year moved from the the American Athletic Conference (AAC) to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
With back-to-back losses now securely under Louisville’s belt, we ought to look back to see how Louisville got to this point, and whether they really have a shot at taking home the ACC title, which many believed under native son head coach Jeff Brohm, would have been a synch.
Remember back in August when we paid Austin Peay to beat the snot out of them? We allowed the second-least amount of yards (106 yards the entire four quarters) from any team in FBS besides Missouri’s 85 yards given up against their 51-0 route of Murray State.
Ah, good times.
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Back then columnists all over the country were praising Brohm and his staff for their “suffocating” defense. It feels like ages ago.
The next two games were more of the same, but it seemed like Louisville’s offense still had more room for growth going into week four against Notre Dame, who were 3-1 before its contest against Louisville.
Then suddenly, and without warning, almost everything fell apart.
Dropped passes, light coverage, weird calls. It was as though the perfect storm of chaos hit Louisville like a whirlwind going into South Bend. If you saw the holy massacre of the first quarter, you knew things would not look good for the time remaining on the play clock of the remaining three quarters for Brohm and his team.
This brings us to just last weekend. We’re back home, and based on what we’ve seen from the Cards this season, the L&N stadium would be loud and proud to cheer on its hometown heroes against a team that fans could easily root against without much pushback.
Or so we thought.
At least the pain of a punch to the gut lasts for a short period of time, but this slugfest between Louisville and SMU was like watching a slow motion car crash. Both teams could not find their footing, quarterback Tyler Shough was throwing the lights out, but late-game pass rushing from SMU was almost too much to handle for the Cards as late-game mistakes began to add up fast, and a game-sealing touchdown in the fourth quarter for SMU, after a rally in the third by U of L, led to the ultimate heartbreak.
Where do we go from here?
It depends. Do you want the good news or the bad news?
The good news is that the heartbreak happened early, and Louisville has time to get back in the lab to figure out what’s went right, and what’s gone horribly, horribly wrong. Certainly Louisville’s coverage on the defensive end looks fine, but the lack of explosive offense is holding the team back from competing in these close matchups with teams that everyone expects the Cards to beat.
The bad news? Louisville’s competition is only going to get tougher before the regular season wraps up.
Of the seven games left on Louisville’s schedule, right now three of them are top 25 teams (No. 6 Miami, No. 10 Clemson and No. 22 Pittsburgh).
By the way, one of those unranked teams is Kentucky, who took then No. 1 ranked Georgia to hell and back in Lexington before barely losing a defensive-first effort from both teams.
To say it looks bleak is an understatement.
This article appears in Sep 24 – Oct 8, 2024.
