Louisville is bringing the nation’s most explosive offense to Atlanta this week, and the Cardinals have plenty on the line when they meet Georgia Tech.
At 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the ACC, Louisville sits in third place and is chasing its first four-game winning streak during the season since 2023, Jeff Brohm’s first year back at his alma mater. The Cardinals have kept themselves in the conference race by turning games into track meets, and no team in the country has done it more effectively.
Brohm’s offense is averaging 7.8 yards per play, and Louisville has piled up 58 plays of at least 20 yards. The Cardinals also lead the FBS with 12 touchdowns of 50 yards or more, and they’ve hit at least one in every game.
A big reason for that surge has been running back Isaac Brown, who has been on a tear over the last month. Eight of his nine touchdowns this season have come in the last four games, and the list of scores tells the story: runs of 23, 68, 70, 75 and 97 yards, plus a 46-yard catch on a screen from Lincoln Kienholz.
“When he gets that ball, great things are going to happen, and it just makes you want to go so hard for him,” Cardinals offensive lineman Johnnie Brown III said.
Georgia Tech, meanwhile, is trying to keep its season from sliding into a second straight losing campaign. The Yellow Jackets are 2-6 and 1-4 in the league, tied with Florida State for last place in the ACC, and they’re looking to avoid their first losing season since 2022, when Brent Key took over after Geoff Collins was dismissed following a 1-3 start.
The matchup gives Louisville a clear chance to attack a defense that has already given up plenty of chunk gains. According to StatRankings.com, Georgia Tech has allowed 70 explosive plays - defined as passing plays of 20 yards or more and rushing plays of at least 10 yards - which is tied for 12th most in the nation.
The Yellow Jackets have also had trouble on offense. They rank 11th in the 17-team ACC in total offense at 361.1 yards per game, and the last two losses, to Boston College and Pitt, prompted Key to turn from quarterback Alberto Mendoza to Grady Adamson in both games. Key wouldn’t rule out Adamson getting the nod again Saturday.
“It’s always a lot easier coming off the bench as the guy, but we’ll sit down on Thursday evening as a staff and make a decision ... on who goes out and gives us the best opportunity to win this football game,” Key said. “That’s at all positions.”
Mendoza has completed 70.4 percent of his passes and thrown 10 touchdown passes against six interceptions. In the 34-11 loss to Pitt, he went 16 of 25 but managed only 81 passing yards.
In Other News...
Louisville Defense Shows Why Fans Are Still So Torn
The film from Louisvilles latest football game offered the kind of mixed bag that has kept fans debating this defense all season. There were breakdowns in coverage, moments when the back end simply lost track of assignments, and stretches where the offense was able to navigate the pocket and find answers. But there were also flashes of the unit at its best, with individual defenders making plays that reminded everyone why the Cardinals still have enough talent to change a game in a hurry.
Jabari Macks coverage error stood out as one of the cleaner examples of what has gone wrong, while Tyler Thompsons forced fumble showed the sort of disruption Louisville can still create when it is locked in. The contrast is what makes this defense so hard to pin down: the same group can look vulnerable on one snap and disruptive on the next, leaving the bigger question less about effort than about whether the Cardinals can string enough of those better moments together. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Faces An Early Question About Pat Kelseys Veteran Roster
Louisville opened the season with an 84-70 win over Chattanooga, but the game also offered an early reminder that Pat Kelseys veteran roster is still finding its rhythm. The Cardinals had stretches where the offense looked sharp enough to control the night, yet the second half brought a lull that kept the opener from feeling as clean as the final score suggested.
Morehead State is next, and it arrives with a little early-season tape of its own after beating Virginia University-Lynchburg and falling to Western Kentucky. For Louisville, the matchup is less about the record and more about cleaning up the issues Kelsey and his players already pointed to, especially if they want a veteran group to start looking like one sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Saw Enough Against Stanford To Feel Both Encouraged And Uneasy
Louisville left the Stanford game with plenty to like on both sides of the ball, even if the film also gave the staff some reasons to keep digging. The defense had stretches where it looked organized and disruptive, and the offense showed enough design and execution to suggest the Cardinals can create answers when things are working cleanly. It was the kind of performance that can steady a team, because there were real signs of progress rather than just a box score illusion.
Still, the tape also exposed the sort of coverage and assignment issues that tend to linger if they are not cleaned up quickly. Louisville had moments where the structure broke down and some play designs did not hold up as intended, leaving the Cardinals with a mixed read on where they stand. The encouraging part is obvious. The uneasy part is whether the good stretches were the start of something sustainable or just the best moments in an otherwise uneven showing. [Read more 🡒]