Louisville opened the game by trying to stretch Stanford’s defense to the edges, and the first few snaps made the plan pretty clear. The Cardinals mixed in option looks and got Isaac Brown involved early on a swing pass, aiming to create space for their faster players against a Stanford defense the source describes as not very athletic.
That same early approach also showed up in the way Louisville attacked Stanford’s outside man coverage. The target was clearly Tre Richardson, and a go route down the sideline was a strong way to start. Lincoln Kienholz delivered a good throw, though the source notes it would have been even better if he had put it more on a rope to lead Richardson farther downfield.
Kienholz then had a chance to keep things moving on a short-yardage snap, but the throw never came. The play appears designed for Brody Foley on a delayed crossing route, and the source says the pass was there.
Louisville only needed 3 yards, and Foley’s 6-6/260 frame made him a logical option to pick up that kind of gain. The read seemed to be there, but Kienholz didn’t pull the trigger.
The bigger issue, though, was Stanford’s defense continuing to find soft spots in zone coverage. On one snap, Louisville’s linebackers were not being asked to attack downhill in run support, which made it even more damaging when they bit on a basic play-action fake. That left them frozen in the middle of the field while Stanford receivers ran straight into open grass for an easy first down.
Louisville did manage to get a third-down stop on that sequence, but Stanford answered on the next play. Davis Warren had enough time to let the route develop, and the source says it was surprising he didn’t wait even longer for a receiver deeper downfield to uncover. He had already recognized that Louisville wasn’t going to blitz, despite the linebackers showing pressure.
The Cardinals had put themselves in a bad numbers spot if they actually sent the blitz. There were two defenders responsible for three receivers at the bottom of the screen, and when Stanford motioned a receiver, nobody on Louisville’s defense adjusted. It was a small detail, but one the source says should have been cleaned up by this point in the season.
One final snap left the defensive structure even harder to decipher. The source says it was watched repeatedly and still wasn’t fully clear what Louisville was trying to do.
The best read is that Kaleb Beasley was supposed to treat the running back as a passing threat, which would mean he should not blitz. If the back were lined up to the left of the quarterback, Beasley would blitz because there would only be one threat to that side.
But if it were a slot receiver instead, he would drop into zone with two receivers in the area. Since the back stayed out of the block and Warren threw to the uncovered man, Stanford got an easy completion and Louisville’s zone issues showed up again.
In Other News...
Louisville Fans Still Need Answers From Jeff Brohm On The Defense
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For Louisville fans, the bigger issue is still the lack of clarity around why these changes were made and what they mean moving forward. Brohm has a history of cycling through defensive coordinators, including frequent turnover between 2020 and 2021, and that track record only adds to the unease now. The staff changes may have been decisive, but they also left plenty of questions hanging about the defense and about how much confidence Brohm has in the people already in the building. [Read more 🡒]
Adrian Wooley May Be Exactly What Louisville Suddenly Needs
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The timing matters, too, because the Cardinals are dealing with another guard being sidelined by injury, which only sharpens the need for Wooley to keep trending upward. Coaches and staff have been encouraged by his development, and if this is the version of him Louisville gets regularly, his second year with the program could end up being a major reason the roster holds together early. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Win Came With Kelsey Frustration And A New Rotation Concern
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The bigger concern now may be how the roster holds together in the short term. Basketball transfer De'Shayne Montgomery is set to miss multiple weeks with a foot injury, which adds another layer to the rotation questions already hanging over the team, even as Louisville continues to build around its early pieces. Elsewhere in the program, football commit JaHyde Brown added a notable line to his resume by setting a Kentucky state record with 31 receiving touchdowns in a season. [Read more 🡒]