Louisville wasted no time setting the tone against Georgia Tech, and Brian Brohm had the offense and defense both firing right away.
On the first snap, the Cardinals used motion from Tre Richardson and play action to free Jaleel Skinner over the middle. Lincoln Keiholz showed patience as the Georgia Tech outside linebacker drifted into the throwing lane, then held the ball just long enough for Skinner to clear before delivering a throw that let him get upfield for a big gain.
The defense answered on its first chance, too. Georgia Tech came out with motion, something Louisville has had trouble with, but Jabari Mack and Koen Entringer were in good position after the snap to at least limit the damage on a completion. Tyler Thompson then finished the sequence with a strong inside rush that forced Alberto Mendoza off his spot and wrecked the timing of the play for a sack.
Louisville also made an early point of attacking the run with Stanquan Clark. He timed the snap well several times and either made the tackle or forced the running back to stop and reset.
On this one, his burst made it easy to blow past the left tackle, who barely got a hand on him. Josh Donald added to that by firing off the ball and beating the left guard across his face.
The defense came out with force, and that showed up throughout the game.
Brohm kept the pressure on offensively with a well-designed shot for TreyShun Hurry. Hurry has looked like a different player than he did last season, and this route showed it.
He lined up at the numbers, giving himself room to work, then angled to the sideline, got even with the corner, and used his speed to pull ahead. Once he got there, he started handfighting and finished with a strong catch through contact.
It was a clean, well-executed play from start to finish.
Later, Brohm dialed up another simple but effective call inside the 10. With Georgia Tech likely in man coverage, he got his fast receiver to the edge of the defense and used Tre Richardson’s motion to create an easy natural pick.
The defender never reacted in time, and the result was an easy touchdown. Brohm looked like he had the score called before the ball was even snapped.
Ben Perry also delivered a key defensive play. Louisville has been using him, or whoever is in that spot, to blitz or at least creep downhill when there is no receiver to that side.
That aggressive approach has also created some easy throws when the defense gets caught out of position, but in this case it paid off. Perry lined up a few yards off the ball, then quickly got tight to the line and became the unaccounted-for defender.
He essentially made the read for the quarterback and forced the issue at the handoff point.
The one concern from the first quarter came up front on offense. Louisville’s line has been better lately, but one blown assignment stood out and could become a problem against stronger pressure.
Georgia Tech brought a very basic look, but the Cardinals did not communicate well enough to sort out responsibilities. Cason Henry was the main point of focus at right tackle, and he had no reason to let a defensive end come free unless he expected help from the back.
On the play, the center should have handled the blitzer while everyone else took the man in front of them, but Henry blocked down and left Louisville with three blockers for two defenders.
It was the only blown pass block in the game, but it was still a reminder of what can happen if the line gets sloppy. Better defenses will try to exploit that kind of mistake all game long.
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The concern is that the rest of the operation still has too many loose ends. The defense gave up far too much yardage, and the special teams mistakes continue to linger as a recurring source of frustration. For a team trying to turn offensive momentum into something more sustainable, those two issues remain the biggest obstacles between looking dangerous and actually being complete. [Read more 🡒]