By Derek DeBurger
No. 10 Louisville will play their final road game of the year against the Miami Hurricanes as the Cards will try to clinch a berth in the ACC title game for the first time in program history.
Extra rest
Louisville will look to bounce back after a closer-than-expected Virginia game that required a fourth-quarter comeback to eke out the win. The game against Virginia was a Thursday night game, so the Cards will have an extra two days to rest and prepare for the Canes. This is badly needed, as the Cards have gone into every game since the bye-week with injuries affecting the availability and performance of the players.
Miami has been injury-prone—as is expected this late into a football season—but the biggest injury is probably that of freshman quarterback Emory Williams. Williams suffered a devastating injury against Florida State that ended his season, so the Canes will have to resort to Tyler Van Dyke at quarterback.
A top ACC offense
Van Dyke has started each of the last three seasons as the Canes quarterback and has gotten off to a great start each year. Both this year and last, however, Van Dyke has lost his starting job after the offense has failed to keep pace in the ACC. This season Van Dyke has been slightly improved from last year, but he has been a turnover-machine and has only gotten worse over the weeks. Van Dyke has 12 interceptions on the year, and over the last month, he’s thrown zero touchdowns to six interceptions. Going into the 2022 season Van Dyke was praised as a potential first-round draft pick, but that NFL buzz has all but faded away. He still shows flashes of greatness, but you have to wonder if his confidence is just too shot after two letdown seasons.
Around Van Dyke, the weapons on Miami’s offense are top-notch. Miami chooses to do running-back-by-committee, and it’s been very effective thus far. There have been four backs with at least 58 carries for Miami, and none of them have more than 87 carries. The Canes average a respectable 172 rushing yards per game, but with the speed of Henry Parrish and Donald Chaney, one gap in the defense could easily push that to 200 yards or more.
The receivers for Miami are also very diverse in their styles of play. Each receiver seems to operate in a completely different role from the other, allowing for the offense to act as a chameleon in the passing game depending on what the situation calls for. The numbers put up by the receiving corps haven’t been overly impressive, however, due to the inconsistent play at quarterback.
The Miami offensive line is just another part of this offensive unit that exudes talent. With some of the best O-linemen in the ACC, including center Matt Lee who is one of the best centers in the country, this might be the second-best O-line unit on the Cards schedule behind Notre Dame. Notre Dame may have been the best O-line Louisville has faced, but the Cards were able to completely rattle them and disrupt the Irish offense in a major way.
Road game struggles
The talent doesn’t drop off on defense. Miami has the eighth most sacks in the country with 33, and they’re also top 50 in turnovers forced with six fumble recoveries and nine interceptions. The Canes are only giving up 20.7 points per game which is good enough for 34 in the country.
This team stacks up with the best in the country as far as talent goes, but the results haven’t shown. When that’s the case the only person you can turn to is the head coach. Mario Cristobal was a highly touted coach when he was hired, and as a former O-lineman at Miami, he seemed like the perfect fit. He has done an amazing job recruiting since taking the job, and he’s great at getting his players up for games, but he lacks when it comes to making in-game adjustments. Adjustments are head coach Jeff Brohm’s strong suit. If this is a game that becomes a chess match between coaches, Louisville has the clear advantage.
The tricky thing about this game is that it’s on the road. Quarterback Jack Plummer has been completely different on the road versus at home, and this is only the third true road game for the Cards this season. The one saving grace is that Miami notoriously has almost no home-field advantage, — Hard Rock Café Stadium is a good trek from campus and most students and fans don’t make the trip. Still, there’s something to be said for routine, and it could play an important factor in this contest.
Louisville has also struggled to play at Miami in the past. The Cards are 0-6 at Miami all-time, with the only win in the stadium coming in the 2006 Orange Bowl against Wake Forest.
This game will be tough, physical, and emotional. It could go either way, but I’m leaning towards the Cards coming out on top to get to 10-1 for the first 10-win season since 2013 and the first ACC title game ever.
Photo Courtesy // Caleb Jones, University of Louisville Athletics
