By Derek DeBurger

Louisville will open up their season against the EKU Colonels.

The Cards haven’t played EKU since a highly disappointing 2021 season in which Louisville only walked away with a 30-3 victory.

Half-a-yard and a cloud of dust

The Colonels are a run-first team.

If they could feasibly run on first, second and third down, they would do it.

Because that’s not feasible, EKU uses the run to set up a number of play action shots down the field to catch defenses sleeping.

When a team has the personnel, this is a tried and true method. It’s likely one that Louisville will try to employ at times this season.

But I don’t know if the Colonels have the personnel this year, as they’ve graduated their starting quarterback and leading rusher.

Brayden Latham is going to take over for the Colonels as their workhorse in the backfield. He’s a short back with a lot of speed and a surprising frame at 5-foot-11, 220-pounds. He will be the focal point of the offense and a good FCS back.

At quarterback the Colonels are all but guaranteed to start Myles Burkett. Burkett is the mystery of all mysteries. He started his career at Wisconsin, appearing in only two games in two years. He then had to transfer down to the FCS level with a stop at Albany. Albany has been a good team at the FCS level recently, but Burkett’s lone season there saw him putting up decent stats in a disastrous year.

But Louisville should have the talent on defense to dominate no matter who EKU turns out.

Reading between the lines of what Jeff Brohm has said in press conferences, the Louisville front seven should be a very disruptive group.

I expect big things from Wesley Bailey coming off the edge, and the rest of the linebacking corps looks deeper than either of the previous Brohm seasons.

The secondary got a huge boost with the announcement of Tayon Holloway’s reunion with the team, and Rodney Johnson is a clear first string cornerback. But overall there are still some questions about the depth at corner.

However, the most important thing to look for is not a player, it’s the middle of the field.

The Cards struggled all last year defending the middle of the field in both the running and the passing game, especially against up-tempo offenses. The middle of the field has continued to be an issue in fall camps, but it’s only a matter of time whether that issue will persist on the field.

Who gon’ stop us?

The Colonels had an OK defense a year ago.

They only averaged about 22 points a game, and their defense was stout enough to get them nine wins. But they only held opponents under 300 team yards three times, and they gave up over 400 yards six times.

Most of those lapses came in the passing game, but the Colonels have a somewhat revamped secondary. Their star defensive back is a familiar face for many Cards fans in Vito Tisdale.

Louisville will probably have the advantage at the top of the depth chart with Caullin Lacy and Chris Bell, but the depth of Louisville’s receiver position is a big question mark. It’s only an FCS opponent, but whoever steps up as the third target will be a big storyline in this game. Look for either Antonio Meeks, Nate Kurisky or Jaleel Skinner to fill that void.

EKU did have a good run defense a year ago, only letting one player rush for over 100 yards against them. But they have not faced one running back, let alone two, that are as good as Isaac Brown or Duke Watson.

Louisville is going to be a run heavy team this year, so expect Brown and Watson to be fed early and often. Also look for other backs like Keyjuan Brown and freshman Jamarice Wilder to get plenty of carries.

Empty the cupboard

The biggest question going into Saturday’s matchup is the same as the past two seasons: how will the transfer quarterback look?

This time it’s Miller Moss in the spotlight. The USC-transfer is already fairly familiar among U of L fans as his first collegiate start was when he threw for six touchdowns against the Cards.

He was benched midseason last year, but there’s clearly a high ceiling to work with.

Brohm did a great job his first two years mitigating the weaknesses of Jack Plummer and getting the best out of Tyler Shough. Only time will tell what he can make of Moss at the helm.

Regardless of how he preforms, I doubt Moss will see the field beyond halftime. The most likely scenario is that every single quarterback on the roster hits the gridiron at some point.

The most interesting thing to look for is who is the backup QB. It will be either Brady Allen or Deuce Adams, with Allen getting the role of backup in the spring game. It may not seem too significant now, but how these two play in their limited time this season will have a major impact on the staff’s plans for next season.

To not bury the lead any longer, Louisville will win Saturday and it won’t be close.

The most crucial element will be how does Louisville look? What weaknesses still shine through in spite of the lesser competition?

The 2025 season should get out to a very fun start for the Cardinals.

Photo by Vinny Porco