By Elizabeth Scanland

The Cardinals will return home to host the No. 24 Virginia Cavaliers in what promises to be a pivotal game in the ACC title race.

Virginia enters the matchup riding high after a thrilling double-overtime victory over Florida State. This will be Louisville’s first contest against a ranked opponent this season, with Jeff Brohm holds a 3-3 record against Top 25 teams during his tenure at Louisville.

Bought then built

Thanks to a hefty surplus of NIL, Virginia’s offense has been flat out dynamic this season.

Quarterback Chandler Morris leads the way for the Cavaliers in his sixth year of college football. 

Morris has a total of 1,279 passing yards, 10 passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns. The signal caller loves to attack the middle of the field, as he had the highest passing rate across the middle third of the field as season ago at North Texas.

However, as good as he is, he’s not perfect. Morris does have some physical limitations at only 6-foot and 192-pounds. Morris already has four interceptions on the season, three of those coming in one game. He’s done a great job on the season handling pressure, but his QBR against NC State and Florida State is almost 20 points lower than his season average.

Supporting Morris are standout playmakers running back J’Mari Taylor and wide receiver Trell Harris. Taylor has racked up 397 yards and 7 touchdowns on 75 carries, while Harris has 21 receptions for 366 yards and three touchdowns.

As a team, the Hoos have a whopping 1,217 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in just five games.

Fortunately for Louisville, their defense has been one of the most consistent units in the country.

TJ Quinn has emerged as a leader, posting 22 tackles and two interceptions. The rest of the front seven has been dominant, combining for the best pressure rate in all of college football.

If the Cardinals can contain the run and generate sustained pressure on Morris, they’ll have a strong chance to slow Virginia’s offense.

Greater than the sum

Defensively, the Cavaliers have some solid pieces.

Louisville-transfer Devin Neal leads the team with 26 tackles from the safety position, while linebackers Kam Robinson and James Jackson bring strength and experience up front.

The secondary has been the strength of their defense, but Duce Robinson torched Virginia a week ago. Neal also struggled in pass coverage during his time at Louisville, so if the Cards can isolate him with Caullin Lacy they might have a huge mismatch to exploit.

Virginia has struggled to stop the run and apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks against NC State and FSU. Louisville’s offensive line has been up and down this season, but taking advantage of a porous run defense will go a long way in the Cards being able to establish their will. Against the pass the Cavs have done a very average job of getting to the quarterback, recording 11 sacks thus far.

The Cards’ O-line will also need to show up and show out. The unit showed some signs of improvement against Pitt when the offense spread five guys out wide. While Brohm likely won’t switch to a spread offense for the remainder of the season, periodical sets in spread will help take some of the pressure off of Miller Moss, Isaac Brown and Duke Watson.

Saturday’s game will be tough but not impossible.

Louisville will need to play near perfect football and avoid any costly and avoidable penalties to pick up a win. It’s also worth noting that UVA’s only loss has come on the road, so a beautiful early October game will provide the Cards a needed home advantage that may just be the factor.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.

Photo by Vinny Porco