By Charles Hall
The Louisville Cardinals play their biggest home game of the year this Saturday, and look to upset the No. 6 Miami Hurricanes.
The Cardinals are coming off a close win against fellow ACC member Virginia. While Miami barely beat ACC-newcomer Cal before their bye week. This matchup has the potential to be a very exciting game.
Containing the Miami Offense
The Cardinal defense has a tough challenge ahead of them with Miami quarterback Cam Ward. Ward has elevated Himself into a potential Heisman candidate by shredding every defense that he has faced so far this season. Depending on the sports book, Ward either sits at the second or third favorite to win college football’s most coveted award.
If the Cardinals want to shut down the Miami passing game they need to get pressure on Ward early and trust the secondary to contain the receivers, forcing the Hurricanes to run the football.
While Miami has an excellent passing offense, and has preferred to move through the air, the run game is nothing to overlook. This offense boasts three separate running backs with over 200 rushing yards. The Cardinal defense will need to stiffen up and try to contain the runners to the inside of the field.
A big player to watch for this game will be Ashton Gillotte as he tries to hold together the defensive line in every aspect of the defensive game plan.
The status of Quincy Riley’s health will also prove to be a major factor. Riley missed two games due to injury, and the Cards went 0-2 in those two games. Last game against Virginia, Riley returned and was visibly not fully healed as he didn’t play every down. Still, Riley’s presence was felt as the secondary was vastly improved over the past two outings.
A tale of two teams
Miami has been a defense full of gamblers this season, resulting in some eye-catching stats: 20 sacks and 10 interceptions. The inverse of this gambler’s mentality is that the Canes have given up huge chunk plays from start to finish against their previous two opponents.
Miami’s disruptive front seven contains two transfer from Louisville, Tyler Baron and Jaylin Alderman, who both left the program in the spring. Baron is a monster in the passing game, leading the team with 4.5 sacks.
Alderman is incredible in the run game, but despite recording a game-winning and season-saving pick-six for the Cards in 2021, he is a major liability in the passing game. If the Cards are able to match him up against players like Isaac Brown and Jamari Johnson on passing downs, Louisville could continue to gash the Miami defense for big plays.
The biggest threat for the Cardinals is stopping the constant pressure that the Canes will send. Louisville’s offensive line has struggled this season, and is now depleted after an injury to starting left tackle Monroe Mills.
The Cards will need to manipulate the pocket and keep the defense honest with quick passes and screen plays. If the Cards can take some of the fury out of the Miami defense, look for Tyler Shough to take several shots downfield to Ja’Corey Brooks to keep the defense guessing.
The keys for success for Louisville lie in holding on to the ball with sustained, clock eating drives and keeping Ward limited in the passing game.
Watch for a close game that very well could be decided by who has the ball last. Since Miami is 0-2 after bye-weeks under Mario Cristobal, don’t be surprised if Louisville comes out with their biggest win of the year.
Photo by Vinny Porco
