Boston College Football Opponent Q&A: Louisville

Shout out to John Powell (@CardinalStrong) from the Card Chronicle for answering some questions about tonight’s matchup against Louisville. Check out his YouTube series here.

1) Louisville has had an up and down year and has suffered some close losses against some ranked teams. What is your take on the season thus far?

While my view as a fan is obviously going to be much different than that of the staff and even the players at this point in the year, I just don’t see any other way to paint it than a disappointment. By nearly any measurable metric the Cards upgraded at many offensive positions this year, including the key position of quarterback, but have lost the ability to finish close games, as you noted earlier, with all three of their loses being one score this year. The Cards finished 5-1 in one score games last year, so maybe some of this is the team falling back to earth a bit, but the bigger concern for me is one of two much more significant things. Is an utter reliance on the transfer portal destined to provide seasons like this from time to time where the high market transfers just don’t meet expectations, and/or has the ACC had a chance to digest the Brohm staff for a season and bite on some things that worked well enough to get them over the hump last year, but not finish the job this season? These last five games will tell quite a story in my mind, and the breaking news this week that the Cards have lost one of their best receivers to an “opt out” midseason so he can retain a redshirt….is concerning.

2) Jeff Brohm led Louisville to a 10-4 record in his first season last year. A 4-3 start to this year is less than ideal in a weak ACC. Were expectations to compete for an ACC Championship this year? How do U of L fans feel about Brohm?

Yes, the expectation was for Louisville to get back to the mountain this year, and compete for an ACC Championship in Charlotte just like they did in 2023. Losing multiple guys to the NFL last year is not something you just brush off, but the Cards finished with the #1 transfer portal class on nearly all sites who track that information, and had a good mix of proven winners and talent who had not had the opportunities yet to perform. The big question mark for Louisville was going to be the schedule, which was noticeably more difficult than last season, and as the year has worn on, appears to be even more difficult than forecasted. A road loss to Notre Dame can be digested at some point, and a home loss to a Top 10 Miami team with a Heisman frontrunner at QB can be explained, but coming out flat against SMU and Virginia is not acceptable, and in doing so you already blew your shot at the ACC dropping a home game to the Mustangs. With games against another Top 10 team at Clemson and a Top 25 Pitt team still lurking, not to mention a rivalry game against Kentucky…things could go bad quickly.

Brohm still has the support of the fan base now, but I think that can shift quickly unless a few things happen. First, he has to beat Kentucky, a rivalry which has been disappointingly one-sided the last five years and with the programs seemingly going in opposite directions last year, losing that game was crushing. It can’t happen again. The second thing is some staff shakeups. The defense was bleeding out at the end of last season and looked dismal after starting the year very promising, and now any game against a team of similar talent in 2024 we’ve seen the bleeding continue. While I’m no “jump online and scream for a coaches head” type guy there has to be something dramatic on that side of the ball to close out the season or I’d be frustrated if we see everyone on the staff still hanging out at the Schnellenberger Complex when 2025 kicks off. A 7-5 type season this year and retention of everyone on staff…..I think the bandwagon gets a little lighter in the offseason.

3) Tyler Shough has had a solid start for the Cardinals. Who are some other players BC fans should look out for on Saturday?

Shough has been the real deal, and if you’re a pure numbers guy, be aware that a couple of the interceptions he has so far were a Hail Mary type play and another one that bounced off a receiver’s hand and into the arms of an opposing Notre Dame defender. So, while his numbers are good (18TD/3INT) they are even better than they look. He sees the field well, he makes good downfield throws, and he can put the ball where it needs to be. The challenge has been getting enough time from the line to let plays develop, or to allow his guys to make secondary moves when rolling out of the pocket. He won’t hurt you too much with his legs, as the staff has limited designed runs due to some concern with his injury history (collarbone & fibula) in seasons past. The other side of the equation os wideout JaCorey Brooks, an Alabama transfer who has emerged as the clear number one target and who can hurt you with the deep ball, the jump ball in the endzone, and with the quick hitter in space. He’s gone over 100 yards receiving three times already with 8 touchdowns, and averaging a hair until 19yd/rec.

One last weapon to look for would be true freshman running back Isaac Brown. While he still splits carries with a couple guys on paper, he’s the number one choice for the offense at the position. His speed is deceptive in that nearly every game one of the first drives the secondary takes poor angles on him and he breaks a big one because they underestimate his speed. Even splitting carries he’s already flirting with 600 yards rushing on the season and an ACC leading 8.29yd/carry average.

4) Who wins the game Saturday?

When the schedule came out I would have made a large bet this would be the red bandana game for BC, a Friday night contest, late October, with both likely still positioned to make a run in the ACC. I’m glad it’s not, but that doesn’t change a lot of the intangibles that makes Chestnut Hill a difficult environment on a weeknight. The Cards haven’t won at BC since Lamar Jackson was roaming the sidelines, and as much as I like Shough…Lamar Jackson he is not. The other big factor is that the Louisville defense has absolutely failed to shut down mobile QBs on the ground this year. Jacksonville State’s QB, Huff, went for over a hundred and a touchdown, Haynes King (GT) had 60 and touchdown, Riley Leonard (ND) had 50 and touchdown, Jennings (SMU) had over a hundred and a touchdown, Colandrea (UVA) had over 80 yards, and twice Cam Ward (Miami) saved drives with his legs. Sensing a trend yet??? While Castellanos is not a run first guy, he was the leading rusher for the Eagles last year, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see it happen again.

While there are deficiencies and gaps, and areas of concern…..I still like the Louisville team overall and think they can use this road trip to launch a nice closeout to the year. I think the 7.5pt spread is way too much for the Cards, as I see this being another one score game late. I’ll say Brooks grabs a touchdown in the final few minutes to seal the win. Cards 28-24.