Keys to the game: No. 15 Louisville takes on California
The newly appointed 15th-ranked Louisville will square off against California this Saturday night to keep its college football playoff hopes alive. The Golden Bears sit at 5-4 this season and are riding a two-game losing streak into L&N Stadium.
Louisville is coming off a come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech and sits at 7-1 late in the season. With upsets last week causing the ACC to shake up, the Cards have a big opportunity to take care of business this weekend.
California has had a solid season led by a powerful passing game, but has fluttered lately due to inconsistency on defense. Losing four out of the past six games, the Golden Bears have let up an average of 32.33 points per game. If Louisville can limit Cal’s passing game and exploit their struggling defense, they might be looking at a 5-1 record in conference play.
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“It will be a very tough opponent. They are well-coached, have a good young quarterback, and can throw the football. They play aggressively on defense. Once again, we’ll have to improve on our mistakes from the past game. Try and find a way to play cleaner football and more efficiently on both sides of the ball,” said Brohm during his Monday availability.
Stopping the QB
Cal is led by quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, a former five-star prospect. The true freshman has thrown for 2,195 yards, good for the 18th most in the country. Throwing for 5 interceptions and 3 touchdowns in his last four games, the Golden Bears QB has not played his greatest football as of late.
Passing for 253.9 yards a game, the Louisville defensive backs will need to play lockdown coverage. The Cards are coming off a great defensive effort, allowing 76 air yards against Virginia Tech. Louisville’s passing defense has allowed an average of 167.9 yards per game, good for 16th in the nation.
“He’s (Sagapoulutele) very good. This is a good quarterback who can throw the football and see the field. He’s accurate, and that’s what they rely on is his ability to be accurate, make good decisions, and the passing game has been very effective for them. Definitely has a bright future, and we will have to play good defense.” Coach Brohm explained.
Running back questions
Louisville’s run game has come alive over the past few weeks, largely thanks to preseason All-American Isaac Brown. Unfortunately, the Cards will be without their star running back for the foreseeable future after he exited the last game with a hamstring injury.
“Isaac will be out for a while, so he will not be available for this game,” Brohm added Monday.
Brown is coming off performances with 130 yards against Virginia Tech, 205 yards in a win over Boston College, and 113 yards in the Cards’ upset in Miami. Luckily for the Cards, they could be seeing a return from Duke Watson, their other superstar running back. Watson has been sidelined since having one carry against Virginia on October 4.
“We are working to get him (Watson) back, we are hopeful that he can play this week,” Coach Brohm explained.
Along with the potential return of Watson, Louisville will need to rely on sophomore ball carrier Keyjuan Brown. As a redshirt-freshman, Brown ran for 243 yards before hopping in the portal and committing to Boise State. He was seen as being the successor to former Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty, but he decided to exit the portal and stay in Louisville. With Watson’s absence, K. Brown has been taking a huge leap in production, running for 189 yards on 22 carries in the past two games.
Freshman Shaun Boykins and Braxton Jennings also might see some action after not seeing the field since the Cards’ 40-17 win over Bowling Green.
California gives up 156.6 rushing yards per game, which is 85th in the country. Louisville has an opportunity to keep its ground and pound game going with K. Brown and Watson leading the force.
Starting fast
Louisville hasn’t played its best football in the first half. The Cards usually pile on points late to pull away, and Coach Brohm has taken note of that.
“The goal is to always start fast and to come out and play a good first half. We have not been as sharp. I think every game is different… I thought this past halftime we had our heads down a little bit, and some people were disappointed and frustrated,” Brohm expressed.
California has given up 48 first-quarter points through its past five games. Louisville needs to take advantage of this, but doesn’t have a track record to back it up. Last week, the Cards only had seven first-half points before pulling away with 21 unanswered in the second half. Against James Madison, Louisville needed 14 points in the 4th quarter to beat the Dukes. In Pittsburgh, the Cards fell behind 17-0 in the first quarter but eventually fought back to secure the victory.
Louisville is a 19.5-point favorite but will need to start fast if it wants to come out on top.
