Standout Louisville Running Back Will Not Play Against Cal

Louisville’s Isaac Brown, one of the best running backs in the country, will not play for the 14th-ranked Cardinals in Saturday’s home game against Cal because of a leg injury.

Brown leads the nation in yards per carry at 8.6 yards per attempt, and he is second in the ACC in rushing yards with 782 yards and 97.8 yards per game.

Head coach Jeff Brohm said Monday that Brown will be "out for a while" with a lower leg injury, according to ESPN.

Cal was already a heavy underdog for Saturday's game, and a Bears' road victory over Louisville would still be considered a major upset with Brown on the sidelines.

Louisville’s second-leading rusher is Keyjuan Brown, who has rushed 321 yards and six touchdowns and averages 6.2 yards per carry. Presumably he will be Louisville’s starting running back against Cal in the game in Louisville, Kentucky, that begins at 4 p.m. Pacific time and will be televised by ESPN2.

Isaac Brown apparently was injured in the fourth quarter of Louisville’s 28-16 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday after suffering a non-contact injury.

Before leaving that game Isaac Brown had run for 130 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

In the previous game, against Boston College, Brown rushed for 205 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries, an average of 14.6 yards per carry, in the Cardinals’ 38-24 victory over the Eagles.

In the game before the Boston College contest, Brown ran for 113 yards while averaging 7.5 yards per attempt in Louisville’s 24-21 victory over Miami on October 17.

Over the past three games, Brown rushed for 448 yards, an average of 149.3 yards per game.

Louisville ranks third in the ACC in yards per carry as a team (5.1), while Cal ranks 15th in the 17-team ACC in yards per carry allowed by its defense (4.6).

It will interesting to see how Brown’s absence affects the point spread on Cal’s game on Saturday. Most betting sites made Louisville an 18.5-point favorite as of Sunday. However, the point spread increased to 19.5 points on Monday morning at most sites, and ESPN BET Sportsbook made Louisville a 20.5-point favorite as of midday Monday.

Louisville (7-1, 4-1 ACC) is hoping to reach the ACC championship game and earn a berth in the College Football Playoff. The Cardinal are riding a three-game winning streak and their only loss this season was a three-point defeat in overtime against Virginia, which is ranked 12th in the country and is the only ACC team unbeaten in conference play.

Cal (5-4, 2-3 ACC) has lost two in a row and is 2-4 since starting the season 3-0.

It appears Isaac Brown may be sidelined for several games, which might hurt the Cardinals in their subsequent games against Clemson, SMU and Kentucky.

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