Bryan Brown Assigns Harsh Grade to Louisville Defense Following Wake Forest Game
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville defense did not exactly have a stellar outing in their most recent game against Wake Forest.
With control of the Atlantic Division, and a three-game win streak on the line, the Cardinals struggled to contain the Demon Deacons attack. The front seven rarely was able to get in the backfield, and the secondary had several instances where they seemed lost.
Defensive coordinator Bryan Brown didn't pull any punches when discussing the Wake Forest game. When asked to grade their performance, he was quick to assign them a 'D' for their efforts.
"It wasn't great for us at all," he said. "We had some spurts, but playing in this league and playing against really good offenses, you have to bring your a-game every week, and we didn't do those."
There were several moments that could have swung the momentum in favor of Louisville's defense, but Brown highlights a few in particular. The third down catch by wide receiver Taylor Morin that was reviewed and overturned to move the chains. Sam Hartman's two scrambles to allowed Wake Forest to continue their drives and score points. Kei'Trel Clark's near-interception towards the end of the first half.
"Little stuff like that, it always adds up, and that's one thing we didn't do this past Saturday. We didn't do our job," Brown said. "We had guys trying to do other things that wasn't in call for that defense."
In all, Louisville surrendered 501 total yards to Wake. Hartman went 23-of-39 passing for 324 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with Morin and Jaquarii Roberson combining for 257 of those yards. Wake also used a steady rushing game to put up 177 yards on the ground, spearheaded by 67 from Justice Ellison.
But that is far from an anomaly so far this season. After posting a top-five defense in the Atlantic Coast Conference last year, they have taken a significant step back this year. The Cardinals' 418. 2 surrendered yards per game ranks 100th in FBS, and their 26.0 points allowed is 81st.
Brown chalks this up to one big factor: not making enough plays. Louisville has only forced five turnovers so far this season (four interceptions, one recovered fumble), are averaging 2.75 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss per game.
All those metrics ranks around the middle of the pack in the ACC, but Brown knows they have to be better in they playmaking category. Making more plays means the defense is on the field less, which not only keeps them fresh, but gives the offense more opportunities.
But putting it in simpler terms, the lack of playmaking is due to a lack of execution, and the lack of execution is due to a lack of focus. Playing an up tempo team like Wake Forest can sometimes cause that, but Louisville is still trying to find the root cause of the problem and snuff it out.
Like the offensive lineman discussed during their rough stretch to open the season, inside linebacker CJ Avery believes that their defensive issues can be attributed to just a single player making a critical mistake on each play.
"If we had just executed and did the things that we're supposed to, it would have been a totally different game," he said.
With a prolific offense like Virginia's coming to town this weekend, Louisville will have to get some of these problems fixed in a hurry. The offensive side of the ball has mostly rebounded from their sluggish start to the season, now it's the defense's turn.
Kickoff against the Cavaliers at Cardinal Stadium is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 9 at 3:00 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Sam Hartman, Yasir Abdullah: Reinhold Matay - USA TODAY Sports)
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