Jeff Brohm, Louisville Dedicates Bye Week to Correcting Early Season Mistakes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It's finally game week again for the Louisville football program. Following a surprisingly early bye week after just two games so far this season, the Cardinals are gearing up to return to action this Saturday, welcoming Bowling Green to L&N Stadium.

Considering Louisville didn't have to face an actual opponent last week, the Cardinals had a relatively light week of practice during the bye. They made an intentional effort to not overexert themselves, and get a handful of players healthy.

That being said, the bye week did serve a purpose. Head coach Jeff Brohm and his team used it to try and correct some of the missteps that UofL has committed over the first two games of the season.

"For us, it's about improving on our last game and correcting some mistakes, getting a few guys a little healthy and fresh and ready to go, and trying to come out and have our best performance," Brohm said Monday during his weekly press conference. "We need to really hone in on that, which I think we have to a certain degree, and fix the things that hurt us the past game."

Sure, while Louisville is 2-0 so far this season, anyone who has watched the Cardinals this season will tell you that they have played far from the cleanest and most efficient football so far this season.

For starters, penalties have been a big issues already. They've committed 17 through two games, including 12 vs. Eastern Kentucky, with their 8.5 penalties per game ranking 123rd in the FBS. They also have a turnover margin of -2, which is tied for 97th in the country.

The bulk of Louisville's issues and mistakes so far this season, surprisingly, have come on the offensive side of the ball.

While the Cardinals put up 542 yards and 51 points on Eastern Kentucky in the season opener, QB Miller Moss did have a pair of interceptions (albeit, one was not his fault). Louisville's backups also could only put up 169 yards and 10 points in the second half.

Then in the game vs. James Madison, Louisville was lucky to escape with a win considering how mediocre the offense looked. They put up only 264 total yards, and had an offensive success rate of just 17 percent. For context, anything between 40 and 50 percent is considered average.

Make no mistake, Louisville's offensive players on the field certainly didn't have a banner day against the Dukes. But Brohm takes the blame for that, saying that he didn't put his guys in the best position to succeed. As much as the player benefitted from the bye, he did as well when it comes to adjusting game plans moving forward.

"I think offensively, there were some unexpected things we saw that we didn't have a good answer for and didn't respond well to, which caused a multitude of other things to happen," he said. "Making sure that- teams do a few things that that we haven't seen on video, that we're prepared and we're ready to have answers. When teams take a lot of chances, you've got to be able to beat them and beat them for a big plays. If you do that, then you can can settle things down. We didn't do a good job of that, and that's on me. I didn't have the, obviously, the best plan, and practiced enough for us to get to it right away. So we've got to be sharper there."

On the defensive side of the ball, the Cardinals have gotten off to a super fast start. Louisville's 206.5 yards allowed per game ranks eight in the FBS, their 106.5 passing yards allowed per games ranks seventh, while their 5.00 sacks per game is No. 1 in the nation.

Sure, EKU and JMU are far from the most stout offenses that Louisville will face. But Brohm has been pleased by the progress there considering who big of an emphasis fixing the defense was this offseason, and took it upon himself during the bye that those guys are able to sustain this great start.

"There'll be situations where we're going to be aggressive and take a few chances, but in the end, in certain coverages, we were getting beat when we really weren't being aggressive last year," he said. "I think we've improved a great deal on that point to this point. Obviously, as the season goes on, we'll be tested more and more on each week, and we'll have to come through and be consistent with that."

Of course, with Brohm being a football junkie like the rest of us, he, his staff and his players did take advantage of the bye and watch a fair amount of football action. However, this was more than just watching for the love of the game. This gave Brohm and Co. an extended opportunity to not only do some scouting for future opponents, but potentially take notes from other teams when it comes to play calling and play design.

"When it comes to watching football, we're always studying who's doing well, and what they're doing," he said. "How can we add a wrinkle here and there that might be beneficial? We watch games to enjoy it, and we'll peek at film to learn and add some things that might help us. Every year, football is a little different, and certain things show up a little bit more than others. I just think that you've got to, in my opinion during the season, be on top of that."

Louisville will take on Bowling Green in their next time out on the gridiron, kicking off on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 12:00 p.m. EST from L&N Stadium.

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