Louisville's Defense Off to Hot Start to 2025 Season

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In the weeks and months leading up to the 2025 season, the offensive side of the ball is what drew the most headlines and buzz for the Louisville football program - and for good reason.

Isaac Brown is one of the best players in the sport, with him and Duke Watson being a premier running back tandem. Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy are one of the best one-two-punches at wide receiver in the ACC. Not to mention USC transfer quarterback Miller Moss had shown some promise in the offseason.

Over the course of spring ball and fall camp, Louisville's offense certainly looked the part. But over the final week of fall camp, it was their defense that looked like the better side of the line of scrimmage.

"I think we really made some strides here lately, especially on defense," head coach Jeff Brohm said last month following the final practice of fall camp. "The last few days of practice has been our best days on defense. Really building on that, making sure we're sharp on that side of the ball has been an emphasis, and I think that we've made strides. I think people are understanding what we're doing, and we got to continue to push forward."

At the time, hearing Brohm say that the defense was making significant strides was a fantastic development. After all, the Cardinals allowed 368.7 yards and 24.1 points per games last season, which ranked 64th and 56th, respectively, in the FBS. This came despite the fact that five defenders took home All-ACC honors, and two - Ashton Gillotte and Quincy Riley - were later selected in the 2025 NFL Draft.

While Louisville hasn't exactly played their most stout competition up to this point, so far this season, it seems that Brohm's comments of the defense from camp were not just lip service.

Against Eastern Kentucky and James Madison, the Cardinals have allowed just 206.5 yards and 106.5 passing yards per game, both of which rank 11th in the FBS. Additionally, their 5.00 sacks per game is the best in the nation amongst power conference schools, and second-best in all of the FBS - behind only Air Force.

"We're a real resilient group," defensive end Clev Lubin said of the defense following the game vs. James Madison. "We got a lot of guys who've been through a lot of things, whether it's on the field or off the field. We all come in ready to dominate.

In their most recent game against James Madison, the defense was the primary reason that they were able to escape with a 28-14 win. In fact, defensive coordinator Ron English was named the ACC Coordinator of the Week by CBS Sports because of his defense's execution.

UofL held the Dukes to just 263 yards overall, including 3.4 yards per play and a JMU offensive success rate of just 28 percent. Louisville also forced their first two turnovers of the season: one being an interceptions by cornerback Jabari Mack, and the other being a strip sack fumble forced by Lubin, which led to a recovered touchdown by fellow edge A.J. Green.

Brohm came away super impressed y the defensive execution vs. James Madison, and added that it "raised the bar" for future outings this season.

"It was great," Brohm said. "I thought we were really good vs. the pass, for the most part. We gave up one or two up the field, but they were on the field a lot.

"I had a feeling in camp that these guys were really starting to gel, and they understand the package. I think we got some good weapons at a lot of the positions. We have some depth. The D-line can be disruptive. Our linebackers have experience. ... It's great to build on, and I think they've raised the bar now."

Louisville heads into their first of two bye weeks, and will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 20 vs. Bowling Green.

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