Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. Miami

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Heading down to Miami for their final road trip of the 2023 season, the Louisville football program was able to take care of business to ensure their spot in the ACC Championship Game, outlasting the Hurricanes for a 38-31 victory at Hard Rock Stadium.

Before we close the book on the game and transition to the matchup vs. Kentucky, I wanted to provide some closing thoughts and observations from the game against the Hurricanes:

First of all, like the Virginia game last week, this game did not go like I expected it too. Given's Miami's prowess on defense on their recent offensive struggles, coupled with Louisville's own struggles in road games, I expected this to be a slugfest. Instead, we got a shootout. Additionally, this was back-to-back weeks in which Louisville played far from their most efficient football, but were able to overcome their mistakes, get up off the mat and make plays when they needed to be made. This team's mental fortitude and ability to finish is already well documented, but given what was at stake in this game and how it had unfolded through three quarters, it speaks volumes that they were able to get the job done when their backs were against the wall.
Coaching-wise, there were certainly some high points from Jeff Brohm in this game, as well as the exact opposite. Brohm clearly saw something in the scouting report that showed him Miami struggles with containing tight ends, and he was able to take advantage of that. Opting to give more carries to running back Isaac Guerendo over Jawhar Jordan also proved to be a good call considering that Jordan is clearly still limited from that hamstring injury. There were a couple head-scratching moments, too. While Evan Conley's wildcat keeper worked, everyone but Mario Cristobal knew it was coming when he came in. Throwing it three straight times on the goal line was also questionable considering Guerendo had helped them get there on that drive. Fortunately, the good coaching decisions and calls far out-weighed the bad, especially in the fourth quarter.
This was... quite the roller coaster performance from quarterback Jack Plummer. Early on, his mechanics were flat out terrible and he was playing far from his sharpest football. Whiffing on simple short check down throws that would have easily gone for first downs if not more, missing a wide open Jamari Thrash in the end zone, routinely throwing off of his back foot, and staring down receivers at times (such as on his interception, although it was also a great play by Kam Kinchens). That all being said, he flipped a switch in the fourth quarter. He made better decisions with the football, and his actual passes were much sharper. His throw to Joey Gatewood on the right sideline on their first drive of the fourth quarter was one of his best passes all season long. He was 18-of-30 for 173 yards, two touchdown and a pick through three quarters, then went 6-of-7 for 135 and a touchdown in the fourth. For as up-and-down as Plummer has been this season, there's no denying that he has played his best football when it matters most.
It might have taken until the penultimate game of the regular season, but we finally saw the tight end spot be a meaningful factor in the passing game. It wasn't just one guy, either. Nate Kurisky was targeted early and often, and delivered when his number was called for a career day. Joey Gatewood, who has shown flashes on a few occasions this season as a pass catcher, had two huge catches on the first drive of the fourth quarter. Josh Lifson had a big catch on third down during that same drive. Trevonte Sylvester was involved on a great goal line play call and delivered with a score. As previously mentioned, Brohm saw something in Miami's defense that made them susceptible to the tight end. Drawing up plays for them is one thing, but having the entire position deliver when it has been a relative non-factor in the air attack all season long was a crucial development in this game.
While the tight ends were a big focal point in the offensive game plan, some credit has to go the wide receiver group as well considering Jamari Thrash is also still very limited in what he can do with because of his wrist injury. Chris Bell made a couple big time clutch catches, especially with his sideline grab with one foot, as it required immense concentration and body control. While Kevin Coleman Jr. benefitted immensely with two Miami defenders running into each other on his long play for a touchdown, he did a great job beating an All-American safety one-on-one up the sideline. Ahmari Huggins-Bruce and Jimmy Calloway also catch-and-runs that went for first downs on scoring drives. This has been a unit that has collectively risen to the occasion since Thrash's injury first came up roughly a month ago.
With as dynamic as Jordan has been this season, considering he posted the 23rd 1,000-yard rushing season in program history, it might be in the team's best interest to hand the starting running back spot to Guerendo for the games against Kentucky and Florida State. It's very clear that Jordan is not nearly as explosive as he was prior to suffering his hamstring issue, and Guerendo has been on a tear over the last few games. Against a Miami defense that was one of the best at containing the run in all of college football, Guerendo still found a way to rush for nearly 100 yards and a touchdown. He has played an incredible role in helping Louisville bounce back since their loss at Pitt.
The offensive line played one of their better games all season long. They consistently gave Plummer a clean pocket to throw in, and while there were a handful of times where they were overwhelmed against the run, they were counter with a handful of big holes for Jordan and Guerendo. Miami is as good up front defensively as any team they have played this season, and the line made sure that they gave Plummer and Co. more than a fighting chance to put points on the board.
As for the defense, well, this was not their best outing. In the second half of the season, this had been a unit that was hanging their hat on generating a lot of pressure in the backfield, stifling the run and blanketing receivers in coverage. Now in back-to-back weeks, that side of the line of scrimmage was more than vulnerable. There was an influx of bad tackling, poor pursuit angles and busted coverages all afternoon. No only was Miami able to establish the run, they allowed QB Tyler Van Dyke - who had been struggling immensely since ACC play began - to revert back to his ACC Rookie of the Year form. They were able the bend but not break and finish off Miami with a goal line stand, but it's a bit concerning that the defense is trending in this direction with the games against Kentucky and FSU on tap.
A big reason that Miami had the success that they had offensively was because the defensive line struggled at times to generate pressure on Van Dyke. Far too often, he was given a clean pocket and ample time to make decisions. Much of his errant passes and decisions over the last month had come as a result of being rushed, and that didn't happen with consistency. Ashton Gillotte and Mason Reiger were notable factors up front, as they generated a combined 10 pressures per Pro Football Focus, but the rest of the defensive line only generated six.
Then behind the defensive line, the linebacking corps did not have a great game at all when it came to trying to stand up the run. The linebackers (and front seven in general) did an okay job of swarming to the football, and then far too often, the tackling form was flat out poor with way too many arm tackles attempted. This position group has been a surprising development this season with how well they have performed given what was expected, but they were certainly a liability in this game.
Going back and re-watching the game, the coverage was not as bad as I remember from watching it live. Yes, there were several instances of breakdowns on the back end and on the boundaries, but some of them were simply a product of Van Dyke having too much time in the pocket. Storm Duck and Cam'Ron Kelly were certainly not great against the run, but they both held their own for the most part when dropping back. Devin Neal also had a good overall game, including an extremely savvy play on Louisville's goal line stand where he hid behind the referee to held make a play. Sure, Miami had a guy that nearly went for 200 receiving yards in Xavier Restrepo, but according to PFF, no Louisville defender gave up more than 50 yards as the closest defender not only to Restrepo, but for the game.
Well, it looks like Louisville has a new placekicker. It's not official that Brohm will move on from Brock Travelstead moving forward in favor of Nick Lopez, but when you miss a 24-yard field goal attempt and have a PAT blocked because the kick was so low, it might be time to move on. And that's not even taking into consideration Travelstead's recent struggles heading into the game. At least Lopez came through for Louisville with a 40-yarder right down the middle.
Lost in the shuffle of everything else, Maurice Turner had a great kickoff return to set up Guerendo's touchdown in the first quarter. Special teams matters.
I'll close with this thought: what a journey it has been to get to this point. Louisville went from getting picked to finish eighth in the ACC during the preseason, and now they're heading to Charlotte for a chance to claim their first conference title since joining the league in 2014. They have to worry about facing Kentucky first, and they certainly have some things they need to clean up, but it's an incredible accomplishment by Brohm and Co. to be competing for an ACC Championship in year one.

(Photo via Sam Navarro - USA TODAY Sports)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter