Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. Clemson

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program had numerous opportunities to come out on top with a win over Clemson this past Friday, but could not take advantage of them, eventually dropping a 20-19 decision at L&N Stadium.

Before we close the book on the game and transition to the matchup at SMU, I wanted to provide some closing thoughts and observations from the game against the Tigers:

First of all, I've seen plenty of frustrating "what if?" football games in my time, and I'm sure plenty of fans older than me have seen their fair share as well. But I think I speak for most people who watched what happened on Friday in saying that was probably one of the most - if not the most - frustrating games that Louisville has ever produced. They had several opportunities to take control of the game and out-right win, many of which were pretty much handed to them by Clemson on a silver platter, and the Cardinals promptly took that platter and threw it out the window. A team that made a habit of looking incredibly poised and composed during crunch time over the first two months of the season has looked anything but that over the last two weeks now. In front of a national audience no less. So now, not only are hopes of making the ACC Championship Game and College Football Playoff officially dead, this was the kind of outing that should (key word: should) serve as the breaking point for some uncomfortable conversations inside the Schnellenberger Complex.
I normally don't talk about penalties much in my postgame breakdowns, much less this early in them, but I feel like they have to be addressed head on. Committing 10 of them over the course of a game is already bad enough. But committing *SEVEN* of them in the fourth quarter alone (plus four in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the game), three of which were unsportsmanlike conduct flags? That is flat out inexcusable. That is a team that not only is not mentally locked in, but cannot control their emotions when it matters the most. Was Clemson baiting them? Sure they were - which is rich considering how much Dabo Swinney was crying like a baby about officials not too long ago. But you know what you don't do? Take the bait and cost your team. That is selfish play, bar none.
The influx of costly penalties is partially on coaching as well, and Jeff Brohm and Co. certainly had another game where they simply did not have Louisville either ready to go, or put them in a position where they couldn't find much success. Pulling Cooper Ranvier and putting in Nick Keller, who hadn't attempted a field goal in over a month, to kick the potential game-winner was extremely questionable. Brohm's not had a great clock management year, and the end of the first half might have been the worst. You don't call a timeout after Klubnik's scramble that set up third down (which would have given you some time for a last minute drive), but you do on fourth down when there are just seconds left on the clock? That tells me that he has more trust in Caullin Lacy as punt returner than he does in the offense to be able to march down the field, which is sad. What makes that even worse were that there were actually a few really nice play calls mixed in throughout the night. But it seems that Brohm can't even fully unleash his offense because of the inabilities of the man under center. Which *then* begs the question... why the hell is Miller Moss still starting? If he can't run the offense like you want, then put someone else in.
There's a reason I'm so animated about Moss' play now, compared to previously being in wait and see mode. I get that Clemson has plenty of dudes on defense that will play on Sunday, but that unit has been torn asunder several times this season - especially through the air. Troy and Syracuse finished with more passing yards against the Tigers than Moss did. While he did have that nice pass to Chris Bell that probably should have been a touchdown, he attempted just four passes that went 10 yards or more past the line of scrimmage. Take away that play to Bell and the triple reverse trick play screen to Caullin Lacy, and Moss' 17 other completions averaged just 7.47 yards per catch. When you're facing a defense that had averaged 10 passes of 10+ yards or more allowed per game, that is a gutless showing. Not to mention, once again, he took a sack when that was the one thing he could not do, and it resulted in Cooper Ranvier having to try a 50-yard field goal (which he missed). Also, him trying to speak on the "culture" of the program in the postgame presser was tone deaf to say the least. I can't even be upset with the fact that Bell hasn't been super electric over the last few weeks, and no other player - wide receiver or tight end - gets many chances to really showcase their big play ability. It's not their fault that Moss, more often than not, will not even risk downfield throws. For as much as Jack Plummer is vilified around here, at least he *tried* to make big plays happen.
if there's anything positive to take away from the offensive showing, at least it's apparent that Brohm learned his lesson from the Cal game and leaned more into the run. The fact that Louisville has not one, not two, but three running backs that can start for a power conference team is an incredible job by Chris Barclay in the development department. Keyjuan Brown has exploded in the last few weeks, and is quickly turning into someone that is becoming a fan favorite. His truck stick on Khalil Barnes was amazing.
As far as the offensive line goes, they did a solid job at the point of attack, but were hit-or-miss overall. Run blocking was pretty good, but pass protection was a tad streaky at times (not that it mattered much). Not to mention that Rasheed Miller and Lance Robinson both had some really bad fourth quarter penalties.
Alright, now onto the defense. While it was a little frustrating that Clemson was able to find some success nickel-and-diming Louisville with swing passes and screen plays, for the most part, the defense did a pretty good job of limiting chunk plays. Sure, the 25- and 46-yard carries from Adam Randall were untimely, but take away those, as well as Cade Klubnik's three passes for 20ish yards, and Louisville allowed just 2.95 yards per play on the 59 other plays in the game.
Louisville's defensive line might not have lit up the box score, but they are a big reason why they had a good amount of success. The run game was held in check with the exception of two of Clemson's 24 designed runs, and Klubnik had a good amount of pressure applied on him all night. It would have been nice to see it result in more than one sack, but it's hard to be mad with the defensive front.
With the linebacking corps, it's a phenomenal development that Stanquan Clark was able to return. Not only was he their best defender heading into the season, Kalib Perry has regressed some over the last few weeks. But the rotation of Clark, T.J. Quinn and T.J Capers remains a very good linebacking corps. They execute their roles in run defense to near perfection, and their efforts in pass coverage have been vastly improved.
The one area where the defense was a little shaky was in the secondary. Cornerbacks Jabari Mack and Tayon Holloway were just fine, not great but not terrible. Safeties D'Angelo Hutchinson, Jojo Evans and Corey Gordon certainly could have played better, especially while in the box in run support. But at the end of the day, Klubnik has a season-low in passing yards, so it's not like the secondary was terrible. They just had a couple lapses in their assignments.
I'll close with this thought: Like I mentioned earlier, this was the kind of game that should lead to some uncomfortable conversations and probably some uncomfortable decisions. Whether its because of his decision making or his unwillingness to stretch the ball vertically, Brohm needs to swallow his pride and give another quarterback on the roster an opportunity. Additionally, it's starting to become obvious that Brohm probably needs to make a shakeup on his staff once the offseason gets here if things continue in this directions.

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