Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville's Boca Raton Bowl Win Over Toledo

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program has ended their 2025 season on a positive note, taking down Toledo 27-22 in the Boca Raton Bowl this past Tuesday. The Cardinals conclude year three under Jeff Brohm at 9-4, marking the third straight season of nine or more wins for UofL.

Before we close the book on the game and transition to the offseason, I wanted to provide some closing thoughts and observations from the game against the Rockets:

First of all, given the circumstances surrounding the game, I have to commend the team for remaining locked in - at least for the majority of the day. Between Louisville getting slighted in the bowl selection process and the loud chatter surrounding Jeff Brohm and Michigan leading up to the game, it would have been completely understandable if the team just mentally checked out. However, Louisville saw a minimal amount of opt-outs and transfer portal defections (at least up to that point), and for the most part, the energy and effort on the Cardinals sideline was at a good level even for a somewhat meaningless bowl game. Were they perfect? Far from it. But they made just enough winning plays to escape with a win against an extremely underrated opponent (I said what I said. Toledo is very good for a Group of Five team).
The coaching in this game on both sides of the ball was almost like a microcosm of the entire season. Jeff Brohm's scripts to open both halves were things of beauty, although there was a lot of stagnation in the second quarter when Brohm seemed to stray away from the run a bit. Fortunately, he didn't overcomplicate things and just let Isaac and Keyjuan Brown run the show in the second half. With Ron English and his defense, he mostly did a great job mixing up coverages to keep Toledo on their toes, and staying aggressive overall. That being said, his play calling got way too conservative in the fourth quarter when Louisville got a multi-score lead, which played into why Toledo was able to make things interesting late in the game. If I had to grade the offensive and defensive coaching, I think a B- sounds about right.
Speaking of microcosms of the season, this game was the peak Miller Moss experience. On one hand, he had a few really nice throws, such as the touchdown toss to TreyShun Hurry on the opening drive, and the deep shot to Caullin Lacy in the third quarter where he actually stood tall in the pocket anticipating that he's about to get drilled. Not to mention that, at the end of the day, he had twice as many completions as incompletions, and threw multiple touchdowns against no interceptions. But man... he certainly played a role as to why Louisville's offense was stuck in first gear for most of the first half. He took a couple unnecessary sacks on the second drive, and his accuracy was all over the place in the second quarter. In fact, six of his eight incompletions came in this quarter. And that's not counting the fumble he had simply because he flat out missed Antonio Meeks, who was about to set up a trick play.
With how important Chris Bell is to the passing game, not having him for this bowl after he torn his ACL was certainly a massive development to overcome. But credit to Louisville's other wide receivers for stepping up here. Caullin Lacy answered the call as WR1 despite dealing with an injury of his own, making a handful of impact plays both on offense and special teams. TreyShun Hurry and Antonio Meeks both stepped up and plays important supporting roles. I just wish that Brohm could find a way to make the tight end position a consistant factor in Louisville's passing game like it was at Purdue and WKU. Maybe next season, I guess.
I can't tell you how great it was to see both Isaac and Keyjuan Brown return for this game. Considering how both were dealing with nagging injuries, it would have been completely understandable to not want to risk your long term health for a bowl game of this caliber. But to their credit, not only did both of them play, both players looked like their peak form. Isaac showed him home-run hitting capabilities, and Keyjuan did a great job running in between the tackles and then closing out the games. Here's to hoping both can/will return for the next season.
The offensive line was a little shaky to start out this game. In that second quarter, part of the reason that Moss was all over the place and that the Browns could get much going on the ground is because of the blocking. The pass protection and the physical edge needed in run blocking was just simply not there in that period. That being said, these efforts improved greatly after halftime, and the O-line does deserve credit for finishing strong.
Now onto the other side of the line of scrimmage. Even when the defense started to waiver in the fourth quarter, the defensive line put together the most complete performance on that side of the ball - and that's with two starters in Wesley Bailey and Rene Konga opting out. Clev Lubin was an absolute monster from start to finish, and was without question the game's overall MVP because of the impact he had. A.J. Green and Micah Carter stepped up in place of Bailey, while Jerry Lawson and Denzel Lowry stepped up in place of Konga.
Moving onto the second level with the linebacking corps, and here is where Toledo's offense started to find success. This position group was very boom-or-bust in this game. T.J. Quinn had a good day overall in terms of his production on paper, but he, as well as Stanquan Clark, T.J. Capers and Kalib Perry found themselves out of position fairly often in the fourth quarter - whether it was a run or pass. On Toledo's 4th and 11 touchdown that started to give them life and spark the comeback effort, Clark was right there to try and make the play, and simply didn't do it. Not to mention that the linebacking corps was primarily responsible for some of the poor tackling we saw. A very disappointing performance from this group to say the least.
As far as the efforts from the secondary, it was largely a solid day at the office from the corners and safeties. Sure, there were some coverage busts in the second half, but I chalk that up to the play calls getting very conservative once it became a three-score lead. Corey Gordon Jr. had a very good day and made plays all over the field, as did did fellow safety JoJo Evans. Cornerbacks Jabari Mack, Tayon Holloway and Rodney Johnson also had solid performances as well. This effort by the defensive backs also had a complimentary impact, as it helped the defensive line's pass rush.
With the special teams, that was... certainly a journey. On one hand, Louisville had a field goal and an extra point attempt blocked - the latter of which resulted in two points the other way. On the other hand, the Cardinals also blocked a punt courtesy of A.J. Green, and Lacy helped set up a couple drives nicely on punt returns. It all evens out, I suppose!
A couple side notes: I knew that Toledo was an undisciplined team heading into this games, but man... it was almost jarring seeing them commit as many penalties as they did. Louisville is lucky they matched up against a team that shoots themselves in the foot more so than any other team in the sport. Also... that game might have had the worst production value out of ANY Division I college football game I've ever seen, and I've indulged in my fair share of Group of Five and FCS football. The officiating crew struggled (that wasn't targeting on Lubin), the announcers flubbed up multiple times, the "rules analyst" had absolutely zero idea what he was talking about, and the scorebug featured a clock that was damn near invisible for most of the second half. I get it, it's the Boca Raton Bowl. But my god, that was a pathetic product put together - play on the field completely aside.
One more rant: why couldn't we see someone get dumped with beans after the game???
I'll close with this thought: In the end, does winning the Boca Raton Bowl against a Toledo team with an interim head coach matter much? Not really. But what *does* matter is the perception of that ninth win of the season. On top of the fact that Brohm has now won nine games in each of his seasons at Louisville. That's tangible momentum that you can build on with the transfer portal right around the corner.

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