Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. James Madison

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Despite digging themselves into a 14-6 deficit early in the third quarter of their primetime showdown vs. James Madison, the Louisville football program was able to make the plays necessary to mount a comeback, scoring 22 unanswered points to secure a 28-14 win this past Friday night.

Before we close the book on the game and transition to the first bye week, I wanted to provide some closing thoughts and observations from the game against the Dukes:

First of all, as the old saying goes, you'd rather win ugly than lose pretty. Not to toot my own horn too much, but leading into this game, I warned people that James Madison was a much better team than what was being led on. That being said, while I didn't think it would be a blowout, I thought that Louisville would look a little more crisp than they did on Friday night. Yes, they made plays when plays absolutely needed to be made, and the Cardinals deserve credit for that. However, they made it much more difficult on themselves than they needed it to be.
One of the reasons that this wasn't a much more convincing victory was because the game plan and overall play calling on behalf of Jeff Brohm the offensive staff was underwhelming to say the least. Brohm himself admitted in the postgame that he was not prepared for the amount of pressure that JMU sent after Miller Moss and company. On top of that, Brohm didn't seem to adjust to the fact that the Dukes were sending the kitchen sink on damn near every play. There didn't seem to be an adjustment to more short routes, and up until Isaac Brown's 78-yard touchdown run, runs kept getting stuffed and Brohm kept calling them despite the Dukes loading the box. Some credit is due to James Madison, as they did a great job of balancing pressure and sitting on certain short route combos. But still, this was not a great day for both the game planning and play calling department on the offensive end of the ball. Brohm is still a fantastic offensive mind, but this is one of the couple games a year he has where that innovation and ability to adjust simply isn't there.
Instead of talking about the offense first, I'm going to lead off with the unit that was actually primarily responsible for the victory: the defense. Between the players on the field and the game plan put together, this was a great effort against a James Madison offense that will likely light up the scoreboard when they get to conference play. While it might not have been perfect at times (I mainly think about the failed trick play in the first quarter that should have been a JMU touchdown), Ron English and the defensive staff put together a good game plan, and the players executed it very well.
I had a feeling that the defensive line would be a strength of the defense this season, but man... so far this year, that unit has been playing with their hair on fire. Whether it was Alonza Barnett III or Matthew Sluka under center, the line made their life hell all night, and they did a very good job of limiting a rushing attack to ran for over 300 yards the week before.
Clev Lubin has been even better than I expected him to be, and is playing like he's gunning for All-American honors. His strip sack in the end zone that gave Louisville the go-ahead touchdown was a massive momentum shift at a crucial time of the game. His explosiveness off the line and his bend make him an incredibly deadly asset on the edge.
Let's not forget everyone else on the line as well. Wesley Bailey has been super disruptive as well to start the season. A.J. Green seems like he's putting together the start of a breakout year. Jordan Guerad and Rene Konga continue to be unsung heroes when it comes to stuffing run gaps and collapsing the pocket from the middle. The D-line, after having a slow start to 2024, is off to an incredible start to 2025.
Right behind the D-line, the linebacking corps did a solid job rounding out the front seven's disruptive efforts. T.J. Quinn continues to shine as a run gap specialist, although it is disappointing, that he's still just subpar in pass coverage. Antonio Watts was hit-or-miss, but he did make a couple plays when they needed to be made, while T.J. Capers and Kalib Perry did well off the bench. Unfortunately, the latter two are going to have to grow up in a hurry considering that star 'backer Stanquan Clark suffered an ankle injury vs. JMU. We don't have an official prognosis yet, but when a guy like Brohm is openly speculating that he'll be out a while, you know it's bad.
As far as the secondary goes, this was a game that highlighted the importance of playing complementary football. Louisville really wasn't tested a whole lot in terms of the playing against the pass, mainly because the line was doing such a good job at being disruptive. And save for a few reps, the Cardinals' collective corners and safeties did a good job of limiting the effectiveness of deep and intermediate routes, while also playing downhill on shorter passes to make the tackle. Sure, they weren't perfect in the latter category, but they did an overall solid job.
Alright, now lets talk about the offense. While the players on that side of the ball were undoubtedly hamstrung by a less-than-stellar game plan, there were also plenty of times where the actual play on the field left some to be desired.
This was certainly an up-and-down game for Miller Moss. On one hand, he did have a few plays that really showcased his potential in this offense, such as his incredible anticipation on the touchdown throw to Chris Bell, and how he once again put his body on the line to get in the end zone from the goal line. However, he also had a handful of miscues. On the hit where he fumbled the ball, he needs to do a better job at knowing the pressure is coming and subsequently protecting the ball. Additionally, he very nearly threw a pick six to start the second quarter. Adding in the near-TD on JMU's busted trick play, and Louisville was very fortunate to not be trailing 21-0 to start the game.
There wasn't much to speak of in terms of the past catchers considering the pressure that JMU was sending. Bell's effort after the catch on his touchdown run was great, but no one else really stood out amongst the wide receivers and tight ends - although that's not really their fault.
Speaking of the pressure, yes, the offensive line did not have a great night. Like last week, they weren't doing a good job at holding open rushing lanes, and there were a few miscommunications in pass coverage that allowed free rushers at Moss. When it came to dealing with stunts, twists and delayed blitzes, the line certainly struggled. But after re-watching the game, while the line wasn't great, a lot of their issues stemmed from the fact that Brohm didn't do a superb job of adjusting the overall approach of the offense, as well as adjusting the protections in his play calling. If the other team is sending more players than you can block, an offensive line full of All-Americans isn't going to stop the unblocked guy.
Even with the cards stacked against him as a rusher, Isaac Brown still managed to break off a big rush and post over 100 yards on the ground. It speaks to how special of a player he truly is. Also, because of the run-blocking inconsistencies, I'm not going to get too concerned about the slow start to the season for Duke Watson - yet.
On the special teams front, Cooper Ranvier seems like he has a bright future ahead of him as the placekicker, while David Chapeau as the punter seemed a little inconsistent. But my main concern is that, for the second straight game, there was trouble handling the snap on a PAT. Time for someone else to get reps at holder?
Also... whoever operates the train horn and fireworks at L&N Stadium, they weren't exactly in midseason form.
I'll close with this thought: Yes, Louisville didn't exactly play their best brand of football. That being said... they still won by 14 against a James Madison team that could wind up being in the mix as the G5's representative for the College Football Playoff. Compare that to the chaos round the sport on Saturday: USF beating Florida in The Swamp, SMU losing to Baylor at home (again), Clemson struggling with Troy, Georgia looking sluggish vs. Austin Peay, Arizona State losing at Mississippi State. All of a sudden, the Cardinals' relative struggles don't seem all that bad.
Bonus thought: I'm with Brohm, early bye weeks can kick rocks.

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