Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. Boston College

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - While their matchup with Boston College was less than an efficient showing, the Louisville football program still found a way to win, coming out on top with a 38-24 victory this past Saturday at L&N Stadium.

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

First of all, as someone who loves all manner of college football, that might have been one of the least enjoyable games I've ever covered or watched. Neither team could really establish firm control of the game, especially in the second half when it turned into a punt-filled turnover bonanza. There was almost no flow after the first quarter, and the refs didn't help, either. That being said, you'd rather win ugly than lose pretty. Louisville made plenty of mistakes and this game was far from a beauty pageant, but at the end of the day, it still was a victory. They seemed like they were hellbent on fulfilling the "letdown game" prophecy at times, but still.
It would be easy to pile on Brohm for his preparation and game plan, considering Louisville was a nearly four-score favorite and had to fight, scrap and claw until the very end. While it was a fairly conservative approach, there was some good play designs mixed in (like the bootleg RPO in the third quarter and Jaleel Skinner's big third down conversion in the fourth), not to mention Louisville did find a lot of success in running the ball - so it's hard to be mad about that. I think some of the inconsistencies on offense are partly on player execution (more on that later), and simply good effort/execution from Boston College. I'm far from saying BC "wanted it more," but they definitely didn't just roll over. I've been critical of Brohm this season at times, and if this was a closer game, I'm sure I would be continuing to tote the fact that he is prone to letdowns after massive wins. But while he wasn't perfect, the actual on-field execution was so-so at times.
I'll dive into the offensive players first. In real time, it was frustrating to watch the offense primarily because the passing game just struggled at times to really get anything going. Miller Moss was anything but efficient, and the wide receivers couldn't get much separation either. But watching it again, this was partially due to the fact that Boston College went with a very conservative defensive plan for the most part, not loading up the box, and dropping more guys into coverage to try to take away the big play threats from guys like Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy. While this wound up having the desired effect, in turn, it allowed Louisville's running backs to go hog wild. Don't get me wrong, Moss wasn't super accurate at times and demonstrated some indecisiveness (especially on the play where he had over five seconds to throw the ball and didn't pull the trigger), but he was dealt a tough hand. Plus, his interception actually came as a result of his pass getting batted at the LOS, and not from throwing into triple coverage. I'm not trying to make excuses for his inconsistent showing, just stating a reason as to why it happened.
I knew that getting Trevonte Sylvester back would be a big boost to the offensive line, but man, that unit has looked lightyears better over the past two weeks since he made his return as a starter. They produced good rushing lanes (partly due to BC not stacking the box, but still), and gave Moss - more often than not - plenty of time to throw the football. It might have taken until the midway point of the year, but Louisville has finally been able to find a starting five on the line that works for them.
We need to have a discussion about Isaac Brown for a second. On one hand, he certainly is a lot healthier than he was to start the season, and that all-world speed and burst is back and on full display. That being said, something has to be done about the fact that he all of a sudden just can't hang onto the football. That's now three games in a row where he has fumbled, and each time, it has resulted in a touchdown the other way. It helped cost Louisville the game against Virginia, it very nearly cost them the game against Miami, and it could have been a massive swing point against BC considering it happened on the first play of the second half. He's one of the best players in all of college football, so I don't know if benching him is the solution considering he torched BC otherwise. But he cannot continue to have this ball security issue.
While on the running backs, it was great to see Keyjuan Brown's patience and resilience rewarded towards the end of the game with that long touchdown run. He's been someone that is overshadowed by arguably the best running back duo in the sport, but he has come through for Louisville a handful of times this season. To be honest, I don't blame him for not taking a knee to ensure the clock ran, and I appreciate his honestly when asked about it postgame. He deserved that moment.
Now onto the defensive side of the ball. It might have taken a little bit of time for Ron English and Co. to make some adjustments, and by no means were they perfect, but defensive plan was relatively sound. Some credit does have to go to Boston College for sticking with and executing a ball control-centric attack, but Louisville's coaches and players eventually caught on. It did come at the expense of some busted coverages mixed in on the back end, but it was still a game where they did a mostly fine job balancing containing both the run and pass.
I was a little surprised that BC found as much early success as they did from simply running in between the tackles playing "three yards and a cloud of dust" style football. Early on, Louisville's defensive line had a little bit of trouble both setting tone against the run, and being able to get pressure on their pass rush. That being said, BC quarterback Grayson James did a phenomenal job of both side-stepping pressure and getting yards with his legs. Frankly, it's not something that we have really seen a lot from opposing quarterbacks this season. Then again, it's didn't seem like English utilized a blitz-heavy package, and mainly relied on base pressure - and it eventually paid off. Clev Lubin, Wesley Bailey, A.J. Green, Jordan Guerad and Rene Konga all had standout moments in this game.
I continue to be impressed with how the linebacking corps has stepped up to the challenge in the wake of the injury to Stanquan Clark. T.J Quinn and Antonio Watts continue to make plays all over the field. Despite getting picked on in pass coverage at times, Kalib Perry came through with his first career interception. T.J. Capers did a solid job in his few reps as well.
While the secondary has performed surprisingly well this season, it was just a mediocre performance against Boston College. The safeties had trouble keeping track of tight end leaking out downfield, and corners were hit-or-miss when tracking the ball. That being said, it was far from the worst outing I've seen from the secondary over the last few years. They actually did a solid job of not letting Lewis Bond and Reed Harris get more comfortable, and D'Angelo Hutchinson probably should have had three interceptions if he could just hang onto the ball. That's why he plays defense, I suppose.
I'll close with this thought: yes, a win is a win, and it's certainly much better than the alternative. But Louisville absolutely has to play a much more efficient brand of football this upcoming weekend at Virginia Tech. Yes, on paper, they should cruise past them. But the Hokies are playing with house money right now, and Lane Stadium is always extremely tough to play at. An ACC title game appearance is still very much on the line, and the Cardinals can ill-afford a slip up.

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