Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Boston College

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - On the heels of capturing one of their biggest road wins in program history, the Louisville program is returning home, where a matchup with Boston College is waiting for them. Kickoff from L&N Stadium is set for Saturday, Oct 25 at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Here are some of the more notable points of emphasis heading into Saturday's game:

Injury Update

This weekend's matchup is one where both sidelines are dealing with both injuries to a key players, and a vast amount of injuries, period.

Once again, running back Duke Watson was ruled "out" due to his lower body injury suffered in the game against Virginia nearly three weeks ago.

Offensive lineman Mak Pounders was taken off the initial injury report, while fellow lineman Naeer Jackson was listed as "questionable." Starting defensive end Wesley Bailey is "questionable" as well.

On the Boston College side of things, their injury report reads like a CVS receipt. Starting cornerbacks Amari Jackson and Syair Torrence are "out," as is starting linebacker Bam Crouch, plus three of their top four defensive tackles. Defensive end Quintayyvious Hutchins, who has had to wear a club, is "probable."

The most noteworthy recent injury to the Eagles is to Turbo Richard. The running back and BC's leading rusher had to exit the previous game against UConn, and is listed as "questionable" for this weekend.

Boston College Players to Watch: WR Lewis Bond (Offense) and DE Sedarius McConnell (Defense)

Compared to some of the other teams that Louisville will face this season, Boston College's talent level isn't nearly as high. Even with that in mind, they still have a handful of players who have shown up to this point in the year that they are bonafide playmakers.

While there is some fluidity with BC's quarterback position, the unquestioned focal point of their passing attack is wide receiver Lewis Bond. Through seven games, Bond has 50 receptions on the season, which not only leads the ACC, it's fifth in the FBS and second among P4 receivers (Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson - 57). Bond has 505 yards off those catches, but oddly enough, no touchdowns.

Bond might not be supremely explosive, but he's one of the more prolific receivers in Boston College history. In five years as an Eagle, he has 175 receptions for 1,897 yards and 10 touchdowns. He's fifth all-time in receptions in school history, and he has a chance to catch Zay Flowers' 200 for the most in BC history.

Defensively, Boston College as a whole isn't very good, but they do have a few individual guys that require some extra attention in film study. One of those guys is defensive end Sedarius McConnell. He's the Eagles' leader in tackles for loss plus sacks at 6.5 and 2.5, respectively, and is tied for eight in the ACC in TFL's. He also has 17 tackles and a forced fumble to his name this season.

After starting his career at Illinois and transferring to Boston College ahead of the 2024 season, this 2025 campaign has been a breakout season for McConnell. In fact, he had just 24 tackles and half a TFL in the three previous seasons combined.

Matchup to Watch: Louisville LB T.J. Quinn vs. Boston College WR Lewis Bond

Considering the talent and injury discrepancy between Louisville and Boston College, there are a multitude of individual matchups that are in favor the Cardinals. But there is one where the Eagles have a chance to do some damage.

It's already been well established that wide receiver Lewis Bond plays a massive role in BC's passing attack and offensive game plan as a whole. But there is one area of the field where he is utilized far more than others.

Of his 60 total targets on the year, 34 of them have come in the middle of the field either 0-9 yards downfield or behind the line of scrimmage. While there will undoubtedly be matchups where Louisville puts a corner against Bond, this appears to be a game where the middle linebackers will play a massive role in trying to slow him down.

Fortunately, the Cardinals' linebacking corps has done a great job in terms of pass coverage - especially considering how bad they were at it last season. The main reason for this is because of the efforts of starting linebacker T.J. Quinn.

Quinn has always been an asset against the run, but this season, he has finally improved his production and efficiency when dropping into coverage. He already has two interceptions this season, and his 84.3 coverage grade on Pro Football Focus is not only second on the team, it's the fourth-best in the FBS among linebackers with at least 150 pass coverage snaps.

Louisville Trend to Monitor: The Game After 'The Game'

This past weekend, Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm once against pulled through when it mattered most, leading his team to a 24-21 win over No. 2 Miami. But for as much of a reputation as Brohm as when it comes to getting up for the big game, over the course his career as a head coach, he has also has a tendency to have a letdown immediately afterwards.

Last season, there was the stunning 38-35 loss at Stanford on the heels of their 33-21 upset win at No. 11 Clemson. In 2023, Louisville fell 38-21 at Pitt after knocking off No. 10 Notre Dame 33-20 to remain undefeated. While the head coach at Purdue, it happened twice in a season on two separate occasions - in 2018 and 2021.

However, there is more than enough reason to believe that Brohm can buck that trend this weekend. Of the six "letdown" games he has suffered, all but one of them came on the road. Additionally, most of these letdowns came against teams who wound up finishing the season fairly highly regarded.

The only letdown game up to this point to come against a team with an SRS (College Football Reference's 'Simple Rating System') below 0.0, which is considered "average," was 2023 Stanford at -4.40. Not only will Louisville be taking on Boston College at home this weekend, the Eagles' current SRS comes in at -10.20.

Boston College Trend to Monitor: An Inability to Get Off The Field

Injuries have certainly plays a massive role in why Boston College has been so porous on defense, but regardless of who has played and who hasn't, this is a unit that has been ghastly since the very start of the season.

The Eagles have allowed 397.3 yards and 33.9 points per game, which ranks 100th and 124th in the FBS, respectively. While they're okay at stopping the run, allowing 141.0 rushing yards per game for the 61st-ranked rushing defense, their 256.3 passing yards allowed per game is 115th.

Their 41.3 third down defensive percentage is 91st, their 93.1 red zone defensive percentage is 121st, and their turnover margin of -0.71 is 114th. Put it altogether, and you have a defense that simply struggles to get off the field.

Just how much have they struggled to stop opposing teams? BC's stop rate - which is the percentage of a defense's drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs - of 41.3 is the third-worst in all of the FBS. Only Air Force at 35.5 and Georgia State at 41.2 are worse.

Injury Update

Boston College Players to Watch: WR Lewis Bond (Offense) and DE Sedarius McConnell (Defense)

Matchup to Watch: Louisville LB T.J. Quinn vs. Boston College WR Lewis Bond

Louisville Trend to Monitor: The Game After 'The Game'

Boston College Trend to Monitor: An Inability to Get Off The Field

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