UCF's Offensive and Defensive Speed to Present Challenge for Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program didn't exactly get their 2022 season started on the right foot. Against Syracuse up in the JMA Wireless Dome, both the offense and defense for the Cardinals failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities and establish any sort of rhythm, resulting in a 31-7 thumping this past Saturday.
Making matter worse, they're staying on the road and have arguably an even tougher test on tap for this weekend.
Over the last several years, whether that be under Scott Frost, Josh Heupel or current head coach Gus Malzahn, UCF has established a national reputation for one thing: being one of the fastest and most up-tempo teams in all of college football.
Their first game of the year against South Carolina State was certainly no exception. While it did come against an FCS opponent, the Knights still were able to run 81 total plays during their 56-10 romp, which was tied for the eighth-most from week one's game.
"It’s very challenging to slow them down," head coach Scott Satterfield said. "(Malzahn) goes fast, he’s got the up-tempo offense. You’re having to defend all 11 when you have a quarterback like they have in John Rhys Plumlee, who can actually run and throw it. So, you not only have to defend the wideouts who can really run and the running back, but the quarterback too."
UCF's offense looked incredibly efficient thanks in large part to Plumlee. The transfer from Ole Miss threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns, while also adding 86 yards and a score on the ground. Not only can get the job down through the air, head coach Scott Satterfield thanks he's faster than Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader, who rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown against the Cards' defense.
"I think we got to do a great job of containing him," defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. "We lost some contain this past week with Shrader, to where we missed a couple tackles with him breaking contain. Anytime you got a great quarterback that can run, they're gonna hurt you anytime they break contain. We got to do a great job of of trying to corral them, and keep them inside that pocket, but also have a guy for him as well."
Not to mention the incredible cast of offensive skill position players around Plumlee. Running backs Isaiah Bowser and Johnny Richardson, who combined to rush for 1,436 yard and 12 touchdowns last season, are both back, combining for 142 yards a two scores last week. Richardson is the speed back in UCF's offense, while Bowser is more of the bruising variety.
As far as the pass catchers go, the Knights have talent there, too. Wide receiver Ryan O'Keefe returns after a year where logged 812 yards and seven touchdowns, while the additions of former Alabama wideout Javon Baker and Florida tight end Kemore Gamble give the passing game a huge shot in the arm. Last week against the Bulldogs, the trio combined for 214 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
With all the playmakers and speed that UCF sports on offense, preparing for it is not an easy task for Louisville. They did have some success against this approach in last year's win over the Knights at Cardinal Stadium, "limiting" the Knights to 416 yards and 35 points, but replicating that outcome is a tall task.
"They have a slew of talent on that side of the ball," Brown said. "What we have to do is, do our job number one, and then when we do that, we'll be successful. But we have to practice that way. What we're doing in practice, we'll have some up-tempo periods, to where we have to go really, really fast, and practice that way. If we can do that, we'll be okay."
As much attention that the offensive side of the ball for UCF gets, the other side of the line of scrimmage has plenty of it as well. This is particularly apparent in the Knights' secondary, a unit that returns their top five defensive backs in terms of passes defended: Davonte Brown, Justin Hodges, Quadric Bullard, Corey Thornton and Divaad Wilson. This group combined for 34 pass defenses and four interceptions last season.
"They're not scared to go man to man," Satterfield said. "They’ll come up in your face and play man to man defense on you. They get after it up front. ... They have an experienced defense that is built on speed.
"The other thing is that we have to be able to win in space. When you think about these one-on-one matchups, you have to get opportunities, you have to be able to win those one-on-ones. We have to be good up front, we have to be able to block the guys up front and create holes when we do run the football."
While their front seven did lose both Tatum Bethune and Big Kat Bryant, guys like Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste and Bryson Armstrong are just as disruptive. Like their offensive counterparts, UCF's defense is just as eager to run a track meet.
"Speed," offensive coordinator Lance Taylor said when asked what stands out about the Knights' defense. "I think they're really fast in the secondary. I think they play a ton of man, but they also mix it up. They do a great job disguising their coverage looks, and disguising their blitz looks. They're fast in the secondary."
Louisville has been somewhat successful against this type of approach, as evidenced by their win over UCF last season, but they will need to operate with a lot more fire than they did last week against Syracuse. In that game, the Cardinals simply did not match the intensity and tempo of the Orange, and that ultimately played a large role in the end result. By the time the coaches started to pick up the pace vs. Cuse, it was too late.
"Looking back, we should have early in that game. Pick the tempo up, change it up a little bit more, not just methodically go slow down the field. Change the tempo, mix it up. We did that a little bit in the third quarter, and we were able to move the ball better with the run and pass. Going fast, it just puts more pressure on defense. We got to do more of that."
Kickoff between the Cardinals and the Knights is set for Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Johnny Richardson: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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