Even after sleeping on it — on a new Thuma with a new Avocado mattress (no sag, good support, boffo sleep) — I remain in a state of confusement.
Against the nation’s #2 Miami in a rockin’ Hard Rock, a unit that hadn’t given up a first quarter TD all year, normally by the basics Jeff Brohm had his Cardinals trickerate down the gridiron to score on the game’s opening drive.
Wildcat sets. Three QB sets. Double QB sets. Sleight of hand. Quick drops. Quick hitters. Fake FG.
The names also did their thing. Miller Moss 4/5, 27 yards. Isaac Brown 2 carries, 39 yards.
The maligned Offensive Line — I’m as guilty as piling on that crew as any — looked right.
The Ron English’s Game Ball-winning D proved it wasn’t to be messed with.
Three and out.
Upon which switch of possession, U of L did it again on a short field, thanks to Caullin Lacy’s 17 yard punt return.
After a quick three yard bullet which Chris Bell gathered, he dashed 35 more to the endzone.
At 5:09 of the 1st Q, Louisville 14, Miami 0.
Take that, Booger McFarland, who told Tony and Mike on PTI that Louisville had no chance. (Mea culpa: I frankly agreed.)
The Cards never trailed.
U of L 24, The U 21.
* * * * *
My confusion isn’t how the Cards won.
Before last night in South Beach, they’d wheezed and wobbled and swerved and swayed. And lost a game they should have won.
Even with the injuries and portal adjustments and finding themselves space, the Cardinals essentially had provided little realistic evidence that they had Friday Night Light’s performance in ’em.
No, my bamboozlement is Where Has This Team Been?
* * * * * *
How last night’s game was won, dominated even, is less difficult to understand.
D. Fence.
The Canes were held to 63 yards on the ground on 24 carries. 2.6 y/p/c. Longest: 12 yards.
Louisville’s oft disparaged D Secondary had it’s best game in . . . a long time.
That Heisman frontrunner Carson Beck was picked FIVE times. (That’s right, but only four counted. One was nullified by a roughing the passer call.)
JoJo Evans.
Jabari Mack.
Antonio Watts.
And the game sealing, gold plated Game Ball nail in the coffin pick by T.J. Capers.
Which was a diving, twisting, vice gripping act of beauteous legerdemain.
I guess that was Carson Beck seen sobbing in his Lamborghini after the L.
* * * * *
Offensively, Jeff Brohm was innovative. That early on play set mystification had Miami backtracking all night.
Plus Brohm astutely set aside his propensity for long down field routes and throws that would have put Miller Moss in peril. Quick hitters.
Credit goes to whoever devised the scheme that turned putative Mel Kiper DL first rounder Rueben Bain into a literal non-factor.
As in the guy had ONE tackle, no sacks, no breakups, no QBHs, no TFLs.
The Offensive Line obviously gets credit for effectuating that scheme. As well as finally opening enough holes for the run game to be an important cog in the victory.
Cooper Ranvier 48 yard upright splitter.
Isaac Brown had 113 yards on 15 carries.
Chris Bell had 9 catches for 136 yards and two tallies.
Miller Moss was steady.
So was Louisville.
— c d kaplan
Hopefully the OL can play at least this decent the rest of the way. If so, with this defense we could potentially win every game left on the schedule, although I seriously doubt running the table from here on out will happen. If Brohm follows his usual pattern we lose to BC next week. The OL was not still not what I would call “good”, but I suppose the attention that Bain required to shut him down dictated shifting some priorities from somewhere else. Maybe if the OL isn’t tasked with shutting down players of his caliber the rest of the way they can play a lot better than they have been against the rest of the schedule. Last night was a marked improvement for that group, although Moss was still getting preasured regularly. Getting the running game going was HUGE!
Running game, a good thing.
If I could have been in Miami, would have torn the goalpost down, and marched it to Key West, cranking Buffett up to 12 ,all the way there
Go Cards
“Marched” to Key West? Not Mao, Deng Xiaoping, and company long march, but quite a haul never the less.
But thinking about it, I guess if you can tear down the goal posts by yourself, then you’re probably up for it
I was there (in full Cards regalia). Many U fans left just before the Brown fumble. Their fans were most upset, from a few conversations and comments heard in the crowd on the way out, was how Cristobal was out-coached. The Brohms saved a lot of plays for this game and it worked. Having Moss make quick passes neutralized their pass rush to a large degree. On D, stopping their running game (at the cost of a real pass rush) made them one-dimensional and led to the picks. Brilliant. Now, let’s beat BC and not have history repeat itself.
As with any win like this one, a little luck was involved. Not often a QB of Beck’s caliber is going to throw 4 picks in a game. Probably the only time he will ever do it in his entire career. But Brohm, English, and the boys were also ready to create some of their own luck, and take advantage of it. That last pick in particular Capers recognized very quickly where Beck was going to go with the ball. It’s easily in the top five all-time U of L football plays I have ever witnessed. The stakes on the line, the awareness, and the raw athleticism is breathtaking to watch.
Btw, in TV you can really hear the Cards fans. I know some people who went. It’s sounded like we had a good crowd there.
“Sobbing in his Lamborghini. may be your finest line in a crowded life
Thank you, sir.