CHESTNUT HILL – Athleticism.
That has been the hallmark of the Louisville Cardinals football program since they joined the ACC in 2014. In both peak and down years, despite multiple head coaches, the Cardinals have consistently been teeming with athleticism at the skill positions and along the fronts on both sides of the ball.
Boston College (1-6, 0-4) faces the huge task of containing the Cardinals’ athleticism on Saturday night (7:30 p.m.) in an ACC encounter with No. 19 Louisville (5-1, 2-1) on Homecoming Weekend at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.
“There are a lot of athletic teams, but they are one of the most athletic, no doubt,” said BC coach Bill O’Brien following team practice on Thursday morning at the Fish Field House.
“They have really good receivers, good DBs, the kickoff returners, and the punt returners. They have a lot of really good athletes, and I’m not even mentioning their linemen, who are really good athletes. This is a big challenge.”
In the last 10 years, Louisville has produced two of the most prolific dual-threat quarterbacks in FBS history: Baltimore Ravens two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson (2015-2017) and Detroit Lions backup Malik Cunningham (2018-2022).
In 2016, Jackson became the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy, and he is third in ACC history with 13,175 total yards over three seasons. Cunningham is sixth all-time in total yards with 12,847.
Cardinals’ starter Miller Moss is not in the same mode as Jackson and Cunningham, but he is an athletically skilled field general and an accurate passer. In six starts, Moss has completed 143-of-216 passes for 1,606 yards for a 267.67 yards per game average with nine touchdowns and four interceptions.
“He’s a prototypical drop-back passer, but he can run,” said O’Brien. “He’s an athlete, really strong arm, good passer, good instincts, good awareness, and knows the offense really well.
“He is more of a drop-back guy, probably, than those guys. He’s not as much of a dual threat, but he can run. He’s a very good athlete, but more of a drop-back passer.”
Louisville secured its signature win of the season with a 24-21 victory over No. 2 Miami on Oct. 17 at Hard Rock Stadium. The defense set the offense up for success by picking off the Hurricanes’ quarterback, Carson Beck, four times. Beck had been in the Heisman Trophy conversation before his date with the Cardinals.
Moss did his part by completing 23-of-37 passes for 248 yards with two passing touchdowns and one on the ground. Wide receiver Chris Bell recorded his third straight 100-plus yards receiving game, and he has 441 yards on 31 receptions this season.
“They had some explosive plays on offense, did a really good job, and used different quarterbacks, and they can run the wildcat,” said O’Brien. “They do a lot on offense and create some explosive plays.
“Coach (Jeff) Brohm does a great job. I have a lot of respect for him, and they take the ball away. They do a great job on defense. You’ve got to make good decisions. They disguise, they blitz you, and they show blitz, then pop out and play cover. It’s a difficult defense.”
The BC secondary was dissected by opposing quarterbacks in three straight losses to Pittsburgh, Clemson, and UConn. Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel completed 30-of-41 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions and two sacks.
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 22-of-30 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown with an interception and one sack. UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano completed 23-of-31 passes for 362 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions and one sack.
“Last week we didn’t stop the pass at all,” said O’Brien. “Louisville does a good job in both areas, running the ball and throwing the ball, but we will have a good plan and our guys will go there and fight their asses off.”
Inside those passing numbers were an inordinate number of explosive plays. Against UConn, Fagnano completed touchdown passes of 50, 43, and 38 yards.
“Any mistake we make, we harp on it,” said BC safety KP Price. “We get it corrected as much as possible in practice, especially something like deep balls.
“That’s a no-brainer. Those things can’t be allowed to happen. Anything we do wrong, we have corrections, fix the mistakes, and move on. That’s football; that is what you are supposed to do. That’s the game we signed up for. That is the game we love.”
The problem does not rest solely with the defensive backfield. BC is 14th in the ACC with 12 sacks against and 15th in sacks allowed with 19, seven of which were imposed on James by the UConn front seven.
“I think it starts up front with the linebackers and D-line,” said BC middle linebacker Owen McGowan. “Just getting a little more pressure and giving those guys time to cover.
“We haven’t had the pass rush that we wanted, and it needs to be a collective effort. If the pass rush is good, the coverage will be good.”
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