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Louisville football: The game plan for slowing down Wake Forest

By Will Reddington

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - OCTOBER 05: Micale Cunningham #3 of the Louisville Cardinals warms up before the game against the Boston College Eagles at Cardinal Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. Previously referred to as "Malik", Cunningham told Louisville officials that he is now going by his given first name, Micale. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - OCTOBER 05: Micale Cunningham #3 of the Louisville Cardinals warms up before the game against the Boston College Eagles at Cardinal Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. Previously referred to as "Malik", Cunningham told Louisville officials that he is now going by his given first name, Micale. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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HOUSTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 06: Jamie Newman #12 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons looks to pass under pressure by Antonio Montero #1 of the Rice Owls in the first half on September 6, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 06: Jamie Newman #12 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons looks to pass under pressure by Antonio Montero #1 of the Rice Owls in the first half on September 6, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

Get off the field against this Wake Forest offense

This Wake Forest offense is no joke, regardless of the level of competition they’ve faced so far this season. They’re currently10th overall in total offense in the entire NCAA, averaging 515 yards per game.

They also play at an extremely fast pace, sitting at 10th in total plays ran – which could present a big challenge to Louisville’s lack of depth defensively. Teams have had success running the hurry up against Louisville’s defense so far this season, they’ll need to force Wake Forest into shorter drives to throw them off of the consistent offensive rhythm that they’ve displayed so far this season.

Wake Forest’s quarterback, Jamie Newman, is currently statistically ranked at the top of the ACC. He’s 7th in the country when it comes to passing yards per game, which is a very scary thought for a Cardinal defense who may have bailed out by the injury to Boston College quarterback Anthony Brown this past weekend. The UofL defense had much better luck against the BC backup, but Newman should be the toughest quarterback the Cardinals have faced since Notre Dame’s Ian Book in week 1.

After totaling zero sacks last weekend against Boston College, Louisville’s front seven will have to come up with a few against Wake Forest to put the offense in long-distance situations and force them into longer yardage second and third downs, possibly changing their play calling. As Jacob Lane noted yesterday in his piece on why the Cards will win against the Demon Deacons, Wake Forest is the number one team in the country when it comes to third-down conversions, so Louisville will have to win early in drives to keep Wake Forest from moving the ball up the field.

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