Louisville football: Cards vs. Miami game day central

Who: Louisville Cardinals (5-3) @ Miami Hurricanes (5-4)

Where: Hard Rock Stadium

When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, November 10th

Spread check: Miami -6.5 (According to the Action Network)

Uniform check:

How to watch: ESPN2

Live stream available on Watch ESPN via your TV provider.

How to listen: 790 WKRD AM in Louisville and surrounding areas

What’s at stake: For Louisville, the matchup with Miami will be the biggest challenge remaining on the 2019 schedule. That means that a win for Scott Satterfield and the Cards could go a long way in propelling them to a New Years Six bowl appearance, assuming the other things needed fall into place.

Louisville has shown the ability to beat teams with great defenses and they’ve done so against more dynamic’s than Miami’s – which should be a good sign. There are two things to consider here:

1. Louisville’s coming off of a bye week and the staff will have had two weeks to plan for Miami. The last time Louisville came off of a bye week we saw them take a big step forward (Boston College). I would expect the same here.
2. Louisville’s had a chance to heal.

For Miami, they’ve had a few bad losses this season but we saw what they can be at their best last weekend against Florida State. Like Louisville, the Hurricanes are one game away from being bowl eligible and sitting at 3-3 in the ACC Coastal Division, they still aren’t out of things yet.

Everyone knows their defense is very good and the offense has big-time playmaking potential, but it all will be about their quarterback. Jarren Williams will get the start for the second week in a row and will be looking to keep N’Kosi Perry off the field with his play. Confidence will be a huge deal for him in this game and down the stretch of the season.

Podcast:

Myself, Presley Meyer, and Alex Stengel were joined last week by Keith Wynne (@Keith_Wynne) of Card Chronicle to discuss Louisville football’s recent performances as well to preview Miami.

This is Louisville’s last toss-up game of the season, as the final three games of the year should all lean towards the Cards being the favorite.

We breakdown how Louisville can establish their brand of football against the Hurricanes as well as predict the final four games of the season.

Players to watch:

Javian Hawkins, Louisville RB

Miami won’t be Javian Hawkins’ first matchup with an elite defense this season, but it will be his last. The Hurricanes present a big challenge for the redshirt freshman who has been one of the top five running backs in the ACC and should be a shoo-in for ACC freshman of the year.

Against Notre Dame, Clemson, and Virginia Hawkins showed that he could run at a high level against elite defenses, totaling 387 yards on 73 carries with three touchdowns. Those defenses typically don’t give up 100 yards rushing in a game, something Hawkins did against all three, which to me shows that it doesn’t matter the opponent, he’s going to get his.

So even with Miami being a top 12 defense against the run, Louisville gameplan will still be centered around feeding Javian Hawkins. The defense of Miami plays very fast, just like Louisville, and dominate inside with Gregory Rousseau, which will make things very difficult for Hawkins. But with what we’ve seen, he should be in store for another big day.

Gregory Rousseau, Miami DL

Louisville’s defense has 18 sacks on the 2019 defense combined which is tied for 57th in the country. I bring that up to compare it to Miami’s Gregory Rousseau who by himself has accounted for 12 total sacks through nine games, which is more than15 Division 1 programs have at this point in time.

The offensive line for Louisville has been much improved this season behind the coaching of Dwayne Ledford, but they’ve shown to be vulnerable against dominant defensive lines. Against Notre Dame, Florida State, Clemson, and Virginia the Cards have given up a total of 19 sacks, which makes stopping Rousseau so important.

Lining up both inside and outside, Rousseau has been an absolute nightmare for opposing offenses this season. Whether it’s been in the starting lineup, playing as a reserve, lining up over the center/guard, or playing outside, Rosseau has been unblockable playing like a potential first-round pick.

He’s long, athletic, and extremely powerful and it’ll take a complete effort from the entire offensive line, but as Will Reddington wrote yesterday a lot of the responsibility will fall on whoever plays at center along with guards Caleb Chandler and Robbie Bell.

Chandler Jones & Marlon Character, Louisville CB’s 

Miami has been one of the most explosive offenses in the country (at times) this season, but when they’ve struggled it’s been because of the play of the quarterback.

Jarren Williams stepped in last week as the starter once again, relieving N’Kosi Perry, and showed that when he’s given time to throw and takes care of the ball the Miami offense can be unstoppable.

That’s why starting cornerbacks Chandler Jones & Marlon Character will be so important for Louisville on Saturday. They’ll line up across from speedy starting receivers Jeff Thomas and graduate transfer K.J. Osborn, both of whom have had success this season individually but have yet to be able to dominate together.

Against Virginia Chandler Jones & Marlon Character were a huge part of being able to slow down Bryce Perkins and the passing offense, combining for 15 total tackles, 1 sack and tackle for loss, and three passes deflected. While Virginia ended up with nearly 235 passing yards, they also threw the ball 41 times. Miami has yet to try to establish the run under offensive coordinator Dan Enos, so expect more of that this weekend.

Louisville’s secondary has struggled at times this season, but as of late they’ve looked much improved – especially taking away the football. Jarren Williams has only three picks on the season but the team has put the ball on the ground quite a few times, which could be a big opportunity for the Cards defense this weekend.

Brevin Jordan

Even with their dynamic playmakers at receiver in Jeff Thomas and KJ Osborn, Miami’s leading receiver this season has actually been star tight end Brevin Jordan. The former five-star recruit has 35 receptions for 495 yards and two touchdowns through nine games and is 7th in the nation in receptions and fifth in receiving yards for tight ends.

When the Miami quarterbacks have been able to get him the ball, big things have happened. However, there’s been too many times this season that the offense has gotten completely away from getting him the ball, and it’s a huge reason why they’ve been so inconsistent.

Jordan presents a nightmare matchup for Louisville’s defense, but there’s a chance he may not actually be on the field this weekend. Jordan currently sits as a “game-time decision” according to head coach Manny Diaz due to a foot injury sustained in the fourth quarter of the win against Florida State.

If he can’t go, Miami will turn to Will Mallory and Michael Irvin II. Mallory has gotten a few starts for the Hurricanes this season when the team has gone with two tight end schemes, but outside of that, he’s not gotten much run. Irvin II is, of course, a familar name, but in 2019 he’s providing no impact to the Hurricane offense as he has just one catch for eight yards.

Miami has had pass protection issues this season and one of the main responsibilities of Mallory along with Jordan has been pitching in on pass protecting. My guess is Miami will stay away from having Irvin II on the field without playing with Mallory in two tight end sets due to his inexperience, but in general, Louisville should be able to attack both with their pass rush.

Predictions:

Presley: Louisville 21, Miami 17

Jacob: Louisville 23, Miami 20