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Louisville Football’s 3 keys to beat Duke’s Offense

By Caleb Hall

LOUISVILLE, KY - OCTOBER 14: James Quick #17 of the Louisville Cardinals runs with the ball while defended by Jordan Hayes #13 of the Duke Blue Devils at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on October 14, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - OCTOBER 14: James Quick #17 of the Louisville Cardinals runs with the ball while defended by Jordan Hayes #13 of the Duke Blue Devils at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on October 14, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Nov 18, 2021; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils and Louisville Cardinals face off during the 1st half of the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 18, 2021; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils and Louisville Cardinals face off during the 1st half of the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 1: Stop Duke’s deadly rushing attack

I know almost in every key in this article I mention Duke’s rushing offense, but it is one of the best in college football, and even the best in the ACC. Not only has Duke’s 2 running backs cut it up on the ground this year, but even QB Riley Leonard has rushed for over 300 yards this season so far. While Leonard may not be available on saturday, the Cardinals still need to gameplan for him, and if he does play you have to be aware he can run the ball on you.

If Louisville can stop the Duke rushing attack and force them to pass the ball the Cardinals will be in a good spot. Leonard only has 981 passing yards on the year, and Duke is not a team that wants to throw the ball to win games. They proved they couldn’t do it against Notre Dame or Florida State in the past couple weeks. If Louisville stops the run game early and forces them to throw, it will be hard to see the Blue Devils winning this football game.

If Louisville and Jeff Brohm can do all these things the Duke offense will be spinning and this rushing offense for the Blue Devils is the key to shutting down Elko and Duke.

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