Louisville football is coming off another nine-win season last year, as Jeff Brohm has now secured back-to-back nine-win seasons in his first two years as the Cardinals' head coach. The Cardinals' 2024 season had a lot of highs as they earned the program's first-ever win over the Clemson Tigers and saw another bowl victory, but it also had some low points.
The Cardinals finished the season unranked after earning a 9-4 record, and all four losses came by one score or less. The Cardinals had devastating losses last season, including a shootout with Miami, a battle with the National Title runner-ups, Notre Dame, and a massive upset by Stanford.
The Cards showed a lot of fight, grit, and hope last season, making many believe this year's squad will learn from it and take that next step. When it comes to fixing the issue of close losses, Brohm makes it clear that they have to play more consistent football.
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Jeff Brohm reveals a solution to main problem that killed Louisville in 2024
The Cardinals had one of the best offenses in the nation last season, led by Tyler Shough, Isaac Brown, and Ja'Corey Brooks. Louisville's hard-fought losses to Miami, SMU, and Notre Dame fans can live with, but there's a crushing upset late in the season that cut all hopes of returning to the ACC Championship game, which is where fans get outraged.
Louisville lost all four games by a total of 24 points, making each loss on average a six-point loss. Louisville lost to Miami, SMU, and Notre Dame by seven points and to Stanford by three points. When Brohm talks about the close losses from last season, he revealed the team has to play more consistently to avoid that again in 2025.
"We have taken it very seriously as coaches as far as studying it, trying to improve it, trying to have answers, trying to do things to help us win," Brohm stated. "Defensively giving up big plays, big pass plays, way too many of those happen, we've got to be better against the pass, especially against the big plays."
The Cardinals' defense gave up 24 points per game last season and 27 points per game in the ACC. However, in the Cardinals' four losses, Louisville gave up 39 points per game, including an awful performance against Miami, where the Hurricanes dropped a 52-point bomb on them.
The Cardinals' defense must step up in these close games and earn stops and turnovers to win. They have some big-time showdowns next season against Miami, Clemson, SMU, and others, and if Louisville wants to return to Charlotte, Mark Hagen's squad must step up.
Offensively, Brohm addresses a few areas of concern that Louisville must improve on as well. A new quarterback will lead this offense, and so it will be crucial for Moss to limit his turnovers and for the run game to remain dominant.
"In short-yardage situations, we have to be more consistent and convert on those, and continue not to turn the ball over and run the ball successfully and throw some deep shots to get some easy scores," Brohm stated what must improve offensively.
It will be crucial for the Cardinals to limit these close game scenarios next season, as it is hard to win single-score games throughout the season, especially with the type of schedule Louisville has. The Cardinals must limit those big chunk plays defensively, especially against high-scoring teams like Miami and Clemson. Offensively, Brohm is absolutely correct. The offensive line and this run game must find a way to convert on short yardage to keep drives alive and keep the defense off the field.
If Louisville wants a shot at the ACC Title or their first appearance in the College Football Playoffs, Brohm and his staff must continue to try to find ways to limit those nail-biter games.
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