The Louisville football program faces its biggest competition yet in the 2025 season as Jeff Brohm and his Cardinals kick off Saturday from L&N Stadium against Tony Elliot and the No. 24 Virginia Cavaliers. UVA is coming off one of the program's biggest upsets in recent memory after the Cavaliers shocked the nation and upset No. 8 at the time and undefeated Florida State.
North Texas transfer Chandler Morris had a gritty performance and led Virginia to the win, throwing 36-of-35 passes with 229 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, while rushing for 37 yards and three rushing touchdowns. He is a key reason why the Cavaliers are 4-1 and ranked, but luckily for Louisville fans, they should feel confident heading into their showdown against Morris.
Louisville's defensive line has been nothing but dominant all season long, and when Saturday comes around, the fans feel confident this front can rattle Morris and shut him down.
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Louisville football's defensive line is going to crush Chandler Morris
Entering the 2025 season, Cardinals fans were concerned about Louisville's defense, but through four games and five weeks of football, this defense has proven to be one of their strengths. The Cardinals are giving up just 18.8 points per game while swarming the other team's quarterback in the backfield.
Clev Lubin has been a dominant force for the Cardinals as he leads the nation with a 93.5 pass rush grade this season, according to Pro Football Focus. His 28.4 pressure rate leads the country, while his 3.5 sacks rank in the top 30 in the nation. Also, on the edge is AJ Green, who ranks No. 8 in the league with a pressure rate of 23.9 percent, and has recorded nine tackles and recovered a fumble for a touchdown.
The Cardinals' edge rushers are dominant, and Morris has a flaw when he is forced outside of the pocket. Just last week, against the Seminoles, he threw three interceptions, and two of those interceptions were when he was outside of the pocket and not in his comfort zone.
Those two interceptions kept the Seminoles in the game, and the Cardinals' edge rushers will be pressuring Morris all game long, forcing him to make uncharacteristic mistakes like he did against Florida State in the second quarter.
The Cardinals' defense leads the nation in Pro Football Focus pass rush grade and pressure rate, and ranks second in pass rush win rate, behind only the No. 3 team in the country, the Miami Hurricanes. Morris has not seen a defensive line like the one he is about to face on Saturday, and the Cardinals are going to win because of this front line.
If Louisville's defensive line can provide pressure and deliver hard hits like they have all season, then Morris is going to have a long game in L&N Stadium.
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For all the latest on Louisville football's 2025 season, stay tuned.