LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Sometimes, misery is healthy. That’s the feeling of Louisville coach Jeff Brohm, who by now has turned the page to face the challenge of unbeaten Florida State in Saturday night’s ACC Championship game in Charlotte, but for most of the day Sunday was content to let his inner fire burn over last week's 38-31 loss to Kentucky, and to let the sting linger with his players.
"They're not happy and I'm probably as unhappy as any of us," Brohm said on Sunday. "While it's no fun, it's healthy to be angry and unhappy for at least 24 hours. So we still want to let that sink into us a little bit and sting us and really digest the plays we ran and what we could have done better and how and why. So that was the focus throughout (Sunday). We went through every detail."
Brohm was clearly frustrated after the Kentucky loss and may not have completely cooled down before speaking to the media on Sunday. He said he takes losses personally, and having come back to his hometown and alma mater might only make him take them harder.
"I came here with a purpose," he said. "When you come back home a lot of people depend on you to get the job done. So, I take it seriously and it bothers me when we can't find a way to win, and it bothers me if we’re not playing up to par. And that's the way it should be. I think that's what the fans want. They want somebody that cares and makes sure he's doing everything possible to get it done. So that's what we’ve got to do. Every loss bothers me. I'd love to have the game back last week, but it is what it is. You’ve got to learn from it and to be able to play another game against a team of this caliber in a championship game gives us an opportunity to step up to the plate and see what we're made of.
"These are the types of games that if you put in the effort and you put in the time and you're sharp, you can really do that. If you put it all together and do something special, you can take a huge leap. But at the same time, if you don't, it can be a punch to the gut and can get you back down to reality. So we've got figure this thing out quickly and really take this week seriously and understand if we don't come ready to play this (Florida State) team will put it to us."
The motivational challenge for the Cardinals is to recharge quickly after a deflating loss to a rival, one that ended an 11-game home-field winning streak and knocked the program out of its remote playoff contention and out of the national top 10.
But Brohm said the more important challenge is to take some lessons from the loss to Kentucky, and to avoid the same kind of mistakes against Florida State.
Brohm knows what he’s talking about in this area. His Purdue team faced unbeaten and No. 2-ranked Michigan in the Big Ten Championship a year ago. The Boilermakers trailed just 14-13 at the half, but wound up losing, 43-22.
"We had played some really good football," Brohm said, "and unfortunately in the second half we came out and turned the ball over and they hit some big plays on us and that sent the game the other direction. The margin for error is so small, and when you play a team that is undefeated and very efficient and knows how to win and does all the small things correctly, You've got to figure out a way to do that for four quarters."
Mistakes were the theme Brohm hit on in reviewing not only Saturday’s loss to Kentucky but the Cardinals’ only other loss this season — at Pittsburgh. In both games, turnovers hurt Louisville, as did big plays by opponents.
Kentucky got a 102-yard kickoff return score in response to one Louisville touchdown and a 55-yard completion immediately after another.
"The two games we lost, we were not as sharp," Brohm said. "We had three turnovers in both games. We gave up big plays on defense. This past game, we were not great on special teams. All those things matter. And when you play really good football teams, you can't have those type of errors or it's going to cost you. So, we have to understand that it's going to be very hard to overcome anything like that."
Brohm said he thinks the team’s dissatisfaction with its play against Kentucky will be a motivator, in addition the rare opportunity to play in a conference championship game.
"It's going take a lot of work this week," he said. "We've got to improve on a lot of things. This past week didn't go as well for us as we would like and there's a lot of things to learn from it. That starts with me and our coaches. We've got to get better at a few small details that hurt us this past week and make sure we make those corrections and help our players be in the best position to succeed. But I know our guys will be jacked up and excited to play in this type of environment against this level of competition. It’ll be a tremendous test for us and measure exactly where we are."
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