LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Scratch the return trip to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. Say goodbye to the Top 25.
Send out a search crew for some sure-handed tacklers and as well as a few more blockers who can carve a path for a halfback to get one critical yard.
The University of Louisville football team lost a game it had to win Saturday — if the Cards intended to check all the boxes on their To Do list from the start of the season.
They can still have a good season, a winning season. But a great season? That's unlikely if not improbable now.
The Cardinals were beaten by Atlantic Coast Conference newcomer SMU, 34-27, on a sun-splashed day at L&N Cardinal Stadium. A season after Louisville won five one-possession games, the Cardinals lost by a touchdown for the second consecutive week, sliding to 3-2 and 1-1 in the ACC.
Of the six ACC games left on the Cards' schedule, four (Virginia, Miami, Clemson, Pitt) will be against teams currently unbeaten in league play), starting with U of L's trip to UVa Saturday.
"It was a really bad performance, especially on our home field," an irritated coach Jeff Brohm said in reviewing the defeat. "We've got a lot of work to do."
"It's on all of us," said Cards' quarterback Tyler Shough. "Nobody's pointing fingers. We've just got to find a way to win."
Indeed it was. Indeed they do.
It was a game the Cards never led. It was game they trailed by as many as 11 points and then scrambled to tie at 27 late in the third quarter.
It was a game when they failed on a pair of essential fourth down conversions and waved off an opportunity for a make-able field goal.
But mostly it was a game where the defense watched SMU crackle to 75-yard touchdown drives the first two times the Mustangs had the ball, putting Louisville in a hole the Cardinals could not overcome. Not when the visitors finished with nearly 481 yards of total offense, rushing for three touchdowns and passing for another. The visitors averaged a jarring 7.6 yards per offensive play.
Did I mention that Brohm was irritated?
He appeared to be particularly unhappy with the work of his defensive coaching staff. Two months ago, before the season started, the defense dominated the Louisville offense in several scrimmages. The vibe was that the defense could be elite -- with a first-team all-American at defensive end (Ashton Gillotte) and first-team all-ACC player cornerback (Quincy Riley).
Riley warmed up but did not play because of an ankle injury for the second consecutive game. Gillotte made one tackle -- and it wasn't for a loss.
Brohm said the defensive plan was too complicated and resulted in too many late adjustments. The coach was critical of the way his team tackled. SMU's defense generated three sacks that cost Louisville 29 yards in field position. Louisville's defense did not generate any. Brohm wanted to see more aggressiveness from his defense.
"We've got to call a better game and make sure we're way more aggressive," Brohm said. "And make sure we have a consistent plan that doesn't have adjustments when they do something different."
They had no consistent answers for how to defend SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings, a dual-threat speedball who punished the Cardinals with his right arm and his legs. Credit Jennings, a former 3-star recruit because of his slender build, with 113 yards rushing and 281 yards passing -- without an interception.
Remember this is an SMU defense that allowed 42 points to TCU. After tying the game at 27 on 86-yard pass from Shough to Ja'Corey Brooks with nearly 6 minutes to play in the third quarter, Louisville failed to generate any more points on their final three possessions.
They could not gain one yard on third or fourth down at the SMU 19. They gained 24 yards but stalled at the SMU 47 before punting early in the third quarter.
On their final drive, they surged to the SMU 12 before Shough was sacked for a 9-yard loss. The Cards' final offensive play was an interception in the end zone when Shough threw into an area that included three SMU defenders.
"We've been bad the last two games on fourth and one," Brohm said. "So running up the middle, it's not going to be an option any more.
"Throwing the ball, getting on the edge is going to have to be what's going to happen because we can't get yards pounding it up the middle. That's disappointing but it's the fact of the matter."
Even the replay reviews went against Louisville. They lost a difficult review of an SMU fumble at the Louisville 12 yard line. The call was reversed after replay officials determined that the shin of SMU halfback Brashard Smith touched the ground before U of L linebacker Stanquan Clark knocked the football from his hands. The Mustangs scored the winning touchdown four plays later.
"I was surprised," Brohm said. "I thought it was a fumble. Some days you get calls, some days you don't.
"You know what, we didn't respond very well. We need to be better."
Although this was only Louisville’s first ACC defeat and the Cards have a half-dozen conference games to play, they’ll need help to make a return trip to the conference title game.
Why? Because Louisville still must play the ACC frontrunners. No. 8 Miami (home) and No, 15 Clemson (away). SMU (now 2-0 in the league), Miami and Clemson do not play each other.
But that’s something for Brohm, his staff and players to worry about later. First the Cards need repair work on their defense and running game.
The Cards return to the road next Saturday, visiting Virginia in Charlottesville. Although the Cavaliers were picked to finish 16th (next to last) at ACC Kickoff in July, Virginia improved to 4-1 and 2-0 in the league by upsetting Boston College Saturday.
"It's just one game," Shough said. "It's a loss in the ACC Conference, which is not great. But there's a lot of ball left to be played."
"That's what make football a team sport, a tough game," Brohm said. "You can either find ways to suck it up, fix it and improve or you can pout about it and feel sorry for yourself."
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