On To Louisville

[RamblinRed]

Ranked ACC opponent? We got this!

It’s the next game we should expect to lose, right? The one that people will predict us to win? That’s the one we will lose.

The good news is the next week is a bye, so i'll take a win vs L'ville and a loss to Bye.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

I'd love nothing more than to run a play action deep crosser to Singleton for the first play of the game. L-ville is going to do the same thing every other opponent not named F$U has done to us; load up the box and sell out for the run. We have been very predictable recently in running pistol on first down, then switching to the gun for second and third. We don't pass much out of the pistol and when we do, it's usually to the tight end on the flat. We are going to have to get some intermediate and deep passes out of that formation to have a chance to run from it. For this game, instead of using the run to open up the pass, I think we need to invert the plan and use the pass to open up the run. Again, stop using the same formations to telegraph run and pass and we have a much better chance than what I think right now. The first drive will tell me a lot about how we approach this game. No sense in beating our heads against a wall when we have much better options available to us.

Based off of memory, we run an outside zone and dive play from the pistol. Would love to add in a read option in there. We run a simulated triple option but it's really just a disguise for the TE flat we throw to. We have much more variety out of the gun, but it's still the same basic plays just ran out of different formations. C'mon Faulkner, give us a little something something this week!

 

[Gold1]

I feel like weve played an entire year of football compared to Louisville. Crazy how much easier their schedule has been up to this point

 

[SidewalkJacket]

I was on record as saying we'd beat Syracuse soundly due to our speed and getting our skill guys open in space. I was wrong. We do have the skill players to be a great offense, but our success running between the tackles vs. FSU wasn't as good of an indicator of our offensive success as I thought it would be.

I agree with others that call for a more aggressive pass game. We still need to, and will "run the bawl", but late game vs. Cuse and vs. VMI showed we can push it downfield, and should.

I also think it was by design that we didn't run King much vs. VMI. No need to, and also saves up his legs for UL. I'm betting we see a few designed runs for King early (hopefully one of the breakaway runs on an option pull that we're used to). Do this and we can still become an unstoppable offense.

 

[GTJake]

We should BEEware Brohm's ability to gameplay. Guy is a top 10 offensive mind.

Lets hope that our coaching staff learned a lesson from the bend-but-don't-break defensive game plan vs. Syracuse. IMO, When facing a good, competent QB this strategy is basically a slow death ... we must put pressure on the QB !!

 

[Bogey]

I feel like weve played an entire year of football compared to Louisville. Crazy how much easier their schedule has been up to this point

I am not so sure about that now. We have played FSU, a G5 school and a FCS school, and FSU is playing like an average G5 school. The only good P4 team we have played kicked our butt's. We will find out Saturday what this team is made of.

 

[Chas_Jacket]

That can help us out. Our guys have played in a couple of tough physical games where they have pushed themselves in the 4th qtr. They may be more up to task mentally late in the game

 

[305jacket]

This game has been the most intriguing to me since the beginning of the schedule.
We have double the amount of gametime/film than UL has (4 games vs 2 games). They will know what we are about, we barely know what they are about, as they haven't really taken any competitive snaps.
Flip side of that is that they don't really know what they are made of, they haven't been punched in the mouth or made to know what they are like with their backs against the wall.
Hoping we can put them in a precarious position late, and keep it close. Another road game against a well rested team spells trouble for us. Schedule makers did us no favors with this one.
We will need that Key ranked opponent magic on the road again to prevail, luckily his track record is pretty darn good in these games.

I was a little surprised at a double digit spread. I would have said UL by -7.5 is about right. Offense and King finally need to take that next step that we were expecting, have to put up 30+ points to win this game point blank. Also need to limit the 3 and outs, if we give them a short field we are asking for trouble.

 

[iceeater1969]

King has 1 int in 4 games, imo due to being cautious about wr being open and quick sideways passes. Oc called "no" King runs and vertical passing against vmi. Our ol was solid in straight pass blocking and w clean pocket king was super in the half he played. A few of wrs had a few drops or showed weak sause on getting ball, but all in all they were good

On offense all systems are Go Jackets.

I think we will coach aggressively from start till end. ( Last year second half at benz still hurts.)

 

[MidtownJacket]

I echo @Golden Tornadoes thinking about using some quick pass out of run sets early to open the running game back up. I would REALLY like to see us trot out and throw across the LoS quickly the first few possessions, maybe even as much at 70% : 30% (Pass:Run).

I also think we need ZP to come in on a goalline or heavy package in some must convert scenarios and drop some dimes on the TEs and RBs quickly as well. It's cool to see our TD Vulture go to work these last few weeks - but we need balance out of the playstyle for it to be most effective IMHO.

 

[AugustaSwarm]

Louisville is an enigma right now. They've got some really gaudy stats so far, especially their yards/carry. I'm curious to see how they plan to attack us.

I doubt that Shough will be as accurate and in-rhythm as McCord was against. But who knows? They haven't been tested at all. They've got some good backs, and I'd expect them to play the possession game and limit our offensive possesions - IMO it's just a question of whether they ground and pound us or dunk and dunk us. Our D will definitely have the biggest test of the year (up to this point).

 

[Gold1]

I am not so sure about that now. We have played FSU, a G5 school and a FCS school, and FSU is playing like an average G5 school. The only good P4 team we have played kicked our butt's. We will find out Saturday what this team is made of.

Ummmm we played AT Syracuse. The FSU game was in Ireland which obviously makes the wear and tear a lot more than an average game. We have also had no bye week. Louisville in that timeframe has played 2 games against awful competition and had a bye week.

 

[yeti92]

Louisville is an enigma right now. They've got some really gaudy stats so far, especially their yards/carry. I'm curious to see how they plan to attack us.

I doubt that Shough will be as accurate and in-rhythm as McCord was against. But who knows? They haven't been tested at all. They've got some good backs, and I'd expect them to play the possession game and limit our offensive possesions - IMO it's just a question of whether they ground and pound us or dunk and dunk us. Our D will definitely have the biggest test of the year (up to this point).

Agreed about Shough - just looking at his stats, he looks like a decent but not great QB. He's been around a really long time, but not a top talent. Hopefully we can pressure him to make some bad decisions and maybe get our first interception of the year.

 

[roadkill]

Ummmm we played AT Syracuse. The FSU game was in Ireland which obviously makes the wear and tear a lot more than an average game. We have also had no bye week. Louisville in that timeframe has played 2 games against awful competition and had a bye week.

Yeah, there is no comparing our respective schedules. And if FSU is playing like an average G5, then GSU is playing above average after beating an SEC team last weekend.

Our 5th game, 3rd conference game, and 3rd "road" game in 5 weeks. Versus 3rd game and 1st conference game, all at home. The schedulers did us no favors (do they ever?) as far as player wear and tear goes.

We are the only FBS team with this type of front-end-loaded schedule AFAIK.

 

[bobongo]

Agreed about Shough - just looking at his stats, he looks like a decent but not great QB. He's been around a really long time, but not a top talent. Hopefully we can pressure him to make some bad decisions and maybe get our first interception of the year.

Something about their QB here - 6'5", 230. Physical runner:

What is Louisville Football Getting in Quarterback Tyler Shough? - Sports Illustrated Louisville Cardinals News, Analysis and More

The Cardinals have their likely starter at quarterback for the 2024 season. So what are they getting in the former Texas Tech and Oregon signal caller?

www.si.com

 

[bobongo]

Yeah, there is no comparing our respective schedules. And if FSU is playing like an average G5, then GSU is playing above average after beating an SEC team last weekend.

Our 5th game, 3rd conference game, and 3rd "road" game in 5 weeks. Versus 3rd game and 1st conference game, all at home. The schedulers did us no favors (do they ever?) as far as player wear and tear goes.

We are the only FBS team with this type of front-end-loaded schedule AFAIK.

We're coming off a light tune-up game. Should be rested and ready.

 

[UgaBlows]

and maybe get our first interception of the year.

i’m a bit worried about that stat, I don’t ever see our DB’s looking back for the ball when defending passes

 

[Tech Lawyer]

Yeah, there is no comparing our respective schedules. And if FSU is playing like an average G5, then GSU is playing above average after beating an SEC team last weekend.

Our 5th game, 3rd conference game, and 3rd "road" game in 5 weeks. Versus 3rd game and 1st conference game, all at home. The schedulers did us no favors (do they ever?) as far as player wear and tear goes.

We are the only FBS team with this type of front-end-loaded schedule AFAIK.

Yes, but if we get this one things really look good for at least 6-2 in the conference. NC State and VT ain't looking like much. I saw GSU outplay Vandy - how did VT lose to Vandy? Duke and UNC - we should be touchdown favorites or more. Miami will be a challenge at home.

 

[cpf2001]

If we can grab some turnovers I’ll feel a lot better.

Shough looks good but here’s a difference between him and McCord - career TD/INT:

McCord: 35/9 (27/8 before this year)
Shough: 42/17 (36/17 before this year)

Louisville has played nobody so far which pads that a bit, but he’s definitely been more turnover prone through his career so far.

 

[roadkill]

Stat comparison - Tyler Shough / Haynes King
(Apologies for those on mobile devices – this is a bit wordy.)

Shough is listed at 6’5” 225#, vs. King at 6’3” 215#

Shough is touted as a strong runner/dual threat in the SI article that described him as a transfer. Not a surprise given his size. Shough ran the ball a good bit at his former school but has not been running in his first 2 games at Louisville. I haven’t watched either of Louisville’s games, but if they ran as many option-type plays as I would expect, it doesn’t show in his stats. At Texas Tech he ran about half as much as King does in our offense and averaged about half as many yards/rush. This tells me that he can be a threat to run, but may have average speed and isn’t as likely to break off a TD run as King is.

As a passer, just looking at prior year stats, Shough’s completion percentage was average. The SI article about him as a transfer lists the deep ball as a strength. His career yards/pass stats are similar to King’s at GT, but in Shough’s prior two years at TT they were significantly less. He fumbles at about the same rate as King (not a lot). Shough’s TD/INT ratio approaches King’s in 2023, which is not good. Watching some of their condensed game with Jax St., he appeared to be a competent passer with enough mobility to avoid pressure. Most of his passes were easy pitch and catch throws although he did send a couple deep that were contested but caught. The condensed game only shows successful plays, so it's hard to get a complete picture. Bottom line, I don’t think Shough is at McCord’s level but he may not need to be for their offense to be successful.

Shough has had three injuries (collarbone/shoulder/fibula) that have cost him several games each of the last three seasons. I don’t think any of the injuries would be a limiting factor this season, but it might indicate a certain fragility, which may be a reason Louisville hasn’t pushed a QB run game yet.

Other impressions from their game with Jax State...Louisville has several weapons on offense and they spread it around a lot. I am expecting them to score quite a bit on us. On defense, they seemed relatively slow and vulnerable to a running QB. I forecast a high-scoring game similar to last year’s matchup. The game may hinge on turnovers. We need to be able to run the ball to limit possessions, and I think we can with a healthy RB room.