LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (4-1, 1-1) at Miami Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0)
Game Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Hard Rock Stadium: Miami Gardens, Fla.
Television: ESPN
Announcers: Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst) and Taylor McGregor (sideline)
Favorite: Miami by 13.5
All-Time
Series: Miami leads, 12-4-1
Last Meeting: Miami won, 52-45, on Oct. 19, 2024 in Louisville
Series History:
Statistics:
Depth Chart:
Louisville Uniforms:
Miami Uniforms:
Relevant Videos:
Injury Reports:
Louisville Cardinals
OUT
- LB #6 Stanquan Clark
- QB #17 Travis Egan
- RB #26 Duke Watson
- RB #33 Jamarice Wilder
- RB #43 Shammai Gates
- OL #57 Naeer Jackson
- OL #66 Mak Pounders
- OL #76 Tyler Folmar
QUESTIONABLE
- DL #92 Micah Carter
PROBABLE
- DB #7 Rodney Johnson
- RB #22 Keyjuan Brown
Miami Hurricanes
OUT
- DL #14 Hayden Lowe
- WR #18 Chance Robinson
- TE #46 Dylan Reiman
- OL #64 Ralph Scroggins
- OL #72 Demetrius Campbell
- TE #85 Jackson Carver
QUESTIONABLE
- LB #17 Bobby Washington Jr.
PROBABLE
N/A
About Miami:
OFFENSE
Miami football has a rich history of high-level play and results, which includes multiple national championships. However, the most recent tradition for the Canes is underachievement. Mario Cristobal has amassed a treasure trove of talent in Coral Gables over the last few years, but he hasn’t been able to cash in. This year appears to be different for the Canes as they already have three ranked wins on the season.
Miami went out and brought in one of the top players in the transfer portal in former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. An injury derailed Beck’s path to the NFL draft last spring, so playing another year made sense for him. Transferring to a school with a different offensive scheme seems to have been the goal for him and it has worked out so far.
Beck is being mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate, and his numbers back up the hype. Beck is completing 73% of his passes with 11 touchdowns in 6 games. His numbers don’t jump off the page, which is why I don’t see him getting the award, but his control of the offense is why I think the Canes have a chance at the national championship. Beck makes the right throws, and he plays with poise. His ability to put the ball in the right spot on throws to different levels is why he will likely be one of the first quarterbacks taken in the draft.
The running back position is interesting for the Canes, as their depth isn’t what we’ve seen over the last few years. Mark Fletcher returns, and he is now the feature back after waiting his turn. Fletcher is a big back who runs high, and he has the speed to break away in the open field. Fletcher is averaging 5.5 yards per carry and 85 yards per game on the season. He has two 100-yard games on the year, so the Cards will have to find a way to continue their strong start against the run.
Depth is a little different for the Canes this year as they don’t have a guy like Fletcher as the backup, or a guy like Don Chaney or Henry Parrish to share the load. CharMar Brown has been the primary backup so far this year with solid results. The player to keep an eye on is Jordan Lyle, who has missed some time this year. He is the guy in the group who Miami fans and media seem to think is the next stud running back in the program.
It would be wise to get used to hearing the name Malachi Toney now, as you will hear it a lot on Friday night. Toney is a dynamic true freshman who has made a handful of outstanding highlight plays for the Canes. Toney just turned 18 years old, but he is playing like a grown man. Toney is used in the slot, which gets him into favorable matchups, but he’s shown already that he can handle the physicality of the college game. He can take over a game in an instant, so the Cards have to have a plan.
Miami has options at receiver but they haven’t done too well with spreading the ball around. CJ Daniels is a legit number one receiver on the outside but others will probably need to step up at some point. As for Daniels, he is a really good possesion receiver with good size. He has made a couple of ridiculous catches this season in big moments. I’d expect him to be a focal point in the passing game. Also, Joshisa Trader is healthy again and should provide a third option outside.
The engine of this offense is an outstanding offensive line. PFF ranks the Canes as one of the best run blocking and pass blocking teams in the country which is more impressive when you factor in their schedule. Francis Mauigoa is the key player at right tackle. He is a massive human at 6-6/335 and he will hear his name called early on draft day in the spring. James Brockenmeyer transferred in after being an all conference level player at TCU last season. Before that, he spent three years as a backup at Alabama. Markel Bell has taken a massive leap forward in his second year at left tackle which is important as the Cards have the second best pass rush in the country per PFF. This group will be the key to the game. If they can get things going in the run game, it will be a long night for the Cards.
DEFENSE
Mario Cristobal saw his defense fold late last season and cost the team a spot in the College Football Playoff, so he made a change at defensive coordinator. This year, against a schedule that is one of the toughest in the country, Corey Hetherman has led a defense that is relentless at stopping the run and the pass. Hetherman’s group has shut down opposing offenses with Notre Dame being the only team on the schedule to have any success.
The strength of the defense is up front on the edges. Rueben Bain is arguably the best edge player in the country right now, with 29 pressures and 3 sacks on the year. Bain is also ranked sixth in PFF run defense grades, which makes him the most balanced defender in the country, in my opinion. Bain has a unique blend of speed and power, but he also plays with an insane motor, which is how he ended up with an interception on a tipped pass 15 yards down the field against Notre Dame.
If you somehow contain Bain on one side, you get the pleasure of figuring out how to stop Akheem Mesidor on the opposite end of the line. Mesidor has 24 pressures on the year with 4 sacks, while also being solid against the run as well. Mesidor is the veteran of the group as a sixth-year senior, but he is a very athletic player with NFL traits. Bain may get the notice, but Mesidor is plenty capable of taking over a game.
Depth is the key on the interior, with David Blay and Ahmad Moten being solid starters and Justin Scott being a high-level reserve for the defensive front. Armondo Blount also provides great versatility as he can play inside and outside. This group hasn’t made many plays this year, but they fit so well in this defense because they clog things up in the middle. Louisville has to avoid letting these guys get penetration on Friday, where they can make plays in the backfield.
Miami runs a 4-2-5 scheme with Wesley Bissainthe and Mohammed Toure manning the starting spots at linebacker. Bissainthe is a veteran on this defense with plenty of snaps under his belt, and he is as solid as it gets in the ACC. Toure is a super-productive transfer from Rutgers who missed last season with an injury.
The Canes also have Raul Aguirre as an experienced depth piece, along with others like Kamal Bonner and former Card, Jaylin Alderman. Miami doesn’t blitz a lot, but I think they’ll bring some pressure this week with how poorly the Cards have handled it against others. If so, I’d expect Toure to cause the most havoc.
Miami plays four different cornerbacks in their rotation with no visible drop off when different guys are in. This is the best group of corners that the Cards have seen this season, and it’s fair to wonder how the passing game does with the focus being on throws to Chris Bell on the outside recently.
Oj Frederique and Damari Brown are putting up the best numbers out of the group, with Xavier Lucas and Ethan O’Connor getting a handful more snaps than the others. No one in the group has put up good numbers this year, but the group also hasn’t given up a touchdown on the season. This is the group that will be a focus with the Cards having success with those outside throws.
Bain is the sixth-ranked player against the run per PFF, and Keionte Scott is number seven. Scott is a nickelback who can also slide inside to play in the box. Scott is also very good in coverage, and he hasn’t allowed a touchdown on the season. He will be responsible for covering Caullin Lacy when the Canes are in man coverage. This will be a good matchup to watch in the game.
Safety is a strong position for the Canes with Zechariah Poyser and Jakobe Thomas playing well so far this season. Poyser was one of the top safety prospects in the portal this offseason after a good year at Jacksonville State. Thomas is a veteran safety who spent last year with Tennessee as a reserve after being a start at Middle Tennessee State.
Both of the starting safeties for the Canes have done all that you’d ask of them so far, but Poyser hasn’t made many impact plays so far. For that, you’d have to turn to his backup, Bryce Fitzgerald, who is third in the country in interceptions with three. However, PFF credits Fitzgerald with three of Miami’s five touchdown passes given up. The true freshman could be a target for the Cards when he’s in the game.
Motivational Tweets:
Excitement Level: 9.1
I know everyone’s still down after the Virginia loss, I’m still down after the Virginia loss, but my goodness what an opportunity this is.
Game Attire: Red Louisville Football hoodie
First actual fall weather game of the season. We are adjusting accordingly.
Pregame Meal: Pizza, cheese sticks
Shoutout to Parlour Pizza in New Albany for hooking us up with the pregame meal after Thursday’s remote radio show. Hot Honey Pepperoni always hits the spot.
Bold Prediction: Louisville rushes for over 160 yards in this game
Would not have felt like a bold prediction coming into the season. Feels like an extremely bold prediction right now.
Jeff Brohm Tick Play Alert Level: Cadet Blue (strong)
It hit last week. It almost certainly hits again this week.
Predicted Star of the Game: Chris Bell
The college football world has seen the numbers the last two games, now they’re actually going to see the man go to work with their own two eyes.
Notable:
—Louisville has won five consecutive Friday night games. The Cards are 19-13 all-time in Friday contests, and 9-4 in Friday road games.
—Louisville is 4-12-1 all-time against Miami, but has won four of the last seven against the Hurricanes, including the most recent meeting at Hard Rock Stadium.
—For the third year, Louisville and Miami will compete for The Schnellenberger Trophy, which features the actual western dress boots, now bronzed, worn by Coach Howard Schnellenberger when he led both programs to national prominence.
—Schnellenberger was instrumental in elevating both the Miami and Louisville football programs to unprecedented heights. After winning the program’s first national championship at Miami, Schnellenberger became Louisville’s head coach, where he took over a moribund program in 1985 and in five years led the Cardinals to a 10-1-1 record and Fiesta Bowl triumph over nationally ranked Alabama.
—Louisville holds a 21-66-1 all-time record versus AP Top 25 teams. Miami enters Friday night’s game ranked No. 2 in the current AP Top 25 poll.
—Louisville is 3-4 against ranked opponents under head coach Jeff Brohm.
—Louisville has scored at least 24 points in 19 consecutive games, the longest such streak in the FBS. Memphis State has the second longest streak at 13 games.
—Miami already has three wins over teams ranked in the AP Top 25 this season – the most by a Hurricanes team since 2009.
—Louisville has scored 27 points or more in each of their last eight games against Miami, and 30 points or more in seven of those eight matchups.
—Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm is 1-1 in games against Miami.
—Miami head coach Mario Cristobal is 2-1 in games against Louisville, a mark which includes a 2011 win when he was the head coach at Florida International.
—Former Miami star Devin Hester will be the Hurricanes’ honorary captain for Friday night’s game. Hester had a key punt return for a touchdown in Miami’s thrilling 41-38 win over Louisville in 2004.
—Miami’s resume as as impressive as any team’s in the coutnry through the first seven weeks of the season. The
Hurricanes have three AP ranked wins this year – more than any other team – having topped Notre Dame, USF and Florida State through their first three games, all of whom were ranked in the AP poll released on Oct. 5.
—Miami QB Carson Beck owns a 29-3 record as a starting quarterback at the FBS level (.906), the best of any active player.
—Louisville is just 5-37-1 all-time in road games against top 25 opponents, with their most recent victory in such a game coming last season at Clemson.
—Louisville is 1-4 all-time in games against teams ranked No. 2 in the AP poll. The Cards’ lone victory in such a situation was a 63-20 blowout of Florida State in 2016.
—Louisville has never beaten a top 10 opponent on the road. The Cardinals are 0-13-1 against top 10 teams in true road games.
—Miami has won 10 consecutive home games, tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the FBS.
—Louisville is 4-26 all-time in games where they are an underdog of 12 points or more.
—The 13.5-point spread for Friday night’s game is the largest point spread against Louisville in the Jeff Brohm era. It’s the largest point spread a U of L team has faced since being a 16-point underdog at Notre Dame in 2020.
—Miami’s defense is allowing just 87.4 rushing yards per game, the second best mark in the FBS.
—Louisville has not allowed an opponent to rush for 200 yards in a game this season.
—Miami’s defense has allowed 13.6 points per game, which ranks ninth best in the country. Louisville is fourth in the ACC, allowing 21 points per game.
—Of the 68 points that the Miami defense has allowed this season, 42 have come in the 4th quarter.
—Louisville has allowed just one rushing play of 20 or more yards this season.
—Louisville is one of eight FBS teams to score in every game it has played for the last 25 years, joining Boise State, Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Southern California, Texas Christian, and Virginia Tech.
—The state of Florida has produced six Kentucky Derby winners, the most of any state outside of Kentucky.
—Miami has been the most accurate field-goal kicking team in the country over the last six seasons. Hurricane kickers have made 87.7 percent of their field goal attempts since 2020 (100/114), including a 5-for-5 start in 2025.
—Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm is 3-6 all-time and 0-2 at Louisville in games against top-six opponents.
—Louisville is 28-39-1 all-time against teams from Florida, but have won six of the last nine meetings.
—Miami has trailed for a grand total of nine minutes and 12 seconds this season. Other than Texas Tech, who has yet to trail this season, UM has trailed for the least amount of time of any team in the country.
—The winner has scored at least 31 points in each of the last 11 games in this series.
—Louisville is 218-198-5 all-time in games played in the month of October.
—Under Jeff Brohm, Louisville is 4-4 in the month of October.
—Louisville is 8-11 all-time in games played on Oct. 17. Their last appearance on the date was a 12-7 loss at Notre Dame in 2020. Coincidentally, that game was also the last time U of L was an underdog of 13.5 points or more.
—Louisville enters Friday night’s game ranked 12th in the country in total defense. Miami is 16th.
—Louisville is 11-0 in ACC regular season games under Jeff Brohm when allowing fewer than 30 points. They are 2-5 when allowing 30 points or more.
—Louisville is 50-42 all-time in ACC games, and 13-5 in ACC games under Jeff Brohm.
—Louisville is 11-1 in Jeff Brohm’s tenure when his teams rush for over 200 yards in a game.
—Louisville has lost 10 consecutive games when forcing no turnovers and recording no sacks. The most recent of those games came last season against SMU.
—Louisville is 12-0 under head coach Jeff Brohm when it doesn’t commit a turnover.
—Louisville is 15-0 under Brohm when it wins the turnover battle and 8-9 when it doesn’t. Louisville lost the turnover battle, 2-0, in their overtime loss to Virginia last time out.
—Louisville has a 16-game winning streak when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent, last losing 31-16 at Clemson on Nov. 12, 2022.
—Louisville is 24-2 over the past five seasons when shutting out its opponent in the first quarter.
—Louisville has won 37 of its last 42 games when holding teams to less than 300 yards of offense. The Cards lost to Virginia two weeks ago despite holding the Cavaliers to 237 yards of offense.
—Louisville has won 17 straight games when holding its opponent scoreless in the first half.
—Since 2019, Louisville is 34-4 when winning the turnover battle, and just 7-25 when losing it.
—Louisville is 20-1 under Jeff Brohm when allowing fewer than 30 points.
—Louisville is 208-16 all-time when scoring 35 or more points in a game.
—Louisville is 142-4 all-time when scoring 40 or more points in a game, including an 83-3 mark since 2000. The Cards are 6-123 all-time when allowing opponents to score 40 or more points.
—Louisville is currently riding a consecutive game scoring streak that spans 319 games dating back to a 31-0 loss to Florida State during the 2000 season. The streak ranks as the second longest in the ACC behind only Virginia Tech, and the 8th-longest nationally.
Quotable:
—”I think Miami is as talented as any team in the country. We’ve played them the last two years since I’ve been here. They were really good. Without question, this is the most talented team they’ve had at every position. Great defensive front, NFL prospects on the defensive line, which will be a challenge.” —Jeff Brohm
—“This is as good a team as we have played against We have to work our butts off in preparation and go out and play our best football. We feel like they have the most proven, explosive playmakers of any team we have played, and you combine that with arguably one of the best play-callers in all of college football.” —Miami head coach Mario Cristobal
—”They’ve (Miami) had the lead in pretty much every game and they’ve been in control, and we have to do that ourselves if we want to win.” —Jeff Brohm
—“These same people that are telling you you’re the best and good were telling you that we were going to go 8-4, and we were gonna suck before the season. So you’re gonna listen to them now that they’re saying that you’re good, even though they were just telling you that you sucked before we went out and played Notre Dame Week 1?” —Miami QB Carson Beck
—”I think the rivalry is continuing on. We’re in the same conference now. It’s a big game no matter what every year. You can always count on us two being good programs and being in the race. It’s definitely a fun rivalry.” —Brian Brohm
—”We’ve talked to some coaches at Florida and they said this front looks better than ones they’ve seen in the SEC in the last three or four years so yes, it’s a good defensive front. They’re talented, they’re big, they’re strong, they’re fast.” —Jeff Brohm
—“We know what we’re trying to do this season. The time is now.” —Miami RB Mark Fletcher
Card Chronicle Prediction: Miami 33, Louisville 24
