The third quarter didn’t feature a lot of points, but there were a lot of plays that factored into the outcome of the game. Let’s dive into some plays.
TJ Quinn had an underrated impact on this game. He
has looked really improved from an athleticism standpoint, and it is allowing him to make plays that I don’t think he could have made last year. That’s not necessarily featured on this play as Carson Beck isn’t a true threat to run, but Ron English using him to patrol the middle of the field on third and long would have been something I would have killed him for a year ago.
It’s also worth noting how well the Cards covered in this game. This is a pure coverage sack with nowhere for Beck to go with the ball. English rushes four with a two-safety high man look. At the snap, the play side safety drops into a robber coverage and takes away the slant that comes open due to the bunch formation. Beck ends up having to scramble, and the Cards force a punt.
A healthy Isaac Brown is a very nice thing to see. This play is DOA with a linebacker getting a free run at Brown in space. It’s pretty remarkable that Brown makes him miss without even getting a hand on him. He’s then able to get positive yardage on a play that was blown up at the snap.
It seems like Jeff Brohm’s plan for this game was to stick to the play even if they got a bad look. I would imagine Miller Moss would be able to switch this to a pass with the alignment of the defense. There is no one to block this linebacker because of a numbers disadvantage. He has a receiver to the top of the screen who would be available for a quick pass or a go route.
Louisville’s defensive effort was a major factor in this win, and I’m happy to highlight it on plays like this. Miami loves to run these screens where they are getting the defense flowing towards the throw while the receiver is running the opposite direction. The goal is that the defense will overrun the play, and their blockers will be able to clear out the leftover players.
You can see that Malachi Toney has a good amount of space when he makes the catch, but TJ Capers makes a great effort to avoid the blockers, which forces Toney to avoid him, and Capers gets enough of him to slow him down. Rene Konga circles back from his pass rush to make the tackle after that. Four Louisville defenders end up at the ball on this play, and it was like this all night.
This was one of the best plays of the game, and it again highlights the effort from the defense. Jabari Mack beats a blocker here so badly that he ends up making the tackle. He could have just set the edge and forced Toney back inside, but he fires off at the snap and puts himself in a position to make the play. Then he takes the outside shoulder of the receiver to set the edge with the intention of beating the block. This is textbook stuff.
This is also a good look at how presnap looks from a defense can cause havoc. Louisville shows pressure here on third and medium with three linebackers “mugged up” to show blitz. The safety to the bottom of the screen shows coverage over top, while the other safety is shaded to the motion man. Everything looks like an easy first down on a screen pass with a clear numbers advantage. But before the snap, the linebackers back out and head for the bunch formation while the safeties bail into cover three.
They baited Miami because they wouldn’t throw the ball down the field, and everyone did their part to get a stop and force another punt.
The run blocking in this game was great, and it matched perfectly with Brown’s ability to make guys miss in space. Brown forced 16 missed tackles per PFF, and this one in the hole is one of my favorites. He subtly changes his path slightly to the left, and you can see how the safety flying downhill has to completely redirect and misses him. The line gave him space, and he went off.
As for the line, Rasheed Miller does a great job on Rueben Bain to lock him up and sustain his block. Pair that with Jaleel Skinner kicking out the safety and Pete Nygra pulling around to take on the blitzer, and this is perfect blocking to the play side. I can’t say enough about how improved the blocking was in this game. It may have just been guys moving into new spots, but Miller alone looked like a completely different player.
Miami started doubling Chris Bell at this point in the game, but it didn’t matter. The Canes have a safety over top here who is only concerned with Bell, as he has a linebacker in front of him who can account for the tight end or back if they go out for a route. At the snap, the corner plays Bell inside and looks to get into a trail position if the throw is down the field. This would end up with Bell bracketed by the two players.
Moss and Bell do exactly what you want to see from them on this play with this type of coverage. Moss gets his timing down perfectly off the play action. He takes a step back and steps into his throw, in rhythm. The ball is delivered on time, and it is on the outside shoulder of Bell. For his part, Bell comes back to the football to create just enough separation to make a clean catch while walling off the defender by turning his back. That turn also gets him up the field as he turns while catching the ball. Textbook stuff all around.
Effort, effort, effort. Antonio Watts blows this play up because he sees the receiver step back for the screen, and he just beats the blocker to the spot before he can get to him. But look at the rest of the defense. D’Angelo Hutchinson is right there to make a play if Watts can’t get there. Wes Bailey is chasing this play from the inside. Then you just have to smile at the number of Cards defenders who are on the screen when the tackle is made.
This play stood out to me because last year, Miami pushed the Louisville defense around, and plays like this turned into touchdowns. They pushed the pile here to make this a short third down, but they were only able to get a field goal. It felt a little symbolic with how the game ended this time around.
As this ball was snapped, I posted a complaint about Brohm calling two straight passing plays while Brown was averaging 7.3 yards per carry at the time. I’m assuming they read my post really quickly because this was a perfect call in the situation. Miami has an extra player in the box, and it is clear that they are in man coverage across the secondary with one safety high. That means that a blitz is coming, and the Cards run right past it. Brown hits a wide open gap in the defense, and I love how he subtly changes his angle again to make a defender miss him. He glides out towards the sideline, and the pursuing linebacker can’t get a hand on him.
Another fun thing about this play is that three offensive linemen end up blocking the same guy because Miami ends up with only one guy on the right side of Pete Nygra.
I’ve pointed this out already, but this is what the running game was supposed to look like all season. Nygra gets a great block on the nose tackle by firing off the ball and getting onto his outside shoulder. Jordan Church gets up the field to strike the linebacker at the second level before turning him back inside. Rasheed Miller scans before climbing to the second level to take on the outside linebacker who wanted nothing to do with him. Then you have Trevonte Sylvester on the backside cutting down the backside pursuit player. We flat-out have not seen this type of play from this group this year.
The second aspect of what the running game was supposed to look like is Isaac Brown growing into a guy who can make people miss in a variety of ways. Brown was mostly just a speed back last year who could outrun everyone, but he wasn’t too crafty when it came to making guys miss. He showed the flashes of what we’re seeing now, where guys can’t tackle him in the hole, and they can’t get a hand on him in the open field. The subtlety of his elusiveness can’t be stressed enough because it allows him to maintain his speed.
