What To Watch For: SMU Mustangs

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IT’S TIME FOR JEFF BROHM TO GET SOME YOUNG GUYS SNAPS

Louisville had a chance to make the ACC championship game up until the final offensive snap of the Clemson game. Once that play ended, the chance of this season reaching its goal went away. The focus of this coaching staff should shift to next season, to a degree. Brohm and his staff are responsible for going out and winning every game for the rest of the season, but they must do that while also planning for the future.

Miller Moss serves no purpose as the starting quarterback for this team going forward. Whoever the Brohm brothers deem as the best option at quarterback behind Moss should start on Saturday. Guys like Cameron Gorin should see the field on the offensive line. Micah Carter, Kris Hughes, Dylan Mesman, and Rae’mon Moseby should all see the field for the rest of the year.

It’s vital that they get some of these guys real game action to see if they can step into expanded roles next year. Louisville doesn’t have a lot of young depth, and though they’ve focused more on high school recruiting in this cycle, they will more than likely have to bring in another large transfer class. This roster is not in good shape for next season, and it behooves the staff to know what they have coming back.

JEFF BROHM NEEDS HIS TEAM TO LOOK DIFFERENT ON SATURDAY

I try to have an understanding of the pulse of the fanbase as someone who somewhat covers the team. One thing that has stood out since the Clemson game ended is the fanbase being a bit tired of hearing the same thing each week from Jeff Brohm. After each loss, he talks about how the loss hurts, how hard playing quarterback is, and that they will get back to work to get better. It seems, to me at least, that the lack of real accountability is wearing on people.

The reason it’s getting old is that the team looks the same week in and week out. Miller Moss is not making enough positive plays, while he is making negative plays. The running game is outstanding, while not being utilized enough. The defense is doing enough to win games, but not making the big plays we saw earlier in the season. Penalties pile up each week, with no improvement whatsoever, with the big yardage flags like unsportsmanlike conduct.

This team can’t show up for the fifth straight game with no real signs that Brohm can adjust. Moss wasn’t wrong about the penalties, even if he should have kept that opinion in the locker room. But the offensive inefficiencies fall at the feet of Brohm. The lack of havoc plays and turnovers forced by the defense belongs to him as well as the head coach. He needs to find a way to get this team to reach its potential.

LOUISVILLE HAS TO FIND ITS PASSING GAME THIS WEEKEND.

SMU has forced more turnovers than any team in the country, while the Cards rank 95th in giveaways. Louisville has one of the worst passing offenses in the country, with some games being at least average at times. Even with those things being said, the Cards have to find a way to attack SMU with the pass. How they do that is beyond me at this point in the season, but the plan has to include a way to take advantage of a defense that is ranked 135th in passing yards allowed per game.

CONTAINING KEVIN JENNINGS SHOULD BE THE FOCUS OF THE DEFENSE

This one is pretty obvious, but it needs to be pointed out because Kevin Jennings only has 25 rushing yards on the season. Jennings has been banged up this season with some sort of lower-body injury, so he hasn’t been running as often as he did last year. However, it’s been obvious that he just does not want to run the ball very much. I’m not sure if that is due to him wanting to showcase his abilities as a passer or to protect himself. Either way, the Cards can’t let him turn back into the guy who ran all over them last year.

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