Let me repeat the title of this thread: Louisville is 3-0 for the first time since 2016.
Here are my thoughts from yesterday's 21-14 win...
- It's worth repeating: 'Feed The Studs' is a phrase I'm going to bring back, even if it's a Petrino thing, because Louisville has some studs. Jamari Thrash is a stud. Jawhar Jordan is a stud. I still think Kevin Coleman is a stud. Thrash and Jordan are special. It's not crazy, in my opinion, to say that Jamari Thrash is the best Louisville WR since DeVante Parker. He's unreal. Yes, he had one drop, but the dude is money. Jawhar Jordan is one of the best backs in the country. The numbers prove that. The eye test proves that.
- Also, big shout-out to Ahmari Huggins-Bruce. Has had an up and down career, but made a couple huge catches on third down, and has stayed engaged, stayed the course, and has been ready when his number has been called.
- Plummer looked really confident and settled in the first half. He was seeing the field, he was putting the ball where it needed to be, and he looked like a guy that can win you a bunch of games. What changed in the second half was that the pass protection broke down, and Indiana started bringing tons of pressure, in a lot of different ways. Still, Plummer made some winning plays down the stretch when it mattered most. He used his legs when he needed to. I'll take it.
- On the offensive line: they were mauling Indiana in the run game all day. As I mentioned above, the blitz pickup was spotty in the second half, limiting my compliments towards them. They were awesome in the first half, and the defense took notice. We were sitting in the second row, right behind where they huddled up on the sidelines. Gilbert Frierson came down and gave some words of encouragement, as you can see below. Jarvis Brownlee did the same.
- Which brings me to my next point: the engagement on the sidelines, after being right behind the benches, was night and day from last year. Tons of positivity, tons of leadership, and tons of confidence. Even when Indiana was about to tie the game, Plummer went to his receivers and said "We're going to go win the game." That's what you need from your quarterback. And as I said earlier, the defensive guys would walk down and interact, too.
- Defensively, I thought Cam'Ron Kelly was excellent, Led the team with 12 total tackles, and really helped in run support. Ben Perry continues to prove that he's a real talent. He's so good in coverage, and in the box. TJ Quinn has been an extremely positive development. He's stepped up in a major way. I thought Brownlee and Riley were good for the majority of the game, too. I also think Stephen Herron has -quietly- been solid.
- On the pass rush, it felt like Louisville was taking poor angles when they would get through the offensive line. Gillotte won a ton of reps, but just took bad angles and couldn't get Jackson to the ground. I do think they need to try some other guys on passing downs, like a Ryheem Craig or a Popeye Williams, who are pure pass rushers. Kam Wilson couldn't get much going. I need to go back and watch the game to comment on the blitzes and/or non-blitzes. My first reaction is that there wasn't enough of it, but again, I need to go back and watch it.
- Stanquan Clark is slowly being implemented in the defensive game plan, and he looks the part. He was in on the big goal-line stand, and is a true downhill thump-er in the middle. I do feel a little better about inside linebacker as a whole, given the fact that Oregon transfer Keith Brown hasn't been much of a factor.
- This team has shown glimpses of being great. They’ve also had major lapses. But they haven’t let the lapses result in a loss. Big time grit when it’s mattered most. 3-0 is 3-0. The glimpses of great have been top-15 good. The lapses have been 6-6 bad. But, this team has made winning plays and have a killer instinct, something Satterfield's teams just didn't have.
- Finally, and last but not least, Louisville fans showed up in a major way. Not only had more fans, but they were way louder than Indiana.
Here are my thoughts from yesterday's 21-14 win...
- It's worth repeating: 'Feed The Studs' is a phrase I'm going to bring back, even if it's a Petrino thing, because Louisville has some studs. Jamari Thrash is a stud. Jawhar Jordan is a stud. I still think Kevin Coleman is a stud. Thrash and Jordan are special. It's not crazy, in my opinion, to say that Jamari Thrash is the best Louisville WR since DeVante Parker. He's unreal. Yes, he had one drop, but the dude is money. Jawhar Jordan is one of the best backs in the country. The numbers prove that. The eye test proves that.
- Also, big shout-out to Ahmari Huggins-Bruce. Has had an up and down career, but made a couple huge catches on third down, and has stayed engaged, stayed the course, and has been ready when his number has been called.
- Plummer looked really confident and settled in the first half. He was seeing the field, he was putting the ball where it needed to be, and he looked like a guy that can win you a bunch of games. What changed in the second half was that the pass protection broke down, and Indiana started bringing tons of pressure, in a lot of different ways. Still, Plummer made some winning plays down the stretch when it mattered most. He used his legs when he needed to. I'll take it.
- On the offensive line: they were mauling Indiana in the run game all day. As I mentioned above, the blitz pickup was spotty in the second half, limiting my compliments towards them. They were awesome in the first half, and the defense took notice. We were sitting in the second row, right behind where they huddled up on the sidelines. Gilbert Frierson came down and gave some words of encouragement, as you can see below. Jarvis Brownlee did the same.
- Which brings me to my next point: the engagement on the sidelines, after being right behind the benches, was night and day from last year. Tons of positivity, tons of leadership, and tons of confidence. Even when Indiana was about to tie the game, Plummer went to his receivers and said "We're going to go win the game." That's what you need from your quarterback. And as I said earlier, the defensive guys would walk down and interact, too.
- Defensively, I thought Cam'Ron Kelly was excellent, Led the team with 12 total tackles, and really helped in run support. Ben Perry continues to prove that he's a real talent. He's so good in coverage, and in the box. TJ Quinn has been an extremely positive development. He's stepped up in a major way. I thought Brownlee and Riley were good for the majority of the game, too. I also think Stephen Herron has -quietly- been solid.
- On the pass rush, it felt like Louisville was taking poor angles when they would get through the offensive line. Gillotte won a ton of reps, but just took bad angles and couldn't get Jackson to the ground. I do think they need to try some other guys on passing downs, like a Ryheem Craig or a Popeye Williams, who are pure pass rushers. Kam Wilson couldn't get much going. I need to go back and watch the game to comment on the blitzes and/or non-blitzes. My first reaction is that there wasn't enough of it, but again, I need to go back and watch it.
- Stanquan Clark is slowly being implemented in the defensive game plan, and he looks the part. He was in on the big goal-line stand, and is a true downhill thump-er in the middle. I do feel a little better about inside linebacker as a whole, given the fact that Oregon transfer Keith Brown hasn't been much of a factor.
- This team has shown glimpses of being great. They’ve also had major lapses. But they haven’t let the lapses result in a loss. Big time grit when it’s mattered most. 3-0 is 3-0. The glimpses of great have been top-15 good. The lapses have been 6-6 bad. But, this team has made winning plays and have a killer instinct, something Satterfield's teams just didn't have.
- Finally, and last but not least, Louisville fans showed up in a major way. Not only had more fans, but they were way louder than Indiana.
