Louisville has its eye on winning a third consecutive game when the Cardinals welcome Stanford on Saturday in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup.
The Cardinals (4-3, 3-2) boast one of the nation’s top offenses. Averaging 484.6 yards per game, Louisville ranks eighth among Football Bowl Subdivision schools and second in the conference. Coach Jeff Brohm’s team is just outside the top 10 nationally, scoring 38.7 points per contest.
Stanford ranks last in the ACC in both scoring defense (35.5 ppg) and offense (19.9 ppg). However, the Cardinal held on to beat North Carolina State at home last Friday, 31-28, for their second straight win. Davis Warren threw for 303 yards and four touchdowns on 22 of 37 passing in the win. Caden High caught nine of those passes for 103 yards and a score, while running back Micah Ford picked up 150 yards on 22 carries.
Coach Tavita Pritchard said Stanford shows signs of improvement, but that’s not all he’s looking for from his team.
“For us, it’s much more … qualitative when looking at the film,” Pritchard said. “Like, ‘Hey, what are you doing well here, Davis? Where can you continue to improve?’ That is the message to the team.”
Louisville’s offense is led by quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, who has thrown for 1,844 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding another 10 scores on the ground. The Cardinals offense features a pair of explosive backs in Issac Brown (83 carries, 568 yards and four TDs) and Keyjuan Brown (51, 417 and five). That offense has needed to be productive to offset a defense (419.9 ypg) that has struggled. However, Brohm has seen signs of improvement.
Two weeks ago, in a 34-26 win at Syracuse, the defense allowed 302 yards and 23 points in the first half. After halftime, Louisville held the Orange to just three points and 160 yards while also forcing three turnovers.
“It’s about playing a complete game,” Brohm said. “We haven’t really done that, and it’s not super easy to do… We want to play clean, solid football. Make them earn their touchdowns. Find ways to get turnovers, and create some negative plays.”