Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. Florida State

 Playing in their first ACC Championship Game since joining the league nearly a decade ago, the Louisville football program flourished defensively but struggled offensively, dropping a 16-6 rock fight against Florida State this past Saturday.

Before we close the book on the game and transition to the Cardinals' matchup vs. USC in the Holiday Bowl, I wanted to provide some closing thoughts and observations from the game against the Seminoles:

• First of all, what a tremendous wasted opportunity this was. Sure, Florida State still has an influx of talent all over the field, and taking them down was still going to be a difficult endeavor no mater who was under center. That being said, defense and special teams were clicking at an extremely high level for Louisville and gave them a legitimate shot to come out of Charlotte. All the offense had to do was not have their worst performance in literal years, and the Cardinals would be ACC Champions. Instead, the offense - thanks to a combination of botched coaching and player execution - failed almost every time they took they field. Given the implications that were on the line, it's hard not to have this game up there among some of the biggest "what-if's?" in program history.
• Watching the game back, like the Kentucky game, the coaching and game plan from Jeff Brohm on offense wasn't as bad as it seemed watched it live. It was actually a pretty balanced attack between the run and the pass, and had a few trick plays sprinkled in to try and catch the 'Noles off guard. There were maybe a few too many designed runs/speed options for my liking, but that's a small gripe. However, also like the Kentucky game, the actual on-field execution fell well short of the mark, but this time it was amplified. Hindsight is 20/20, but the only thing I think Brohm could have done - and probably should have - was give someone else a try at quarterback. Yes, there have been times this season where Plummer certainly tested Brohm's trust in him. But it was cr
• Okay, I'm just going to get this out of the way, rip the band-aid off, and talk about the offense. We can't have a conversation about what went wrong with the offense that doesn't involve the play of quarterback Jack Plummer. For starters, yes, he did play a significant role in getting Louisville to the ACC Championship Game, and he deserves credit there. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. But he also was the single biggest reason why they are not ACC Champions. The two points aren't mutually exclusive. There's no other way to spin it: Plummer was inexcusably bad. Throws were routinely over thrown, under thrown, just behind receivers or too high. His awareness when it comes to navigating the pocket, yet again, was unacceptable for someone with as much college experience as him. And his decision making, especially on his back-breaking fourth quarter interception to spoil the biggest opportunity of the season for Louisville, was well short of the mark. I'm not going to discredit all the good things Plummer has done over the season for Louisville, but this performance is certainly going be his lasting legacy in the minds of fans, fair or not.
• That all being said, Plummer was not the only offensive player who was not performing up to standard. The receiving corps early on seemed to have issues securing passes that were on the mark, and generating separation proved extremely difficult, although that part is mainly due to how good FSU is in the secondary. The offensive line as a whole also struggled at times to hold up blocks in the run game and give Plummer a somewhat clean pocket, but again, some of this was simply due to how loaded FSU's front seven is. The tackles, Willie Tyler and Eric Miller, in particular had rough outings. Even Jawhar Jordan didn't seem to be playing with the same upfield aggression he normally does, which was probably due to a combination of his lingering hamstring injury, and the fact that he nearly gave the ball away again with a fumble that he was lucky to almost immediately recover. 
• Alright, enough about that, let's talk about what Louisville did good in this game, which was almost exclusively on the defensive side of the ball. Both the game plan and the execution here was almost flawless. With Florida State having to go to their third string back up, Ron English packed the box and pressed often to dare the Seminoles to try and throw the ball beyond just a few yards past the line of scrimmage. It was evident after the first couple drives that FSU head coach Mike Norvell did not have any faith in Brock Glenn to actually push the ball downfield, so their approach played right into English's hands.
• The game plan, and the coaches' decision to stick to it when FSU did get some rhythm going at times, was one thing. The execution by the players of said plan is what really stood out. For about 90 percent of the game, Louisville's efforts in the front seven to contain the run was night and day different from the last few weeks. They were swarming to the ball, wrapping up, and bringing a relentless attack. 94 of the 164 rushing yards that Florida State collected came on just two plays. On the other 42 runs, the Cardinals were allowing just 1.7 yards per carry. The only thing that was left to be desired in terms of the run defense was the fact that Louisville either didn't expect FSU to run the wildcat as much as they did, or they had trouble adjusting to it when the 'Noles knew they had to get creative. In particular, safety Josh Minkins plus linebackers Jaylin Alderman and T.J. Quinn help set the tone in terms of Louisville's stone-walling efforts against the run.
• It wasn't super hard to play against the pass given how inexperienced Glenn was, but the Louisville pass rush and secondary made sure that he did not get comfortable. The interior of the defensive line, such as Jermayne Lole, Ramon Puryear and Jared Dawson, wasted little time getting up in Glenn's face. Ashton Gillotte, as always, did a good job setting the edge to try and force Glenn off his spot. On the boundaries, the cornerbacks - especially Quincy Riley - did a great job of staying disciplined and not allowing the dynamic wide receiver duo of Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman get much space to work with. Then the safety duo of Cam'Ron Kelly and Devin Neal didn't let anything get over their heads.
• For as critical as I've been regarding special teams as of late, they deserve credit for their play in this game. Brady Hodges booted the ball with some consistency and had just one bad punt of his nine attempts. Brohm stuck with Brock Travelstead as the kicker, and he rewarded that trust with a pair of field goals. Gilbert Frierson had a great play to force FSU's punter to eat the ball and tale a turnover on downs. It's a shame that the terrible offensive showing ruined what was a fantastic night for the defense and special teams.
• Again, I don't understand what it tales for more holding penalties against Ashton Gillotte to get called. I'm far from saying the officials cost Louisville this game, although they certainly were reluctant to flag FSU, but Gillotte continues to get held with blatant disregard on a regular basis. Rant over.
• I'll close with this thought: by all accounts, this still a special season for Louisville. Given how they were viewed in the preseason, simply reaching 10 wins is a fantastic indictment of what Jeff Brohm has been able to accomplish in a short amount of time. But while this team certainly over achieved, one can't help but feel like they disappointed in some regards as well. Execution in some regard cost them both the games against Kentucky and Florida State, two games which they should have won, and Louisville lost their shot to go the Orange Bowl as a result. Brohm and the Cardinals again have a great opportunity in the Holiday Bowl against USC to head into the offseason with some momentum. USC's defense is putrid and Caleb Williams - among other meaningful contributors for the Trojans - won't be playing. Louisville absolutely, positively, has to capitalize on this.