Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Cal

The Louisville football program is making their return to L&N Stadium this weekend, hosting Cal to kick off the final month of the 2025 regular season.

Here are some of the more notable points of emphasis heading into Saturday's game:

Injury Update

With it being somewhat late in the season, it shouldn't come as a surprise that both Louisville and Cal have their fair share of injuries.

While running back Isaac Brown has been ruled "out" for this game (and potentially beyond), his backup in Duke Watson was listed as "probable" after missing the last three games. Additionally, linebacker Stanquan Clark, Louisville's best defender, is officially "questionable" after having not played since the second game of the year.

Meanwhile for Cal, T.J. Bollers, the Golden Bears' best defensive lineman, is officially "out." However, linebacker Cade Uluave, who was the ACC's leading tackler entering last weekend, is "probable" after having to miss most of last weekend's game vs. Virginia.

Cal Players to Watch: QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (Offense) and LB Cade Uluave (Defense)

Cal might have been sputtering over the last month-plus, but anyone who has watched them knows that they are a team that had potential to be an ACC contender if they were a lot more consistent. As such, the Golden Bears do have guys that Louisville is most certainly going to highlight in the film session.

Very rarely do true freshman quarterbacks earn a chance to start right out of the gates, especially at the power conference level. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is one of the rare exceptions. This is primarily due to the fact that he was a very highly touted prospect coming out of high school, ranking as high as the No. 20 prospect in the Class of 2025, per On3.

So far this season, Sagapolutele has put together an impressive season, completing 61.2 percent of his attempts for 2,195 yards (which ranks 18th in the FBS) and 11 touchdowns. That being said, he has had some freshman moments, also throwing nine interceptions - which is tied for third in the FBS and second among power conference quarterbacks.

Over on the defensive side of the ball, Cal actually sports one of the best defenders in the ACC in linebacker Cade Uluave. Entering last weekend, he was actually the ACC leading tackler. Despite missing most of the Virginia game, he has a whopping 81 tackles, 10.5 for loss, three sacks and six pass breakups.

During the course of his collegiate career, Uluave has been an incredibly consistant force for Cal. In 31 games played over three seasons, he has collected 218 total tackles (122 solo), 20.0 tackles for loss, six sacks, 11 pass breakups, three interceptions and two forced fumbles.

Matchup to Watch: Cal QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele vs. Louisville's Secondary

At first glance, calling the quarterback vs. the opposing secondary the "matchup to watch" might seem like something that should be a given. But this time, the context is a little difference.

For starters, Cal's offense consists almost entirely of passing the football. Sagapolutele's 317 total passing attempts is tied for the seventh-most in the FBS, and the second-most behind Baylor's Sawyer Robinson (366) among power conference quarterbacks.

Then you add in the fact that Cal doesn't run the ball very often. In fact, their 29.89 rushing attempts per game comes in at 126th in the FBS. Take away the "attempts" that comes as a result of a sack, and the Golden Bears actually run the ball just 27.33 times per game.

An offense that leans almost exclusively on their passing attack doesn't match up well with a defense who has done a very good job in coverage. So far this season, Louisville's 167.9 passing yards allowed per game ranks 16th in the FBS, while their passing efficiency defense of 105.77 ranks 11th - and both marks are the best in the ACC.

The Cardinals also have a chance to pounce on Sagapolutele's tendency for freshman mistakes, A.K.A. interceptions. Their 12 interceptions are the seventh-most in the FBS and second-most in the ACC (SMU - 14), and that comes from eight different players.

Louisville Trend to Monitor: A Renewed Rushing Attack

It's no secret that Louisville's ability to run the ball, which was viewed as the top strength on the entire team, struggled over the first half of the season. In their first five games, the Cardinals could only run for 115 yards per game, and only ran for 107 yards combined in their games vs. Pitt and Virginia.

But over the last few weeks, their ability to run the ball - which has coincided with the return of left tackle Trevonte Sylvester as a starter - has taken a dramatic uptick.

Louisville ran for "just" 119 yards against Miami, but it was the second-most rushing yards that the Canes have given up all season. They then followed that up with a whopping 317 rushing yards against Boston College, and then 235 rushing yards this past weekend against Virginia Tech.

That being said, not having Isaac Brown will certainly impact the Cardinals' ability to run the ball. Fortunately, Keyjuan Brown has played the best football of his career over the last two weeks. He ran for 95 yards and a touchdown against BC, then 94 yards and two touchdowns at VT.

Cal Trend to Monitor: A Dreadful Rushing Attack

While QB Jaron-Keawe has certainly impressed as a true freshman, there's a massive reason why Cal is putting so much on his plate: they have one of the worst rushing attacks in all of college football - power conference or otherwise.

So far this season, the Golden Bears are averaging a paltry 78.56 rushing yards per game. Not only is that the worst among power conference teams, it's the second-worst in the FBS - ahead of only New Mexico State (68.38).

It isn't for a complete lack of trying to run the ball, as their 269 rushing attempts is more than Louisville's (246). Starting running back Kendrick Rapheal has also had a solid year, rushing for 612 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The issue mainly lies within their offensive line, which has struggled immensely this season. Cal's 50.2 run blocking grade on Pro Football Focus is just 124th in the FBS, and their 5.56 tackles for loss allowed per game is tied for 84th.