Highlights: Louisville Football vs. SMU

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After suffering its first loss of the season in a ranked game at Notre Dame, the Louisville football program returns home to try to get back in the win column, taking on one of the ACC's three newcomers this season – SMU.

Here are some of the most notable storylines leading up to Saturday's game:

Injury report

For once, it's some good news for Louisville injury-wise.

After missing the first three games of the season, star wide receiver Caullin Lacy was finally able to return to the lineup this past weekend. Additionally, there were rumors that cornerback Tahveon Nicholson might be out against the Irish, but he ultimately played.

The biggest (only?) question mark is the status of Quincy Riley. The star corner suffered an ankle/foot injury in the game against Georgia Tech, completed warm-ups before the Notre Dame game, but ultimately did not play. During his weekly press conference on Monday, head coach Jeff Brohm said he was “hopeful to get him back this week” against SMU.

Speaking of SMU, they're not as banged up as Notre Dame, but they're still dealing with a few injuries.

Backup running back Jaylan Knighton, who was SMU's leading rusher last season, is out for the season with a knee injury. Last season he ran for 745 yards and scored seven scores.

Fellow running back LJ Johnson was forced to miss the FSU game with a concussion and is out, while wide receiver Romello Brinson is also out week-to-week with a knee injury. Starting defensive tackle Anthony Booker also suffered an injury against FSU, but his status for this weekend is not yet known.

In Louisville, sloppiness in the face of competition for power is apparent

Louisville got off to an easy start to its schedule, outscoring Austin Peay and Jacksonville State 111 points to 14. However, as their competition became increasingly difficult, they appeared much sloppier than expected.

In their 31-19 win over Georgia Tech, the Cardinals committed seven penalties – three of which negated offensive gains of more than 20 yards and one on defense that led to a Yellow Jackets touchdown. They also gave up a safety during a one-score game in the fourth quarter.

Last weekend against Notre Dame, Louisville committed three turnovers – all easily avoidable -, turned the ball over four times on downs and committed six penalties. By the end of the game, six of their 13 drives ended in a turnover or a turnover on downs, which inevitably led to a 31-24 loss in South Bend.

“When you play good football teams, you’re not going to win every game,” head coach Jeff Brohm said. “There are definitely some things we could have done better. I thought we handled the crowd noise pretty well in the last game until it got loud at the end of the game and and and. That screwed things up for us.”

Fortunately, Brohm believes his team not only has the ability to learn from its mistakes, but also has the adaptability to adapt in the future and prevent the mistakes from becoming more widespread. He cites how last year's team won five games by one point and how this year's team has already demonstrated the resilience that the 2023 team showed.

“I think we have competitive players and I think they want to compete and play,” Brohm said. “Last year we found a way to win a lot of close games. This year we have to find a way to win close games and that means doing a lot of little things right.”

SMU's offense is picking up speed after the quarterback change

In the offseason, ACC newcomer SMU was a trendy pick to be a backup in the conference title race. However, the Mustangs struggled in their first games of the season.

They had to mount a comeback against Nevada, one of the worst teams in the FBS, and narrowly escaped with a 29-24 win. After defeating FCS opponent Houston Christian, SMU delivered a defensive slugfest at home against BYU and lost 18-15.

After the game against BYU, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee made the decision to bench starting quarterback Preston Stone in favor of Kevin Jennings. Since then, the Mustangs' offense has exploded.

In the last two games, SMU has scored a total of 108 points and 833 total yards against TCU and FSU, winning both games. In their games against Nevada and BYU, the Mustangs combined for 44 points and 669 yards. Against TCU and FSU, Jennings went 30 of 42 for 391 yards and five touchdowns, while running back Brashard Smith had 630 yards and eight touchdowns from scrimmage this season.

“Right now they are hot and have momentum,” Brohm said. “They trust each other, they perform at their best.” The quarterback chooses him – the offense has picked up speed. This is a young man who is a six-foot quarterback; He can throw, he has a great arm, he can run, he throws well on the move, he can escape the rush. You have to influence him, otherwise he’ll drive it to the playmakers.”

“Caullin Lacy impresses in Louisville debut”

When Caullin Lacy suffered a broken collarbone on the final day of fall camp, it was a major blow to Louisville's passing offense. He was one of the most productive and explosive wide receivers in all of college football last season, catching 91 passes for 1,316 yards and seven touchdowns at South Alabama.

This past weekend at Notre Dame, Lacy was finally healthy enough to make his debut in a Louisville uniform, and he certainly didn't disappoint. He finished the game with five catches for 71 yards, including an impressive one-handed snag of 34 yards.

“I give Caullin a lot of credit. … He’s a tough young man, he’s a competitor,” Brohm said. “He wants to go out and do great things. “We need to make sure that we identify the things that he's really good at and that we do that with him because there are certain things that he's better at than others. He’s a strong runner and a competitor and we’re going to need him out there.”

Being able to perform the way he did away from home in a ranking match certainly gave Lacy a confidence boost after the injury. Despite this, he still strives to constantly improve.

“I put a lot of confidence into my performance, but I know I still have a lot of work to do to get better and more open,” LAcy said after the game against Notre Dame. “I have to clean up a lot of mistakes, communicate and know what I need to do to just be more precise and cleaner.”

SMU's defense department thrives in the turnover department

When looking at SMU's defense as a whole, the best way to classify it is as good, but perhaps not great. The Mustangs are averaging 311.2 yards and 21.4 points allowed per game, which rank 38th and 51st nationally, respectively. They were also cheered on by TCU, giving up 42 points and allowing Nevada to score 24 points.

But if there's one area where SMU excels, it's generating revenue. In fact, the Mustangs are tied with Maryland for the most turnovers in the FBS with 14.

Additionally, SMU is very balanced in the way they generate their revenue. Her nine interceptions rank second nationally, just behind Cal's 10, while her five fumble recoveries rank seventh nationally. Linebacker Ahmad Walker and defensive lineman Elijah Roberts both have two forced fumbles, while safety Ahmaad Moses ranks third in the FBS with three interceptions.

“I think they’re very solid on first and second down; “They don’t give up a lot of big plays along the way,” Brohm said. “On third down, they get very exotic and attack the quarterback.” They impact the quarterback, so they caused him to commit turnovers in those situations. They do some things that other teams don't do as aggressively, so I give them credit. They are well trained. At the moment they believe in what they are doing. When your offense is having success, you have the flexibility to play more aggressively, which they did and it definitely shows on the video.”

(Photo via Clare Grant – Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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