No. 15 Louisville understands the stakes are getting higher as they enter the final month of the regular season, beginning Saturday night with a home game against Cal.
While Cardinals coach Jeff Brohm said his message about the stakes rising is more about the next game than about making the College Football Playoff, he told reporters on Monday that he thinks the team is “fully aware” of where they stand.
“We talk about that because we want to stress … however hard you worked last week, no matter whether things went great or not, you have to work even harder this week,” he said. “Everything matters, and if you want to continue to work your way up the hill, you’ve got to win the next football game.”
The Cardinals (7-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) will be without a key offensive player when they face the Bears (5-4, 2-3). Louisville’s Isaac Brown, who leads the nation with an average of 8.6 yards per carry, suffered a right leg injury late in Saturday’s 28-16 win at Virginia Tech. Brohm said Monday that he expects Brown to be out for a while.
Louisville’s running backs have battled injuries throughout the season. Brown, Duke Watson and Keyjuan Brown have been on availability reports before games.
Watson has been considered the second-string back but has played only four games, with 24 carries for 64 yards. Keyjuan Brown, no relation to Isaac, has stepped up when needed. He has 189 rushing yards on 22 carries in his last two games, with three touchdowns. He scored two in the second half against the Hokies to help Louisville rally from a 16-7 halftime hole.
Even with the health issues, Louisville still ranks sixth in the 17-team ACC, averaging 155.8 rushing yards per game.
“Whoever they’re handing the ball to is really good,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said Tuesday.
The Bears have dropped their last two games and three of the last four. On Saturday, Cal gave up 456 yards and committed two turnovers in a 31-21 home loss to current No. 14 Virginia, which leads the ACC. Cal gave up 194 yards on the ground. In conference play, the Bears are next to last, giving up 205.4 yards per game in five contests.
Saturday’s game will feature a matchup between Miller Moss, Louisville’s veteran quarterback who transferred from Southern Cal in the offseason, vs. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.
Moss, a redshirt senior, has completed 65.3% of his passes for 1,929 yards and 11 touchdowns, with six interceptions.
Sagapolutele, a freshman, has thrown for at least 208 yards in each game this season. However, he has been intercepted nine times, and he’s been sacked seven times in the last two games. But he hasn’t gotten much help from his backfield. Cal averages just 78.6 yards per game on the ground, the second-lowest among 134 FBS teams.
Sagapolutele will face one of his toughest tests this weekend against a defense ranked 11th nationally, averaging 280.5 yards allowed per game. Louisville also has intercepted 12 passes this season, tied for seventh nationally.
If Cal can pull off the upset, the Bears would not only likely dash Louisville’s playoff hopes, they would become bowl eligible for a third straight season. That would be the school’s longest streak since making seven straight from 2003-09.
