Fresh off a 24-20 win over the Virginia Cavaliers, the Louisville Cardinals will face their toughest test yet at home against the No. 6 Miami Hurricanes. Louisville will be looking for a big upset in the ACC.
The Cardinals started the year 4-2, winning against Georgia Tech before losing back-to-back games to Notre Dame and SMU. The team bounced back last weekend against Virginia and improved to 2-2 in conference play.
But now, with the arrival of this year's toughest opponent, a big boost will be needed.
Enter true freshman running back Isaac Brown. He took over the Cardinals' backfield and emerged as the No. 1 back with 508 yards rushing and 8.6 yards per carry with three touchdowns so far this year.
Brown has really exploded in recent weeks, gaining 20 carries for 146 yards and two scores against Virginia, which was the big difference in the 24-20 win. In the previous game against SMU, he gained 117 yards on just 10 carries, but fell just short in a 34-27 loss to Louisville.
Brown rushed for 100 yards for the third time this season against Virginia, earning him the ACC Rookie of the Week award.
“Everyone thinks I'm too small to do anything.” Brown told reporters after the game.. “But I just want to show them what I can do and support the team.”
The 5-foot-9, 190-pound freshman may be smaller than other backs in the country, but he plays physical and looks to hit explosive plays, and the Louisville office definitely does that. I needed it.
Louisville now has a very young backfield following the departures of top backs Jauhar Jordan and Isaac Gerendo. In addition to true freshmen Brown and Duke Watson, the Cardinals are counting on redshirt freshman Keejuan Brown to be the leaders of the backfield.
Isaac Brown, who saw a sporadic increase in carries earlier this year, has solidified his status as the No. 1 running back over the past three weeks and will look to carry that strong performance into Week 8 against Miami.
Heading into the weekend, the Hurricanes are ranked 14th in the FBS, allowing just 97.2 rushing yards per game and giving up just 3.5 yards per rush, a strong showing for a top-10 team thus far. There is.
But Miami was susceptible at times, as it allowed 206 rushing yards to Virginia Tech, with lead back Beishul Tuten gaining 141 yards and scoring on 19 attempts. Additionally, going back to the opener, Florida lead back Montrell Johnson gained 106 yards on just 11 attempts, even though the Gators were blown out in that game.
Brown will get his chance this weekend. The Cardinals will need to make a concerted effort to get the rising star the ball both on the ground and through the air, which should help quarterback Tyler Schau overcome tough defenses.
Right now, Louisville has a committee of backs, and perhaps another young player out of the backfield could get some attention, but if the Cardinals pull off a big upset in this game, Brown could very well be the X-factor. The situation is becoming high.
