Louisville vs. Rutgers Despite the schedule that the mainstream constantly refers to, the Louisville defense is possibly the best in the nation and looked like "Angry Birds" on Thursday night by mauling over Rutgers QB Gary Nova for eight sacks along with four interceptions in route to a 24-10 victory. With most of the spotlight on star quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, the Angry Birds defense is a much overlooked component of Louisville's success.
Louisville did have a flat performance offensively against Rutgers, but dominated the other side of the ball as usual. To go with the sacks and forced turnovers, the Cardinals held the Scarlet Knights to just 12 rushing yards.
"You have a defense that is playing really well right now. It is all about convincing them. They heard what has been said about them," coach Charlie Strong said before the Rutgers game. "I want them to realize this, that they are a good football team."
The Cardinals are allowing just over a touchdown per game for a total of 44 points in six games this season. Alabama, once thought of as the nation's top defense, nearly allowed that many points in one game against Texas A&M (42 points). Coming into this week, the Louisville defense was first in points allowed per game and third in total yards allowed per game, which should hold true after the recent outing.
The defense is solid all around and anchored by a very stout line. Ends Lorenzo Mauldin and Marcus Smith are constant threats with their speed on the edges, but there are also big bodies on the line like Roy Philon that can penetrate and plug the middle.
"I think Marcus Smith and Mauldin playing the outside are two of the best defensive ends in the country. They can rush the passer," Strong said.
There is talent spread throughout the defense as well. Middle linebacker Preston Brown is the team's leading tackler and free safety Calvin Pryor received player of the game against Rutgers after tallying 14 tackles, a tackle for loss, and an interception.
"Calvin Pryor, he is one of those players that make a lot of plays," Strong said. "I always tell him he's a linebacker, because he wants to play close to the line of scrimmage all the time."
It looks like as the season progresses that the Louisville defense will be just as much of a problem for opponents as the offense is, if not more.
Louisville did have a flat performance offensively against Rutgers, but dominated the other side of the ball as usual. To go with the sacks and forced turnovers, the Cardinals held the Scarlet Knights to just 12 rushing yards.
"You have a defense that is playing really well right now. It is all about convincing them. They heard what has been said about them," coach Charlie Strong said before the Rutgers game. "I want them to realize this, that they are a good football team."
The Cardinals are allowing just over a touchdown per game for a total of 44 points in six games this season. Alabama, once thought of as the nation's top defense, nearly allowed that many points in one game against Texas A&M (42 points). Coming into this week, the Louisville defense was first in points allowed per game and third in total yards allowed per game, which should hold true after the recent outing.
The defense is solid all around and anchored by a very stout line. Ends Lorenzo Mauldin and Marcus Smith are constant threats with their speed on the edges, but there are also big bodies on the line like Roy Philon that can penetrate and plug the middle.
"I think Marcus Smith and Mauldin playing the outside are two of the best defensive ends in the country. They can rush the passer," Strong said.
There is talent spread throughout the defense as well. Middle linebacker Preston Brown is the team's leading tackler and free safety Calvin Pryor received player of the game against Rutgers after tallying 14 tackles, a tackle for loss, and an interception.
"Calvin Pryor, he is one of those players that make a lot of plays," Strong said. "I always tell him he's a linebacker, because he wants to play close to the line of scrimmage all the time."
It looks like as the season progresses that the Louisville defense will be just as much of a problem for opponents as the offense is, if not more.
Defensive StatisticsPoints Per Game: 7.3 Average Rush Yards Per Game: 68.3 Average Yards Per Rush: 2.2 Rushing Touchdowns: 1 Average Passing Yards Per Game: 161.2 Passing Touchdowns: 4 Average Total Yards Per Game: 229.5 Third Down Percent: 24% Sacks: 23 Red-Zone Touchdowns: (5-14) 36% Individual Leaders Tackles: Preston Brown (42) Sacks: Lorenzo Mauldin (7) Tackles For Loss: Marcus Smith (10) Interceptions: T. Floyd, C. Pryor, & H. Smith (2) Forced Fumbles: Lorenzo Mauldin (3) Fumble Recoveries: Marcus Smith (2) | Results/ScheduleSept. 1, Ohio W 49-7 Sept. 7, Eastern Kentucky W 44-7 Sept. 14, at Kentucky W 27-13 Sept. 21, FIU W 72-0 Oct. 5, at Temple W 30-7 Oct. 10, Rutgers W 24-10 Oct. 18, UCF Oct. 26, at South Florida Nov. 8, at Connecticut Nov. 16, Houston Nov. 23, Memphis Dec. 5, at Cincinnati |
Louisville Depth Chart
OffenseQB: Teddy Bridgewater (Jr. 6-3 196) Will Gardner (r-Fr. 5-5 230) RB: Michael Dyer (Jr. 5-9 215) Senorise Perry (Sr. 6-0 187) Dominque Brown (Jr. 6-2 216) Brandon Radcliff (r-Fr. 5-9 216) FB: B.J. Butler (Sr. 6-2 274) Griffin Uhl (r-Fr. 6-2 267) WR: DeVante Parker (Jr. 6-3 209) Kai De La Cruz (Jr. 6-0 186) Matt Milton (Jr. 6-5 208) WR: Robert Clark (Jr. 5-9 173) Eli Rogers (Jr. 5-10 182) Michaelee Harris (Jr. 6-2 202) WR: Damian Copeland (Sr. 6-1 188) James Quick (Fr. 6-1 185) Jarrett Davis (Sr. 5-9 172) TE: Ryan Hubbell (Sr. 6-5 227) Gerald Christian (Jr. 6-3 242) Zeke Pike (r-Fr. 6-6 251) LT: Jamon Brown (Jr. 6-6 350) Cameron Fraser (Fr. 6-4 275) Aaron Epps (So. 6-7 279) LG: John Miller (Jr. 6-2 321) T.C. Klusman (Fr. 6-3 275) C: Jake Smith (Jr. 6-3 312) Mike Romano (So. 6-4 293) RG: Abraham Garcia (So. 6-5 347) Chris Acosta (Jr. 6-3 275) Kamran Joyer (Sr. 6-3 283) Josh Stearns (So. 6-1 270) RT: Ryan Mack (So. 6-5 319) Joe Manley (r-Fr. 6-6 326) | DefenseFDE: Marcus Smith (Sr. 6-3 260) Nick Dawson (r-Fr. 6-3 261) DT: Roy Philon (Sr. 6-3 290) Sheldon Rankins (So. 6-2 280) NT: Brandon Dunn (Jr. 6-3 300) Dominique Dishman (So. 6-2 284) DE: Lorenzo Mauldin (Jr. 6-4 243) Nick Dawson (r-Fr. 6-3 261) B.J. Dubose (Jr. 6-5 287) SLB: George Durant (Sr. 6-0 245) Champ Lee (Sr. 6-0 215) MLB: Preston Brown (Sr. 6-0 260) Lamar Atkins (r-Fr. 5-11 246) WLB: James Burgess (So. 6-0 211) Deon Rogers (Jr. 6-2 194) CB: Terell Floyd (Jr. 5-10 201) Andrew Johnson (Jr. 5-9 186) Kevin Houchins (r-Fr. 5-11 184) SS: Hakeem Smith (Sr. 6-1 179) Gerod Holliman (So. 6-0 201) FS: Calvin Pryor (Jr. 6-2 208) Gerod Holliman (So. 6-0 201) CB: Charles Gaines (So. 5-11 174) Jermaine Reve (So. 6-0 180) Andrew Johnson (Jr. 5-9 186) |
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