No. 15 Louisville holds CFP hopes forward of matchup vs. Cal

No. 15 Louisville understands the stakes are getting increased as they enter the ultimate month of the common season, starting Saturday night time with a house recreation in opposition to Cal.

Whereas Cardinals coach Jeff Brohm mentioned his message concerning the stakes rising is extra concerning the subsequent recreation than about making the School Soccer Playoff, he informed reporters on Monday that he thinks the crew is “absolutely conscious” of the place they stand.

“We speak about that as a result of we need to stress … nevertheless laborious you labored final week, irrespective of whether or not issues went nice or not, it’s important to work even more durable this week,” he mentioned. “Every thing issues, and if you wish to proceed to work your method up the hill, you have to win the subsequent soccer recreation.”

The Cardinals (7-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Convention) will probably be with no key offensive participant after they face the Bears (5-4, 2-3). Louisville’s Isaac Brown, who leads the nation with a mean of 8.6 yards per carry, suffered a proper leg harm late in Saturday’s 28-16 win at Virginia Tech. Brohm mentioned Monday that he expects Brown to be out for some time.

Louisville’s working backs have battled accidents all through the season. Brown, Duke Watson and Keyjuan Brown have been on availability reviews earlier than video games.

Watson has been thought-about the second-string again however has performed solely 4 video games, with 24 carries for 64 yards. Keyjuan Brown, no relation to Isaac, has stepped up when wanted. He has 189 speeding yards on 22 carries in his final two video games, with three touchdowns. He scored two within the second half in opposition to the Hokies to assist Louisville rally from a 16-7 halftime gap.

Even with the well being points, Louisville nonetheless ranks sixth within the 17-team ACC, averaging 155.8 speeding yards per recreation.

“Whoever they’re handing the ball to is admittedly good,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox mentioned Tuesday.

The Bears have dropped their final two video games and three of the final 4. On Saturday, Cal gave up 456 yards and dedicated two turnovers in a 31-21 house loss to present No. 14 Virginia, which leads the ACC. Cal gave up 194 yards on the bottom. In convention play, the Bears are subsequent to final, giving up 205.4 yards per recreation in 5 contests.

Saturday’s recreation will characteristic a matchup between Miller Moss, Louisville’s veteran quarterback who transferred from Southern Cal within the offseason, vs. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.

Moss, a redshirt senior, has accomplished 65.3% of his passes for 1,929 yards and 11 touchdowns, with six interceptions.

Sagapolutele, a freshman, has thrown for not less than 208 yards in every recreation this season. Nevertheless, he has been intercepted 9 occasions, and he is been sacked seven occasions within the final two video games. However he hasn’t gotten a lot assist from his backfield. Cal averages simply 78.6 yards per recreation on the bottom, the second-lowest amongst 134 FBS groups.

Sagapolutele will face considered one of his hardest checks this weekend in opposition to a protection ranked eleventh nationally, averaging 280.5 yards allowed per recreation. Louisville additionally has intercepted 12 passes this season, tied for seventh nationally.

If Cal can pull off the upset, the Bears wouldn’t solely doubtless sprint Louisville’s playoff hopes, they might turn out to be bowl eligible for a 3rd straight season. That might be the varsity’s longest streak since making seven straight from 2003-09.

–Area Stage Media