The Louisville Cardinal’s Derek DeBurger previews Cardinal football before they face off against the No.2 Miami Hurricanes
In spite of a 4-1 start to the season, the eyes of the Louisville fanbase are drifting towards basketball season.
Before suffering their first loss in overtime to then-No. 24 Virginia, the Cards looked less impressive than their talent would indicate in all four of their wins.
Miller Moss has looked like his USC-self, but injuries have ravaged the backfield and the offensive line has looked woeful.
There are a lot of question marks as the Cards get ready to hit the road to play the No. 2 Miami Hurricanes for the right to hold Howard Schnellenberger’s boots.
Louisville X-factor of the week:
LT Trevonte Sylvester
It might be strange to say an offensive lineman who has barely seen the field in 2025 is the key to success for the Cards, but it’s true.
The returning blindside blocker got hurt in fall camps, then got sick and lost a lot of weight on an already slim frame for an O-lineman.
He’s been eased back slowly, but when he saw the field against Pitt and Virginia, the O-line was noticeably better.
The group has bigger problems than just one guy, but that one guy masks a lot of the stink.
Miller Moss has been lethal when given time to throw, and Isaac Brown is one of the best rushers in the country when he doesn’t have to break tackles in the backfield.
If Sylvester can play meaningful snap Friday, it opens up a lot of options for a maniacal Jef Brohm.
Louisville’s key matchups:
Louisville’s O-line vs. Miami’s front seven
Louisville will not be able to stop Rueben Bain Jr. or Akheem Mesidor, regardless of who’s healthy.
But they might be able to slow them down.
Against Clemson a season ago, the Cards implemented the chop block into their game plan to shrink the deficit between their O-line and Clemson’s front seven. I am all but expecting to see that same strategy employed against the Hurricanes.
Brohm has also worked spread looks into the offense to take some of the pressure off of Moss, going with a more pass-happy approach like his days at Purdue. But the big uglies need to get some sort of push up front to avoid being one dimensional.
Caullin Lacy vs. Miami’s special teams
Brohm said in his media availability Monday, to pull off an upset you have to be aggressive and takes shots.
Lacy just might be that shot.
He has the ability to act as a game changer in the return game, having taken back three special teams touchdowns in his Louisville-career.
Two of those were punt returns of 75 yards and 93 yards this season. And against Virginia, he was a horse collar tackle away from breaking another.
What’s the best way stop Bain from living in Louisville’s backfield? Score a punt return touchdown. What’s the best way to negate a score from Mark Fletcher Jr.?
Go end zone to end zone on a kickoff.
Louisville vs. Miami football: a quick history
- Miami leads the all-time series 12-4-1.
- Since the inception of the Howard Schnellenberger Trophy, the series is tied 1-1.
- Louisville last won in Coral Gables in 2023 with a 38-31 victory.
- Louisville first beat Miami in 2006 31-7 after a contentious pregame confrontation between the two teams.
- The Cards have one Heisman winner in Lamar Jackson (2016) to Miami’s two in Vinny Testaverde (1986) and Gino Torretta (1992).
