Louisville football looks to win for the first time ever in Blacksburg. Can the Cards avoid the upset?
Welcome inside the lines for writeups that I will be posting weekly on Louisville Football. The purpose of these articles is to help you, the fan, gain a better understanding of the next opponent… and, also, to beat any and every allegation that fullbacks can’t read/write.
Being bowl bound feels nice with 5 games left on the schedule! Saturday night was amazing from the weather, to the crowd, to the uniforms, to play on the field.
None of that matters now though as we get ready for a road matchup vs Virginia Tech. Lets dive in to what we will be seeing from the Hokies.
Brent Pry started the season off as the head ball coach for Va Tech but he was fired after an 0-3 start and a blowout loss to Old Dominion.
Stepping in as the interim Head Coach is Philip Montgomery. Since Montgomery has taken over, Va Tech has won three of five games, including wins over NC State and Cal.
The Hokies enter this weekend on the heels of a double-OT win over the Bears.
Va Tech Offense
Quarterback Kyron Drones is basically the entire offense. Drones has thrown for 1,516 yards and rushed for another 414 yards with 7 TDs. Drones is CLEARLY one to watch when running the football, especially in the red zone.
Yes, Virginia Tech will run quarterback specific runs, this is not all just scramble yards. When scrambling in, Drones does a good job of keeping his eyes downfield, but sometimes it gets him into trouble. Drones will force passes in these situations to try and make a play. For example, in the South Carolina game Drones threw a pick into triple coverage.
Rushing wise, Drones is number two for the Hokies, but their leading rusher is Marcellous Hawkins. Hawkins is a running back any team would love to have. He averages 6.6 yards per carry, which is an amazing way to stay on schedule as an offense. The problem I have with Hawkins is he only has one touchdown on the year. It is very weird to see a RB only have one touchdown this late into the season.
Receiving wise nothing jumped off the film that we haven’t already faced this season. Their leading receiver is Ayden Green. The longest reception this season for Green has been 67 yards and average yards per catch is 15.92, so clearly a guy who can take the top off a defense.
Va Tech Defense
As a defense, the top 3 tacklers for the Hokies are all linebackers. So the complete opposite of what we saw last week where two defensive backs led their team in tackles.
The top 3 guys are Kaleb Spencer, Caleb Woodson, and Jaden Keller. Kaleb and Caleb (great podcast name) seem to be more of your run stopper guys, while Keller does a little bit of everything.
Spencer is more than capable of getting a sack out of his position as well, and has 4 on the season. Keller has a pass deflection and forced fumble on the season, to me that says the coaching staff has the confidence to use him in multiple different ways.
For the Cards offensively, we need to continue to establish the line of scrimmage with the run game. Coach Owens, tackle Trevonte Sylvester, and the rest of the guys have really turned things around these past few weeks.
Get a good push and try to make the Hokies quit early on. They have an interim coach and nothing to play for but pride.
Once we’ve beaten the body with the run, take the top off with play action passing game. Miller Moss needs to avoid forcing things. Last week, Moss tried to fore things a little, and it led to a stupid interception.
Defensively we need to have our eyes in the right spot at all times.
Drones is a guy that 100% will make you pay with his feet if your eyes are wrong. Watch for quarterback draws and plays where the DLine is let go like screens. The back end needs to play through the whistle. Drones will try to extend the play running around in the pocket, and you can NOT lose your man in scramble drills. That is how touchdowns happen for the bad guys.
Personally, this is a destination game I wish I could attend. Since I was a kid Enter Sandman and the craziness of that crowd has been something that has always caught my eye. It is what makes college football so beautiful.
If you’re going to the game, ENJOY! If you can’t make the trip, be sure to come see the boys on From the Pink Seats Podcast at Flanagans for a live watch party!
Thanks for reading and as always, Go Cards!
