Three observations of the Louisville offense after breaking down film, two matchups to watch for the Irish defense against the Cardinals offense and a key to victory for the Notre Dame defense.
THREE OBSERVATIONS
1. Louisville have a diverse game plan designed to slow down the pass rush – By its natural design, the Louisville offense will have a game plan that will take great pains to slow down Notre Dame’s vaunted pass rush. It’s diverse and will attack the Irish defense in a variety of ways.
First and foremost, the Louisville quarterback isn’t going to be sitting in the pocket behind the center all night. Expect to see quarterback runs, bootlegs and play-actions designed to keep the defense from keying on the pocket. The ability to move the pocket in the pass game and run game will be the primary way the offense looks to slow down the pass rush.
We will see other parts of the offense designed to accomplish the same thing. Louisville is going to attack with the quick game and screen game, and it will likely do so from empty formations or alignments where they line up tighter and then the backs will free release in hopes of getting numbers or leverage advantages. I’ll have more on that in point two.
