Jeff Brohm takes the blame for Louisville football's surprising loss to SMU

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Whether on the field or on the sidelines, Saturday wasn't a standout day for the Louisville football program.

After suffering their first loss of the season in a mistake-filled affair at Notre Dame, things didn't get any easier for the Cardinals. They were tasked with facing a red-hot SMU team to try and get back into the win-loss bracket.

Despite being a seven-point favorite, much of what we saw in South Bend resurfaced at L&N Stadium, ultimately leading to Louisville's 34-27 loss to the Mustangs.

It was an afternoon where neither the players nor the coaching staff seemed prepared for SMU. After that, head coach Jeff Brohm took most of the blame for his team's performance and general unpreparedness.

“Disappointing loss without question. So that's on me, that's on the coaches. The plan was not good, it was not carried out. Way too many mistakes. A really bad performance, especially on our home pitch. We have a lot of work to do.”

“That makes football a team sport, a tough game. You can either suck it up and find ways to fix it and improve it, or you can sulk about it, sulk and feel sorry for yourself. So we have to look in the mirror and come up with a better plan together so we can start better, play better in all three segments and then finish better, and that didn't happen today.”

The majority of Louisville's problems on the day came on defense. Almost from the start, the Cardinals struggled mightily with SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee's fast-paced offense. At the end of the game, they gave up 481 yards of offense to their visitors and allowed a total of 26 first downs.

SMU dual-threat signal caller Kevin Jennings had a field day. Not only did he throw 21 of 27 for 281 yards and a touchdown, but he also ran for 113 yards and a score.

On one hand, Louisville's pass rush had little success making plays and their coverage was very random. The main problem, however, was that Louisville had trouble getting to its players' defensive calls in a timely manner on more than one occasion, and SMU took advantage.

“I thought there was a lot of misunderstanding,” Brohm said. “It starts with the coaching as far as running and not having to make as many adjustments when they run into space when the movement comes in. “We need a simpler plan to make sure our guys can play , what is required. So there was some confusion there. The inability to tackle and finish well, so the tackling wasn't good. It starts with us, so we have to fix some things.”

The offense certainly wasn't perfect either. While Louisville was able to muster 461 yards and featured standout performances from Ja'Corey Brooks and Isaac Brown, it did so despite a lackluster performance from the offensive line.

For most of the day, quarterback Tyler Shough had anything but a clean pocket. He might have gone 22 of 35 for 329 yards and two touchdowns, but he did so despite the fact that he was sacked three times and pressured on seven more occasions.

“The last two games weren’t our best. We had a little trouble with the right tackle. We had an injury to left tackle today that could potentially be long-term. So we have some new guys there and we have to play better there.

“To compensate for that, it seems like we have to get the ball out quicker when we have to move it and throw it. We have to be able to mix on the run. We'll have to. We'll be able to do a few different things to not require as much pass protection from these guys because we haven't been as strong as we need to be the last two games.”

But what stopped the offensive from taking advantage of further opportunities was questionable behavior on the part of Brohm himself.

As in the games against Georgia Tech and Notre Dame, Brohm's playcalling and personnel decisions at key moments raised a handful of questions. Most notable was his decision to go for 4th-and-1 early in the fourth quarter while Louisville was within easy field goal range and only trailed by a touchdown. The Cardinals couldn't convert.

“I wanted to score the touchdown, that’s on me, we didn’t manage it. We were poor in fourth and first place in the last two games. Running to the middle will no longer be an option. We have to throw the ball and get to the rim because we can't get yards up the middle and that's disappointing.

“But that's a fact, so we have to get better as coaches to recognize that and have a better plan because we did it fourth and one later and got a big lead. When teams sell out, we have to be more aggressive.

What started as a promising season is now bringing with it a host of uncomfortable questions. The Cardinals are 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the league, with three of their four toughest games remaining and other games becoming more difficult as time goes on.

Brohm reiterated that his team needs to do a better job, but also said his players need to be careful that it doesn't have a snowball effect.

“That’s why football is a great game. It teaches you great lessons that will last a lifetime. You will go through hard times. You can be man enough to recognize the problem and figure out how to fix it, and then go to work and apply the same energy and determination to solve the problem. Or you wallow a little, feel sorry for yourself, and point the finger at someone else. Or do you say: Is it really worth it? That's what you have to do. If you play the game and spend a lot of time with it, these things will happen. You're going to have some tough days. You try not to have them, but you are. You have to answer.

“I have to do better, the coaches have to do better and the plan has to be better. Then we have to find a way to simplify it so we can implement it better. Then, in my opinion, if the guys aren't performing the way we want, we need to make rotations to bring other players into the game straight away – I don't think that can happen. “So we have to make sure there are other people who can play. The game is just as good and if we have to change things even more to create competition then that has to happen tomorrow.”

(Photo by Jeff Brohm: Jamie Rhodes – Imagn Images)

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