Louisville at Boston College: BC Offense vs. Louisville Defense
By Joe Micik
Oct 18, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Grantham reacts on the side line during the second half of play against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Papa John
BC Offense vs. Louisville Defense: Stat Analysis
The Louisville defense is going to present a problem for Boston College’s offense, given that they are one of the best defenses in the nation this season. They may or may not be as deep and talented as Clemson, which for our money is probably the best we will see all season, but they are very good.
A particularly intriguing matchup looks like the Eagles run game against the Cardinals run defense. Both are legitimately excellent in their own right. The old adage says that good defense beats good offense, but those guys never saw Tyler Murphy take off with the football or Sherman Alston sweep to the outside on an end-around.
Still, the stats look daunting because of the massive disparities between the two teams in some categories. It is best not to dwell on such things and hope the Eagles play the game to the best of their abilities.
BC Offense vs. Louisville Defense: Key Matchup
BC running backs vs. DL Lorenzo Mauldin. Mauldin is tied for 19th in the nation with 12 tackles for a loss entering action on Saturday. Boston College’s running backs, including Murphy, rush for about 280 yards per game. The Eagles have been prone to give up the tackle for a loss, even in spite of all of their gains on the ground, but Mauldin and his fellow defensive linemen will need to have a good game to stop this rushing attack.
Notably, Mauldin also leads the Cardinals with 6.5 sacks. He is a force with which to be reckoned.
BC Offense vs. Louisville Defense: Louisville Names to Know
Sophomore safety Gerod Holliman leads the nation in interceptions with ten. Last week, he picked off Jameis Winston twice.
Junior safety James Sample leads the team in tackles with 62, and he also has three interceptions of his own.
Sophomore linebacker Keith Kelsey will be in on a number of tackles as well, and may even get to Tyler Murphy at some point during the game.
BC Offense vs. Louisville Defense: Final Analysis
As effective as Boston College’s offense has been at moving the football on the ground this season, there is still that whole matter of Louisville being good at that defense thing.
When these two units are on the field together, one gets the sense that this is going to resemble the Clemson game. Boston College is not going to be completely shut down, and that can be attributable to Eagle perseverance, but when they get those few opportunities Louisville lets up, the Eagles have to take advantage. Against the Tigers, they dropped at least two sure touchdown passes; every such chance they get will be crucial.