LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The secret’s out now. If it ever was one.
Louisville didn’t sneak into Hard Rock Stadium with a Top 15 defense. It walked in like it owned the place. And when it walked out — with four interceptions, five pass breakups, and a takedown of No. 2 Miami in its back pocket — there was no mistaking the truth:
This defense is the truth.
Everybody knew the front was fierce. That’s been the story all season. What we didn’t know — not really — was that the secondary had this kind of night in it. Against this kind of team.
Against a Miami offense with five-star receivers and a quarterback older than some NFL backups, Louisville looked like the group with the outlandish payroll and the College Football Playoff résumé.
And fittingly, it ended with sophomore linebacker T.J. Capers — a Miami native — dropping into coverage, reading the route, seeing JoJo Evans (from Riviera Beach, Fla.) deflect the pass, then picking it off just a moment before it kissed the turf.
That wasn’t just a win. That was a ratification. A defensive statement. And for the guys in the Louisville locker room, it was overdue.
It was a great game for our defense, because that’s a really, really good football team,” Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said. “So to stop the run for the most part, eliminate the big plays and get those turnovers, all were crucial. I think we felt pretty confident in the package that we were able to put together. I think our guys understand it definitely helps when you get to lead to really go out there and execute better. Our defense has played well all year. … But getting four turnovers and stopping the run and really disrupting the quarterback was a great job by our defense.”
Two weeks after giving up the winning touchdown in overtime to Virginia, this time Louisville didn’t flinch. Not when Miami drove into field-goal range. Not when everything was hanging in the balance.
It closed the game with its fourth interception.
This was a Hurricanes team that had trailed for just 9 minutes and 12 seconds all season — second-fewest in the nation. Louisville had them down for 53 minutes.
This was a Miami offense that came in averaging 164 rushing yards and 264 passing yards per game.
Louisville held them to 66 rushing, 205 through the air, and forced them to chase the game from the opening drive.
“We practiced on showing (Beck) different looks and playing other coverages,” Capers said. “So it was kind of our job, kind of our goal, to mess with his head. That's what you’ve got to do against a good quarterback. So we just tried our best all game to show him different things and move fast, just to just to slow the offense down..”
And they did. Five different players broke up passes. T.J. Quinn led the team with six tackles. D’Angelo Hutchinson added five. And Miami’s offense — which had beaten three ranked teams — never found rhythm.
Antonio Meeks had the game’s first interception, and Mack had the second. Evans added one early in the fourth quarter. Even when Louisville’s defense broke down, it recovered. Miami’s uber-talented freshman receiver Malachi Toney caught a ball in space and rambled 61 yards in the second quarter, but Tayon Holloway was able to track down the speedster and make the tackle. Miami wound up setting for a field goal, which, given the final score, was big.
“Our guys want to win,” Brohm said. “They’ve been making plays all year. We’ve had turnovers in almost every game. Our defensive staff studies hard, they watch the tape, they understand the little things … and our guys play hard. That’s a good combination.”
This defense now has 13 takeaways in six games. It’s allowing fewer than 270 yards per game. And it keeps giving the offense opportunities — whether the points come fast or slow.
You can credit Brohm and defensive coordinator Ron English and his staff for giving this group belief. You can credit the players for executing. But whatever you do, you have to give this defense a stamp of legitimacy, if you already hadn’t.
After Friday night, the secret’s out.
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