Defense Prepares for Physical Georgia Rushing Attack
December 23, 2014 | Football
LOUISVILLE, Ky.- With their inaugural season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference now behind them, the University of Louisville football team know how it feels to compete against college football's elite teams. In making trips to Clemson and Notre Dame, along with hosting defending national champion Florida State, the Cardinals battled through arguably the toughest schedule in program history in 2014.
Their 2014 slate is not over yet, though, and one of the team's stiffest challenges still stands ahead of them. The No. 21 Cardinals (9-3, 5-3 ACC) will face No. 13 Georgia (9-3, 6-2 ACC) in the 13th annual Belk Bowl, taking place on Dec. 30 in Charlotte, N.C.
Facing one of the nation's historic football powers to cap the season is nothing new for the Cardinals. In fact, it has become somewhat of a holiday tradition in recent years. Last season, participating in the Russell Athletic Bowl, the Cardinals took on Miami (Fla.), who they went on to defeat 36-9. In 2012, the program notched its second BCS victory by upsetting then-No. 3 Florida by a score of 33-23 in the Sugar Bowl. In the program's history, Louisville has also had postseason meetings with Michigan State, Alabama, and Boise State.
For this group, facing the Bulldogs, who have once again put together an impressive record while navigating through a difficult SEC schedule, offers a number of benefits. The opportunity to square off against the Bulldogs provides not only a chance to compete against a great opponent, but also the possibility to build the national reputation of the Louisville program, which now heads to its fifth consecutive bowl appearance.
"It's a great opportunity for us. For me personally, it's my fifth bowl game," senior guard Jake Smith said of the impending bowl. "I don't know if anyone at Louisville can say that besides this senior class that we have now, the fifth-year seniors."
"Georgia, they're a great opponent. They've got a lot of really great players. It's a great opportunity for us to go out against an SEC opponent and prove that we belong in the national ranks as one of the better teams in the country."
While the key for Smith and the Louisville offense will be to remain hot (the Cards have posted at least 30 points in each of their last five games), the Cardinal defense will be stopping the Bulldogs' ground attack, which is one of the country's best. Carrying the ball at a 255.0 yards per game clip, the Bulldogs have scored 35 touchdowns via the run, and have had two back accumulate more than 900 yards rushing.
Though star tailback Todd Gurley missed time to suspension and then injury, true freshman Nick Chubb has given the Bulldog most of their production on the ground. Rushing for 1,281 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns, Chubb has managed to average 6.9 yards per cary, and strung together seven-straight 100-yard games.
"It's going to be one of the toughest," linebacker Keith Kelsey said of the task of facing Georgia's ground attack. "They've got good running backs and good running game. Georgia is just a physical team. We've got to put on our pads and go after it every play."
"The running back, Nick Chubb, he doesn't like to go backwards. He likes to go forward," Kelsey continued. "He's just a freshman, but he runs like he's a junior or senior, so we've got to put a hat on him and tackle."
Though slowing the run will be the main priority, Louisville also faces the challenge of defending the efficient Georgia passing attack. Georgia quarterback Hutson Mason, who moved into the starting role this year following three seasons as a backup to long-time starter Aaron Murray, has produced well in his role. Mason has thrown for better than 2,000 yards, will completing 67.9 percent of his throws and tossing 20 touchdowns to just four interceptions.
Still, the Cardinals know the pass is not the Bulldogs' first option.
"He has had his success," senior cornerback Terell Floyd said when asked of Mason. "But we want to make the team left-handed. We want to make them do what they don't want to do. They don't want to throw the ball, they want to run it. Our focus is on stopping the run, so that they'll have to throw the ball more."
Whatever the schematic focus, the main hope is that the Cardinals' trip to Charlotte will yield a third-consecutive postseason win. The game is the last chance to give the the team's seniors, one of the winningest groups in U of L history, a victory in a Louisville uniform, and to give the school it's third straight season of double-digit wins.
"It's always good to get a tenth win," Floyd said. "It gives you momentum for the next season, and we all want them to have momentum for next season. For us seniors, we want to go out with a win. There's a lot on this game, so we just want to get that tenth win and go out on top."
