Miami football: 3 takeaways from statement victory over Louisville

2. Louisville’s defense has a ways to go

One of the things that everyone knew about Louisville heading into this season was how much of an improvement that they would need to make on the defensive side of the ball to be contenders in the ACC and after tonight’s game, there is still a lot of work to be done on that side of the ball.

The Cardinals had too many lapses in coverage where they left a Miami receiver wide open and let them go into the endzone. With the game at 27-20 and a chance to make it a closer game, Miami ran a play fake and got freshman running back Jaylan Knighton behind the entire defense on a wheel route and into the end zone.

Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King picked apart the Cardinals’ secondary and ended the game with 325 yards through the air.

The run defense was not all that much better as they allowed Cam’Ron Harris to scamper for 134 yards on only nine carries, including a momentum-changing 75-yard touchdown run on Miami’s first possession in the second half.

Nobody expected this to be an elite unit, but this looks like the same Louisville defense from last year. This year could be a struggle if the defense does not improve.