This write up from a Louisville site has me feeling better.

Sep 29, 2016, 9:54 AM

Louisville's Offensive Line and Clemson's Defensive Line Are Trending Opposite Ways
I'll start off by saying that the Marshall game is a very small sample-size but it was very worrisome to me because all of the issues we saw last season came back around all at once. Penalties, snap infractions, lazy exterior pass protection, interior linemen being beaten with simple swim moves, and interior linemen being blown off the ball were all issues that popped up in the first half alone against the Herd. While "trending" might not be a fair characterization it definitely could be against what is arguably the best defensive line in the country. Louisville's offensive line absolutely has to start off the game playing well. They improved in the second half against Marshall and looked like they had in the first three games but Clemson is much deeper and their linemen won't be tired and undisciplined like the Herd.

The Tiger defense lost two of the best defensive ends in the country to the draft last year and they've somehow gotten better at making plays behind the line. The defensive tackle spots are absolutely killing it so far for Clemson and they could play a big part in the game Saturday because Clemson has the speed to contain Lamar Jackson on the outside if they only have to rush four guys. Honestly, most teams can do that. We all saw Marshall pull it off early on in the game last week. What Clemson has that most don't is defensive tackles that can actually keep up with Jackson in a small space. Carlos Watkins and Dexter Lawrence won't "run down" Jackson but they can track him down as he starts his scramble. Marshall was the first team to get penetration against Louisville this year and the offense wasn't able to get going early. Louisville absolutely has to find a way to stop this line from getting into the backfield because it changes the way the entire defense can play Lamar.

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Something to keep in mind when reviewing the Marshall game is that Petrino's intent for that game was to work on the passing game. With this in mind, we were not using the running game to help out the passing game and take pressure off of Lamar.

The few times we did run the ball we were very successful, but we were running VERY infrequently. On the first drive we ran the ball once, by Radcliff for 15 yards, and that was it for that drive. On the next drive we ran the ball twice, first by Radcliff for 9 yards, then Lamar on the next play for 8 yards. What happens next? Seventy one yard touchdown pass. Runs set up the long pass.

The next series was 4 runs and 7 passes. Next series was 4 passes and zero runs. Petrino much prefers a balanced offense, but it was obvious from the get go that he wanted to work on the passing game, but in so doing, without that balance to keep the defense honest, it made it tougher on the passing game.

But the author of that article is correct in the that this will be the best d-line we will face all year and we have our work cut out for us. I just caution that the Marshall game is not necessarily the blueprint to having success against us.

This write up from a Louisville site has me feeling better.

Re: This write up from a Louisville site has me feeling better.

Re: This write up from a Louisville site has me feeling better.

if you watch ESPNU's "Film Room" show this week

That is one of the main reasons I think we win this game.

Re: This write up from a Louisville site has me feeling better.

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