3 takeaways from ACC's home loss to Miami

However, bowl eligibility is in sight as the Cardinals travel to Boston College on Friday. The Eagles have lost two games in a row, most recently 42-21 at Virginia Tech.

The Cardinals have six days to prepare for the match in hopes of recovering from Saturday's loss. Here are three takeaways from U of L's loss to Miami:

Louisville's inability to bring Ward down was understandable. As coach Jeff Brohm noted, the Hurricanes' signal-caller eluded the Cardinals' defense several times Saturday afternoon.

The problem is that Ward isn't the only opposing player to break free from a Louisville tackle. According to Pro Football Focus, the Cardinals have missed 37 tackles in their last three games. It was part of their defensive mishaps that saw them go 1-2 in that span.

Miami finished the game with 538 yards of total offense, just below its season average of 583.8 yards per game.

“We've tackled a lot in the last few weeks because we haven't been that good at it yet,” said Brohm. “Buckling up, using our bodies, our shoulders, our arms, attacking higher and not as deep, getting more guys to the ball, all those things have to happen. At times there were big piles in there (against Miami). We have to be able to get in there and get it done. There’s no question the tackling wasn’t good towards the end of the game, so that needs to be addressed.”

Of 12 attempts, Louisville only converted on third down three times. As with the defensive problems, the team struggled to convert on third down. It entered week 8 at number 67^Th in third-down conversions (40.8%) and went 14 for 39 on third downs over the last three games.

During the first half, the Cardinals averaged 5 yards to go on third down, but gained more yardage on third down late in the game. After Miami broke a 38-0 tie in the fourth quarter, U of L quarterback Tyler Shough was called for grounding on first down. An incomplete pass on second down then led to a third-and-32 from the Louisville 33-yard line.

On the Cardinals' drive after Miami took a 52-38 lead, they converted on second down but followed with two negative plays. Shough's pass to Isaac Brown went from the U of L 29-yard line on third-and-19 and went only 11 yards. Although they converted on fourth down, they faced another third-and-long four plays later.

Brohm attributed some of the longer third-down scenarios to inefficient pass blocking and said “that was a problem.” Miami recorded six quarterback hurries and three sacks.

In the last three weeks, the Texas Tech transfer has been sacked eight times.

“We’re a little behind with some guys,” Brohm said. “We have to find a way to manage that better and make sure we don't put as much pressure on the quarterback in those situations. These are just things we need to work through. Getting manageable third downs.” (has to) be the most important thing we need to do. And some negative things happened that pushed us back.”

Louisville has just one home game left this season and will spend the next month on the road. After Boston College, the Cardinals play away games against Clemson and Stanford. The Cardinals are 1-1 in road games this season after defeating Virginia in Week 7. They benefited from being at home for most of the first half of the season, but now need to pick up some away wins to finish the season on a high note.

Louisville is 3-5 at Boston College and lost 34-33 in a crucial contest at Alumni Stadium two years ago. The Cardinals have never beaten the Tigers and have never played Stanford.

Reach out to Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit [email protected] and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.