Louisville started the game with an unbelievable script, attacking the edges of Stanford's defense. They ran some option plays and a nice swing pass to Isaac Brown early on, looking to get their fast players into space against a Stanford defense that is not very athletic.
I really like that they also looked to take advantage of Stanford's aggressive man coverage on the outside. It was obvious that the plan was to get Tre Richardson the ball in this game, and this go route down the sideline was a great way to start. Lincoln Kienholz throws a nice ball here, but I would have loved to see him put this ball on more of a rope to lead Richardson down the field.
I'm fairly certain that this play is designed to go to Brody Foley across the middle of the field on a delayed crossing route. It looks to me that Lincoln Kienholz just doesn't make the throw even though it's open. They only need 3 yards on this play, so Kienholz should put this on Foley to pick up the short gain.
I think Kienholz sees the linebacker as he works to the left, but doesn't realize he is far enough away from Foley that he won't be able to make a play on the ball. I've pointed it out a lot this season, but he has to let his playmakers go to work for him. Foley is 6-6/260. I like his chances to get a few yards here.
Louisville continues to struggle in zone coverage as we see on this play. Louisville's linebackers were not asked to get downhill in run support in this game. It's a frustrating aspect of the defensive game plan, but it is how the defense is called. With them not being asked to support the run, it is more frustrating that they bite on this very basic play action.
The linebackers end up frozen in the middle of the field while Stanford's receivers run right past them into a giant void in the defense. This play is designed for this outcome, which should be acknowledged, but my issue is that the linebackers on this play are not in a position to make a play on any play that could be called. This is just too easy for the offense to get a first down.
This play worked out for the defense to get a third down stop, but Stanford converted on the next play. I was actually surprised Davis Warren didn't wait for a receiver further down the field to get open so he could get the first down. He had time to wait because he easily identified that Louisville would not be blitzing on this play, even though they had the linebackers showing blitz.
This play was easy to read for Warren because the Cards put themselves into an obvious numbers disadvantage if they actually blitzed on this play. There are two defenders to cover three receivers to the bottom of the screen, and when the Stanford receiver goes in motion, no one on the defense moves. It's a little thing, but this is the type of nuanced stuff that the defense should have nailed down by this point in the season.
I watched this play more times than I can remember, and I could not tell you what the defensive call was on this play. My only guess is that Kaleb Beasley is supposed to count the running back as a passing option here, which would mean that he should not blitz on this play.
So, the call would be that if the running back was to the left of the quarterback, Beasley should blitz, as there is only one "threat" to the top of the screen. However, if this were a slot receiver, he would drop into a zone because there are two receivers to that side. The back doesn't stay in to block, so there are two threats for the linebacker to account for. Warren completes an easy pass to the guy who is left uncovered. The zone coverage continues to be an issue.
