Nick Saban had a 292-71-1 record after 28 seasons as a college football head coach. His coaching tree extends far and wide but, much to his dismay, doesn’t include Jeff Brohm.
During Saturday’s “ESPN College GameDay” broadcast, Saban was reminded of his multiple failed attempts at getting Louisville’s head coach to join his Alabama coaching staff. During one of the most notable attempts in 2007, Brohm was part of the Cardinals’ coaching staff and opted to stay with the program. Two decades later, the respect between the coaches remains.
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“Coach Saban’s one of the greatest to ever do it and won a ton of championships, coaches football the right way,” Brohm said. “We know each other from way back on a couple of occasions but great respect for him.”
Saban has high hopes for the Cardinals and believes they have a shot at winning the ACC. Louisville football has four more weeks before opening league play at Pitt and a six-day turnaround before hosting James Madison. But Saturday’s 51-17 season opener against Eastern Kentucky was a good start.
Here are three takeaways from the Cardinals’ 2025 season opener:
How Miller Moss fared in Louisville debut
Quarterback Miller Moss tallied 223 yards and a touchdown, completing 68% of his passes (17 of 25) in his first game as a Cardinal. The USC transfer started with a 9-yard pass to TreyShun Hurry and completed five straight passes. Caullin Lacy dropped pass No. 6 but made up for it with a 23-yard snag on the next play.
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Moss played only the first half and was relatively clean except for being intercepted twice in the final minute of the second quarter. Sportsmanship and a 41-7 halftime score kept Moss out of the second half. Brohm had seen what he needed from his new quarterback.
“He made good decisions,” Brohm said. “There were a couple of times when he scrambled then made a throw even though it got called back with a penalty. Another time he scrambled when there was coverage down in the low red and scored over the run. Those are the things you have to do as a quarterback. We’re going to design the play and make it work and hopefully be in rhythm and on time, but if it’s not and things are covered, you’ve got to be able to adapt and adjust and make good decisions and buy time and find a way to run if it’s not there.”
Moss knows what he needs to clean up but doesn’t feel unnecessary pressure to do too much for Louisville. Although he had an 8-yard touchdown run on a scramble, being mobile isn’t required. Moss has a group of talented, experienced running backs in Isaac Brown, Duke Watson and Keyjuan “Bama” Brown to help balance the offense.
“I was talking with (running backs coach Chris) Barclay about this on the sideline, just in terms of the situation that I was in last year and what was put on the quarterback in that offense,” said Moss, who had 21 carries for minus-18 yards and two touchdowns last year as a Trojan. “Coming over to coach Brohm’s system and having a really, really good running game –– I think Duke and Isaac and Bama honestly are the most talented running backs I’ve ever been around, so it makes the quarterback job a lot easier.”
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Caullin Lacy will be do-it-all player for Cardinals
Lacy’s checklist for the season opener included a punt return for a touchdown, a kick return for a touchdown and a touchdown reception. He did only one, scoring on a 93-yard punt return at the 7:49 mark of the first quarter. It’s the second longest in program history and longest for the program since 1970.
Achieving the trifecta during the season is well within Lacy’s wheelhouse — he scored on a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown last year against Miami and recorded a 9-yard touchdown catch against Washington in the Sun Bowl despite only playing in four regular-season games. And he’ll be given a chance to do so as the Cardinals’ starting return specialist and receiver. Brohm referred to Lacy as “dynamic” with “a lot of special skills” and will get the ball in his hands as much as possible this year.
“I feel like it’s more to come,” Lacy said. “I’m just gonna stay aggressive back there and keep making plays. … I gotta get more conditioned; it’s a lot. But I’m willing to do it and do whatever I gotta do to help us win.”
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With Louisville’s receiving room deep and talented, Lacy’s skills will be key in special teams. Last year, the Cardinals finished 15th in the ACC in punt returns, averaging 6.1 yards. Lacy had 125 yards on four punt returns, a 23-yard kickoff return and 62 yards on four catches.
Louisville’s defense already looks more cohesive
Defensive lineman Jordan Guerad, who started the last six games of the 2024 season and led U of L with six tackles against EKU, said the defense’s bond is “great” and continuing to improve. That much was apparent against the Colonels, who were limited to 150 yards of total offense and only one red-zone appearance (Louisville’s red-zone defense ranked 10th in the conference a year ago). EKU punted on nine of 12 possessions and went three-and-out on six of them.
“Honestly, it feels like the coaches are doing a better job making us be more built together,” Guerad said.
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Eastern Kentucky may not have the athletes and skill sets that Louisville will face throughout the rest of the season, but Saturday’s small sample size revealed a more cohesive defense than a year ago.
Clev Lubin filled one of the Cardinals’ open starting spots on the line and had two sacks, both of which were on third down. AJ Green had a sack among his three tackles and looks to take on a bigger role during his redshirt sophomore campaign. Green played 189 snaps over 13 games last year and saw significant time on the field Saturday after the Cardinals built a sizable lead in the first half.
“I thought we did a good job. We did what we needed to do,” Brohm said. “We know the games are going to get tougher starting next Friday. We will have to be ready to face tempo and more athletic guys and speed on the perimeter and more physicality up front. Those things are coming, and we have to continue to step up to the plate and be sound in what we were doing.
“Also, we need to make as many plays as we can, but I do think it was a good start for our defense.”
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Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football: 3 things we learned ahead of James Madison game
