Louisville football could be without its top two running backs as it opens ACC play at Pitt on Saturday as Isaac Brown and Duke Watson are trying to recover from lower leg injuries.
Their availability is unknown and at this point so is whether that will be a small problem for the Cardinals or a big one.
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Quarterback Miller Moss, the USC transfer, hasn’t proven in a U of L uniform that he can win a game with his arm. Now’s the perfect time for Moss to make a statement with his play against the Panthers.
Moss came to Louisville to revamp his image and improve his NFL draft stock. He was highly thought of by scouts as former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams’ backup his first two seasons with the Trojans.
His value tumbled with a rocky tenure as the Trojans starter that ended prematurely last year when he was benched late in the season by USC coach Lincoln Riley.
Moss turned to U of L coach Jeff Brohm to help him regain his moxie. So far, Moss hasn’t had a definitive moment where his talent says he can carry Louisville if it needs him to do so.
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“Our success down the line is going to be contingent on our ability to continue to improve,” Moss said. “And I think that 100% applies to me.”
The Cards overmatched Eastern Kentucky in the season opener, so Moss only played four series in the first half — and led four touchdown drives — before being taken out of the game.
The win over James Madison exposed cause for concern. Moss tightened up after being blitzed early and often in the game, and it caused him to play as aggressively as Brohm wants his quarterback to play.
“Miller is an accurate passer, and we definitely opened it up a little bit more this past week and allowed him to get into rhythm and spread the ball around,” Brohm said.
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Moss had his best outing at U of L against Bowling Green, throwing for 316 yards on 23-of-32 passing, but it came attached to an awkward statistical footnote.
It marked the 64th time in Brohm’s 12 seasons as a head coach, which included three years at Western Kentucky and six at Purdue, that he had a quarterback throw for more than 300 yards in a game.
Out of those 64 times, it was just the second time more than 300 passing yards came without a touchdown throw. The only other time that happened, Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell had 366 yards with two interceptions against Michigan in the Big Ten championship game on Dec. 3, 2022.
The operative words here are Michigan and in the Big Ten championship game. The Wolverines defense had 11 players from the rotation in that game taken in the NFL draft over the past three years.
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Moss faced Bowling Green.
Among Power Four conference teams, and Notre Dame, Moss is tied with five other players for the second-fewest touchdown passes from a starting quarterback with two. Wake Forest’s Robby Ashford holds up last place with just one.
(Kentucky’s injured quarterback Zach Calzada has zero touchdown passes through two games. Backup Cutter Boley threw two touchdowns in his first start, and he’s set to make his second at South Carolina on Saturday.)
Moss’ meager early start doesn’t matter. ACC play will largely define how his one year at U of L will be judged, and if he can be successful against Pitt’s defense, he can against any opponent.
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The Panthers blitz “from all over,” and their cornerbacks like to press receivers and use their physicality to disrupt timing in pass routes.
“Pitt naturally plays aggressive,” said Brohm, who added, “you’ve got to really study what will work and what will not.”
Brohm said he’s put all the pressure on the passing game against Pitt before, and “it can sometimes backfire.” So even if Brown and Watson are unable to play, expect the Cards to run some if only to keep the defense guessing what’s next.
When it does come time to throw, Moss will have to deliver in ways he hasn’t been asked to do so far this season.
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We’ll all know after Pitt if he’s up for the task.
Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football: QB Miller Moss can quiet doubters with ACC win
