Mike Norvell: It's 'all hands on deck' to limit Louisville's explosive plays

Florida State has posted a Top-15 defense this fall for more reasons than one. With that said, being able to contain Louisville during the ACC Championship is going to be their next challenge with a season’s worth of work on the line.

Mike Norvell credited the Cardinals for their big-play ability during his media availability on Tuesday. He noted their weapons at receiver and running back and how their offense allows them to get loose for significant yards and scores if their opposition isn’t careful.

“These guys? They have some very talented receivers. It’s going to take all hands on deck to be able to try to eliminate some of their big play ability,” said Norvell.

“They do a great job of being able to create angles in the run game, a variation of schemes that they’ll run,” Norvell added. “Obviously, you’ve got to limit explosive plays. These guys are very explosive players on the perimeter. If you get caught slipping? I mean they’ll make you pay.”

Louisville’s offense, which if Top-35 with an average of 33 points per game, is posting 6.6 yards per play this season. Most of that comes in the passing game. Cardinal QB Jack Plummer is throwing for 8.8 yards per completion. That has led their five leading receivers to each average over a dozen yards per reception.

WR Jamari Thrash, their transfer from Georgia State turned leading receiver, is the key component of that attack. He has 56 catches this season for 801 yards, or 14.3 yards per catch, and six scores. Still, names like Chris Bell and Ahmari Huggins-Bruce have also caught a combined 44 passes for six scores while each posting over 15 yards per catch.

That’s before you even get to the run game. Louisville has two backs, Jawhar Jordan and Isaac Guerendo, who have 100-plus carries this season. Both are posting over six yards per touch for 21 touchdowns overall.

This should certainly be a quality final test for a Seminole defense that’s allowing under five yards per play. That’s why Norvell is placing it on that unit to answer the bell one more time with a conference title on the line.

“Our guys have done a nice job in the last few weeks and, really, throughout the season. Just our pass defense? I’ve been really proud of that,” said Norvell. “We’ve got a big challenge this week so we have to rise to the occasion.