Louisville coach Jeff Brohm: ‘I don’t think we’ve seen this type of atmosphere to date’

Through its first four games, Louisville has played away from home twice, but both of those contests were played at a neutral site. The Cardinals’ trip to NC State to play in a sold-out Carter-Finley Stadium on Friday night is expected to be the most raucous environment they’ve seen this fall.

Louisville beat Georgia Tech in comeback fashion during their week 1 game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, while it was victorious against Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in week 3. 

But this Friday’s game against NC State will pose a different challenge for Louisville, who jumped out to a 4-0 start in its first year under Jeff Brohm. The Cardinals will walk into the Wolfpack fan base’s blackout, and the program’s first night home game of the season. 

“While we’ve played away games, I don’t think we’ve seen this type of atmosphere to date,” Brohm said in his weekly media availability Monday. “We’ve got to be prepared for it and adjust to anything that comes up.”

Brohm, who spent seven seasons at the helm of Purdue before taking the job at Louisville, knows the NC State faithful will be ready to affect the game early on. The coach added that his team needs a quick start before the crowd builds momentum. 

“Any time you have a night game, that can create a little bit more of a wild and hectic atmosphere that I’m sure they’re going to cherish to get done,” Brohm said. “Our players are going to prepare for it, and when you play in that, you’ve got to try to start fast. You’ve got to keep the game close early on and not let anything get out of whack or that thing can build and it can get even louder.”

Both NC State and Louisville enter the Friday night bout 1-0 in ACC play after the teams took care of business in their conference openers. The Wolfpack survived at Virginia in a 24-21 decision, while the Cardinals routed Boston College 56-28 at home. 

And when Brohm gave his analysis of the Wolfpack team, NC State graduate quarterback Brennan Armstrong and first-year offensive coordinator Robert Anae stood out offensively. 

“I think you’re talking about a veteran offensive coordinator that’s been there, done that,” Brohm said. “He’s done a very good job, and he’s been with his quarterback before. I think they’re able to give you different looks, have some balance. …Veteran coordinator, veteran quarterback equals we have to be very prepared for them.”

Louisville’s offense is explosive, however. The Cardinals, led by quarterback Jack Plummer, have one of the best downfield passing attacks in the country. So as Brohm diagnosed the Wolfpack’s defense, he noticed its aggression. 

NC State’s aggression will pose a challenge for anyone, but it leaves an opportunity for the opposing offense to make explosive plays if they get behind the Wolfpack’s secondary. 

“NC State plays an aggressive style defense and gives you a little bit of a different look with their fronts with how they have guys on the edge and their blitz packages,” Brohm said. “They’re very aggressive with their approach and I think they’re going to challenge you to make plays, you’re going to have to win 1-on-1 battles.”

Plummer threw for 388 yards and five touchdowns in Louisville’s win over Boston College, so if his wideouts do win those 1-on-1s outside, the Cardinals’ potent offense could get rolling. 

But with that in mind, Louisville will see a crowd that it hasn’t seen yet this fall. The Cardinals will practice with artificial noise to try to replicate the Carter-Finley environment, and Brohm said the key to playing in such a place is communication. 

“I think our team will be prepared for it,” Brohm said. “We work a lot on silent counts and noise level. That’s what you deal with — the noise and being able to not allow that to distract you from what you have to get done on both sides of the ball. I just think when you play in that type of environment, if the other team gets momentum, and the crowd gets loud, you’ve got to be able to block that out.”

Though the Cardinals will use loud noise in practice this week, there’s still a slight unknown to how Louisville will play once it meets the Carter-Finley crowd.

“We’re excited to get on to the next challenge, and it will be a challenge,” Brohm said. “I think we’re going to go into a really hostile environment that we haven’t seen yet this year.”