How Jeff Brohm and Louisville plan to avoid letdown vs. Pitt after big win over Notre Dame
Jeff Brohm’s coaching career has been full of big moments.
As an assistant coach at Illinois in 2011, Brohm helped the team start 6-0. As a head coach at Purdue, the former signal caller led the Boilermakers to three top-five wins during six seasons.
Achieving those milestones was one thing, but sustainability was another. After Illinois’ 6-0 start, the Illini lost their next six games. The Boilermakers lost after every top-five victory.
Brohm’s familiarity with the hangover effect after big wins has transformed his approach. He now treats each week as a one-game season. It’s a message the first-year Louisville coach has preached to his team all season — and will be especially important to remember in Week 7.
No. 15 Louisville is 6-0 for the first time since 2013 after dismantling then-No. 11 Notre Dame, 33-20, and now goes on the road to face Pitt at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Acrisure Stadium. Pitt (1-4, 0-2 ACC), which was off last week, is on a four-game losing streak.
Defeating the Fighting Irish gave the Cardinals a good barometer of where the program is among the best teams in the nation — and gave Brohm a bigger smile than after other wins. Facing the Panthers, though, will test their ability to live by the one-game-season credo.
“I know how this game works,” Brohm said. “I've been doing it long enough as a player and coach to know that while you may be feeling good about yourself one week, all it takes is one more bad week and the whole tide turns the other direction.”
That was the case in 2018, when Purdue upset second-ranked Ohio State, 49-20, then lost to unranked Michigan State the next week, 23-13. The Boilermakers finished the season 6-7.
During the 2021 season, Purdue upset No. 2 Iowa, 24-7, then lost to Wisconsin, 30-13. Two weeks later, the Boilermakers defeated No. 3 Michigan State, 40-29, but got tripped up against No. 4 Ohio State, 59-31. That season, the Boilermakers finished 9-4.
Brohm’s tide-turning experience at Illinois was more drastic. The six-game skid that followed the 6-0 start cost coach Ron Zook his job. Brohm went to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Brohm trusts that won’t be the case for Louisville this season. The Cardinals have embraced the proverbial 24-hour rule, which has given Brohm confidence in his team’s ability to respond to any challenge. In addition to the top-25 victory, U of L has won three of its six games by a touchdown or less, focusing only on the opposition that week.
“We showed what we're capable of (against Notre Dame), but we’ve still got a lot of season left,” Louisville defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte said. “... It's a confidence boost. But, I mean, we already know what we're supposed to do, so I wouldn't say it's anything crazy.”
Louisville’s preparation for Pitt — in desperate need of an ACC win — includes gearing up for chillier weather. The predicted high Saturday in Pittsburgh is 64 degrees, with a low about 50 degrees and a 61% chance of rain that night.
“I do think, to this point on — that's all I can judge on — we've come ready to play, and we put in good effort,” Brohm said. “But there's still half the season left. So, from 6-0, to 0-6 to winning big games to losing the next week. I know how it works, and we have to be ready to attack this with the same vengeance that we always have.”
C.L. Brown: Louisville football's next big opponent isn't Pitt — it's how team handles success
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: Jeff Brohm learned from wins at Illinois, Purdue
