Key injuries bring uncertainty to Louisville vs. Duke ranked ACC football showdown
Though No. 18 Louisville’s top-25 matchup against No. 21 Duke will be key in keeping the Cardinals’ hopes of making the ACC championship alive, uncertainty surrounds the contest.
Injuries have hit the Cardinals and Blue Devils the past two weeks, and both teams might be without at least one vital player. U of L right guard Renato Brown sustained a season-ending knee injury at Pitt.
Louisville also might be without running back Jawhar Jordan, who didn’t practice last week, and cornerback Jarvis Brownlee. The Blue Devils might be without starting quarterback Riley Leonard and cornerback Myles Jones, who missed the Florida State game Saturday. Leonard initially injured his ankle during a 21-14 loss against Notre Dame on Sept. 30 and sat out against N.C. State on Oct. 14. He returned against the Seminoles but exited in the third quarter as a precaution, Duke coach Mike Elko said.
“He wanted to come back in,” Elko said of Leonard. “He was begging me on the sideline to come back in. I didn’t feel comfortable with where he was health-wise to bring him back, and so we didn’t do it.”
Leonard has been key to Duke’s success the past two seasons. After throwing for 2,967 yards with 20 touchdowns and rushing for a team-high 699 yards on 124 carries with 13 more scores in 2022, the junior has 981 yards on 86-for-142 passing (60.6%) with three TDs. He’s also third on the team in rushing with 339 yards and four TDs, averaging 7.1 yards per carry.
“Without question, they're a different ball team with him,” Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said of Leonard. “He's got a ton of experience. He can throw the ball, but yet he's really good running the ball, in the run game as well and efficient getting the ball to his receivers and not turning it over. So, without question, his experience factor back there and his ability to execute the offense gives them a high level of expertise that that position really needs, and he's a really good quarterback.”
In Leonard’s absence, Henry Belin IV led the Blue Devils to a 24-3 win over N.C. State. He totaled 107 yards, two TDs and an interception, completing 33% of his passes. Belin ran five times for 28 yards.
FSU limited Belin to a 7-yard pass to Sahmir Hagans during a drive that ended with an incomplete pass for a turnover on downs.
Belin, who has played in four games this season, has 232 passing yards and three TDs. He lacks Leonard's mobility, averaging 3.5 yards per carry on eight attempts.
Louisville, whose run defense ranks second in the ACC and 14th nationally, is preparing for both quarterbacks.
“I took last week to watch a lot of Duke film. The difference between Riley Leonard and their backup (Belin) is he just has more experience,” said Cardinals leading tackler and linebacker TJ Quinn (55 tackles). “He looks like he's more comfortable in that system. So, we have to take time this week to look at both quarterbacks because we don't know who we're gonna get.”
The same can be said by Louisville’s offense. The unit doesn't know exactly what it will face in Duke’s defense because Jones is day to day. The Texas A&M transfer is one of the Blue Devils’ best defensive players and part of a veteran DB group. He has the highest coverage grade on the team at 90.6, followed by fellow cornerbacks Joshua Pickett (81.5) and Chandler Rivers (78.4). Jones leads the team in interceptions (2) and has seven tackles, two pass breakups and a forced fumble.
Jones' absence was felt against Florida State. Duke yielded a season-high 268 passing yards and two aerial touchdowns to quarterback Jordan Travis and Co. Jones will be needed against Louisville’s group of receivers that includes leading receiver Jamari Thrash (39 catches, 639 yards), Kevin Coleman, Jimmy Calloway and Chris Bell, who wide receivers coach Garrick McGee said is “going to be a star.”
“It'll probably be a race against the clock to get him ready for Saturday,” Elko said of Jones’ status. “Unfortunately, he just got nicked up again at the end of that N.C. State game, and we weren't able to have him available last week."
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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 vs. Duke: Jawhar Jordan, Riley Leonard could miss big game
