No. 19 Louisville must avoid letdown against Boston College

No. 19 Louisville shows annually it is capable of pulling an upset.

Now the Cardinals get a chance to show they can follow up a surprising win by avoiding a shocking loss when they host Boston College on Saturday.

Louisville (5-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) is coming off a 24-21 win at then-No. 2 Miami on Oct. 17. While it was just the second time the Cardinals have beaten a second-ranked team, it was just the latest in a string of impressive wins for Louisville under coach Jeff Brohm.

Two years ago, Louisville fans stormed the field after the Cardinals beat then-No. 10 Notre Dame 33-20. Last year, the Cardinals traveled to Clemson and beat the then-No. 11 Tigers 33-21.

However, they followed up the Notre Dame win with a 38-21 loss at Pitt, which was 1-4 entering that game. After last year's Clemson upset, Louisville fell 38-35 on the road to a 2-7 Stanford squad that scored the final 17 points in the last seven minutes.

Brohm understands the narrative. Although the Eagles (1-6, 0-4) have lost six straight and have not beaten an FBS team this season, the coach said the Cardinals must "put the work in" to win their second straight game.

"You've got to practice hard, and you've got to prepare hard," Brohm said. "And you can't take your foot off the gas."

The Cardinals hope Chris Bell can continue his stellar play of late. Over his past three games, the senior receiver has caught 31 passes for 441 yards and five touchdowns.

Bell caught nine passes from quarterback Miller Moss for 136 yards and two touchdowns in the Miami win. Bell ranks fifth nationally with an average of 7.3 receptions per game, and his average of 106.3 receiving yards per game ranks third in the country.

Louisville also has one of the country's top defenses. After picking off Miami's Carson Beck four times last week, the Cardinals are tied for 12th in FBS with 13 takeaways. Louisville also allows just 274 yards per game, 10th best nationally.

The Eagles are coming off a 38-23 home loss to UConn, as the Huskies outscored their hosts 21-3 in the second half to pull away. The Huskies also sacked Boston College quarterback Grayson James seven times.

Eagles coach Bill O'Brien believes the sacks weren't just because of the offensive line, saying on Tuesday that there were instances where running backs failed to block and James held on to the ball too long.

The team cannot afford to play that way against the Cardinals, according to O'Brien.

"You got to make good decisions," he said. "They disguise. They blitz. They show blitz (but) they pop out, play coverage. Difficult, difficult defense."

James, who will make his second straight start on Saturday, completed 16 of 28 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns versus the Huskies.

James became the starting quarterback midway through last season, replacing Thomas Castellanos (now at Florida State). He threw for 1,202 yards and completed 63.9% of his passes while appearing in six games in 2024, but he lost the role in the offseason to Dylan Lonergan, an Alabama transfer.

The position changed hands again after Lonergan struggled in lopsided defeats to Pitt and Clemson earlier this month.