Boxscore watchers beware! If you’re just reading stats, you might not give him the credit, but Louisville quarterback Miller Moss was cool, calm, and collected in his first start in the red and black.
In the Cardinals’ season-opening 51-17 win over FCS and in-state foe Eastern Kentucky, all eyes were on the transfer quarterback, who delivered.
“I think it was a good first game overall. I’m really proud of the preparation we had; it felt like we were preparing for this game for a long time. The week was going by really slow,” Moss said postgame. “I’m really proud of the way we prepared, I’m really proud of the way we started.”
A couple of bad breaks put two interceptions on his stat line; his first was high and off the hands of TreyShun Hurry and right into the hands of EKU safety Vito Tisdale. The other was a nice ball down the sideline to Antonio Meeks, who bobbled it off his chest and eventually his foot, also picked off by Tisdale. You take those two plays away, and Moss’ day was nearly perfect.
The USC transfer finished the day, completing 17-of-25 passes for 223 yards, and both a passing and rushing touchdown.
Head coach Jeff Brohm has been working closely with his quarterback ever since he arrived on campus, and has heralded his quarterback for doing the right things, coming in on off days, and being a good leader. When Moss walked off the field, he would immediately turn to his head coach for instruction.
“A lot of really cool traditions that were awesome to be a part of for the first time. In terms of the offense, I felt pretty comfortable,” said Moss. “I felt like I was seeing it really well and with Coach (Jeff) Brohm talking to me during the game, I’m interested to see how that evolves. I think the next step for me is to anticipate what he’s going to call in any given situation. I felt like we worked well together for the first game and I’m excited to see how that continues to grow.”
Moss stood out with his poise and accuracy on Saturday. On the first offensive drive, the Cardinals got behind the sticks on 3rd and 19, but he stood in the pocket and threw a strike to Antonio Meeks over the middle of the field. Through Louisville’s penalties and turnovers, which are expected in a season’s opening game, Moss remained steady.
The California Cardinal has clearly found his top two targets in Caullin Lacy and Chris Bell. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Bell is consistent and physical in his route running; he hauled in a team-high five balls for 63 yards. Lacy is back after missing time last season with a collarbone injury and was electric. He returned a punt for a 93-yard touchdown, his second return for a touchdown in six games with the U of L. In the receiving game, Lacy had four catches for 62 yards. Thirteen different Louisville receivers caught passes in Saturday’s win.
Moss also showed confidence; he was accurate and on time with his throws, and trusted his receivers with 50/50 balls. In the end, Brohm was pleased.
“I thought he did a really good job,” said Brohm. “He was composed, he was efficient, he was accurate. The first interception, which was a little bit high of a pass on just a simple hitch route that got batted up – that one was a misfire. The go route on the interception, the next try was right in our hands, but it got contested pretty well and got knocked in the air. He made good decisions.”
Other than the “one little errant pass” as Brohm would describe, Moss was good. He managed the game well, took some chances downfield, and was accurate on all but one or two of his throws. We even saw a couple of snaps where he was under center for the first time in his college career.
To say the Louisville offense rolled through the first half would be a heavy understatement as the offense scored five touchdowns in its first five drives. Five of the seven offensive drives led by Moss ended in six, with the other two being the interceptions.
Moss isn’t a big risk-taker, but we saw no hesitancy in moving the ball downfield and giving his receiver a chance. Obviously, it doesn’t all work out the way the Cardinals would want, but it’s the tendencies that have stood out. Moss has a consistent ability to make the right play each snap. His playmaking ability is underrated, too. The 6-foot-2 signal caller made a couple of plays with his feet, including an eight-yard scramble into the endzone. For this Louisville offense, improvising and making the best play available are both parts of being efficient.
Efficiency is the name of the game for Moss, and today he was efficient. Louisville will need more of the same from its quarterback to keep, including his accuracy, poise, and steady demeanor.