Brown 'the stud' in Cardinals' running game
Bobby Petrino has a reputation for pass-happy offenses, but the Dominique Brown barrage against Miami on Monday night was the latest evidence the University of Louisville coach also likes to butter his bread with a power runner.
Brown, U of L's hulking, 241-pound senior, set career highs in carries (33) and yards (143) and ran for a key third-quarter touchdown in helping the Cardinals grind down the Hurricanes and prevail 31-13. Brown said one of the Cards' mottos is, "Run to win," and he became the central figure.
"When everybody thinks of Petrino's offenses, they think he's going to like to pass the ball," Brown said. "But we learned today in the second half that we pretty much run the ball as well. Once you've got a back in a rhythm, just keep feeding him."
Brown summed up Petrino's philosophy: "He always preaches that if we've got the stud, we're going to feed the stud."
Brown ascended to stud status while U of L's other top back, Michael Dyer, sat out with an injury. Brown didn't know for sure until Monday night that Dyer wouldn't play and was surprised to get so many carries, but he wasn't going to complain.
He always feels up to the task.
"With my size, I'm a physical runner, so I prepare to take to a beating," he said. "I just lower my pads, and my running style is straight downhill. I'm not really trying to dance or anything like that. I'm just getting north and south."
Brown's workload was greater than any running back in college football in Week 1; no one else carried more than 30 times. His yardage total tied for 20th-best in the FBS.
Brown's 33 carries tied for ninth-most in U of L history and were six more than his previous personal high, set against Houston last year. Brown also topped his former career high of 137 yards from that Houston game.
Brown said he and the Cards' offensive linemen gave Petrino some feed-the-back feedback in the second half, and the coach took it to heart.
"He asked how I was feeling, and I just told him, 'Let's keep running the ball,'" Brown said. "I talked to the O-line, and they said we're throwing the ball too much. … I think all five of them went to (Petrino) personally and said let's run the ball. That's what we did."
Brown ran 20 times in the second half, including a 15-yard TD run to put the Cards up 21-13 with 3:34 left in the third quarter. He had nine carries on U of L's final drive — a backbreaking, 14-play series that took nearly eight minutes and resulted in Gerald Christian's TD catch with 1:43 to play.?
Petrino said Brown was "a little worn out" after the game, but Brown contended he was ready to run even more, although he expected to be sore on Tuesday morning. He was wearing a protective boot on his right foot after the game, but Brown said it was only a precaution and that he's fine.
"He really, really played well for us, really grinded," Petrino said. "He came to me and said, 'Keep giving me the ball, Coach, and I'll find a way to get it in the end zone.' I respect that, and he certainly did. He's tough, big and physical."
On a night of heavy work, he was energized by the faith his coach and linemen had in him.
"It shocked me that I got that many carries," Brown said, "but when you've got the offensive line behind you and the head coach behind you, saying, 'We're going to ride you out in the third and fourth quarter,' it's a great feeling."
Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed on Twitter at @SteveJones_CJ.