We have a short week Cardinal fans before we get to pour back into Papa John’s Cardinals stadium for another game. Hopefully it will be to get some redemption after the Cardinals heartbreaking loss on Saturday. It is a Black-Out game so hopefully the team can feed off of what will be an electric environment to pull off the upset. Just as it was last season when Louisville visited Death Valley for the very first time this will be the Tigers very first trip to Papa John’s Cardinal stadium. These teams have only met one time with Clemson winning that game 23-17. Clemson is 5-8 All-time in its first game in an ACC facility, and has a 5-9 record in ESPN Thursday Night games over the years. They have won four in a row, all under Dabo Swinney. Thursday nights have also been pretty good to Louisville with a 10-8 record during the mid-week showdowns.

Clemson will come into Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on Thursday night ranked #11 in the AP Poll and #9 in the Coaches Poll. Most pundits have picked them to ascend to the thrown of the ACC replacing Florida State as the top dog. Coach Dabo Swinney will have one of the most explosive players in the country at his disposal on Thursday night. Dual threat quarterback Deshaun Watson is the real deal. He can hurt you with his speed and has a rocket for an arm. In their first two games Watson has completed 37-48 passes, a .771 completion mark for 442 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. That computes to a 184.6 passing efficiency, ninth best in the nation. He has 11 carries for 39 yards on the ground. If the Cardinals defense can’t put some early pressure on Watson it will be a long night for the home team.

This Clemson team is also pretty solid at the other skill positions. They have some long athletic receivers. Leading the way in the group are Artavis Scott (12 rec, 148 yards, 2 TD’s), Charone Peake (6 rec, 98 yards, 2 TD’s), Ray-Ray McCloud (9 rec, 84 yards) and Germone Hopper (3 rec, 50 yards). Scott played 49 plays against Louisville and had 10 receptions for 66 yards last season. The 10 catches were the most against Louisville in 2014. Tight End Jordan Leggett has 4 receptions for 40 yards this season, but was one of Clemson’s most effective players with three receptions for 43 yards against the Cardinals last year. They have a solid one two punch at running back with Wayne Gallman (29 car, 171 yards, 3 TD’s), and Zac Brooks (8 car, 53 yards, 1 TD). Gallman will be their feature back on Thursday night and Brooks will be their change of pace guy. The only hole I could find is that they lost their offensive mastermind Chad Morris. But make no mistake about it this is a very good offensive group with a lot of fire power.

Tasked with stopping this potent Clemson offensive attack is a Louisville defense that had a very dismal outing last weekend. They allowed 462 yards of total offense and allowed 11 of 22 in third down conversions to the Cougars. Tackling will have to improve and the intensity level will have to improve on Thursday night. The one bright spot for the Cardinals defense has been Josh Harvey-Clemons. He has 24 tackles and two interceptions in the first two games. Big time players love big time atmospheres and I expect him to shine Thursday night along with Shaq Wiggins (5 tackles), and Trumaine Washington (11 tackles, 1 Int) who have also started off with solid performances. This will be the third game back to big time football for former Big 12 defensive player of the year Devante Fields (11 tackles). I hope he has found his football feet again and can return to some of that past glory on Thursday night. Much was expected from the Louisville defensive front this season. They’ll have their hands full but will also need to have a big night. Tall task ahead for this group.

The Tigers defense led the nation in 11 categories last year, including total defense, pass efficiency defense, third-down conversion percentage, first downs allowed and yards per play. But this unit lost virtually the entire defensive front including six players with eight or more tackles for loss in 2014. Clemson is one of those programs that doesn’t rebuild they just reload and this year’s Clemson defense already has some high national rankings as well. They will be led up front by DE Shaq Lawson (8 tackles, 1 sack), DE Kevin Dodd (7 tackles), LB Ben Boulware (5 Tackles), and LB B.J. Goodson (12 tackles). They are led in the secondary by CB Mackensie Alexander, and S Jayron Kearse (8 tackles, 1 Int). This Clemson defense lost a lot but they still have a lot of athletes and speed on this side of the ball. A young struggling Louisville offense will have their hands full.

The Cardinals offense will be without wide receivers Jamari Staples, James Quick, and Alphonso Carter on Thursday night leaving a very young group to carry the load. I expect to see Devonte Peete, and Micky Crum to step up and have big nights. I expected a lot out of Brandon Radcliff this year and he is the type of player that is capable of putting an offense on his back. I think Bad Rad could really have a big night and that would really help to get this struggling offense going. The Cardinals have to get the running attack going if they are to have a chance in this game. We don’t know officially who the quarterback will be on Thursday night. Based on his performance Saturday and his ability to deliver the ball to the right guy I think that it will be Kyle Bolin. And I wouldn’t be shocked if we also see Lamar Jackson a few snaps. This group is still struggling to find some type of identity and they’ll have to do it against a very solid defense on Thursday night.

There has been a lot of Thursday night magic in Louisville. It will take some more of that magic for our Cards to pull off this upset. The defense will have to carry the load and the offense will have to find a way to move the ball. I think that the intensity of the Louisville crowd and the Black-out will carry over and this will be another one of those mid-week classics we are talking about years from now. This is the night when the ship gets turned around. I HOPE..!

The Optimistic Beak Prediction:
Louisville 20 Clemson 17

There’s no place like home and there’s nothing like the home opener of the College Football season. The smell of pigskin will be in the air on Floyd Street as Cardinal fans return to their favorite tailgating spots of the fall. Saturday will be a revival of sorts as fans gear up for another exciting home football slate.

Our Cardinals will try to get their first win of the season in front of the home crowd at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on Saturday as the play host to the Houston Cougars. These teams have met 15 times in school history, with the Cardinals holding an 8-7 overall series advantage. This series dates all the way back to 1950. Louisville won the last meeting 20-13 in 2013 at Papa Johns in their first and only season in the American Athletic Conference.

The Houston Cougars have always been known for their explosive offenses and I expect that legacy to only improve with their new head coach former Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman. Herman is fresh off Ohio State’s College Football Playoff championship run and you can bet he will have this Cougars team ready to go Saturday.

I expect to see a pretty balanced attack pass and rush from Houston on Saturday. Leading that attack will be QB Greg Ward Jr. Ward ranked ninth nationally in completion percentage in 2014, completing 67.3 percent of his passes, or 177-of-263 attempts with 2,010 yards. He is also pretty mobile scrambling for 573 yards on the ground last season. In their opener last week he had 107 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He also threw for 275 yards and one touchdown.

Leading their ground attack is two of the better running backs in college football seniors Kenneth Farrow and Ryan Jackson.
Last season the duo rushed for 2,911 yards and combined for nine 100-yard games. Farrow is their feature back and he is coming off a career year that included 1,037 rushing yards, seven 100-yard games and 15 total touchdowns, which led the American Athletic Conference. He had a quiet day last Saturday only recording 11 carries for 49 yards but you can expect a healthy dose of him against the Cardinals.

Houston is task with finding some emerging talent at their receiver positions as they lost 5 of their most experienced guys last season. They do return Junior Demarcus Ayers who has 11 career starts and he was second on the team in 2014 with 33 receptions for 335 yards. He had a big game in their opener catching 10 passes for 121 yards. Much like in Louisville’s opener they had three players make their first career receptions against Tennessee Tech last Saturday. Chance Allen, Isaiah Johnson and Kyle Postma all got into the action for the first time. Postma had 4 catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. They are also expecting a solid year out of junior tight end Tyler McCloskey who pulled in two receptions for 19 yards last weekend.

Another similarity they have with our Cardinal is their lack of experience on the offensive line. I expect Coach Grantham to attack this young group with a lot of pressure on Saturday. James Burgess had a tweet this week that insinuated he wasn’t too happy with his performance against Auburn. That’s not going to work out to well for Houston. I expect him to dominate. I think the Cardinals secondary could have a big day as well. What we seen out of Josh Harvey and Trumaine last Saturday was just the beginning and Chucky Williams is hungry after leaving a few interception opportunities on the field at the Georgia Dome. With the first game jitters behind him I expect a big day from Devonte Fields. Then there’s that guy named Shaq. #6 will be flying all over the place in his Papa John’s debut.

Task with stopping emerging superstar Lamar Jackson and the Louisville offense the new Houston defensive coordinator Todd Orlando will bring a 3-4 base that mixes up looks and brings pressure from all angles. He will also try to put a lot of pressure on a very young Louisville offensive line. Orlando has two solid guys up front in defensive tackle B.J. Singleton (11 starts) and defensive end Tomme Mark (15 starts). Houston’s defense has been one of the best in the nation with 73 turnovers forced over the last two seasons. A big reason why is their secondary. They return every starter in their secondary from 2014. This is a group that has 97 career starts and a group that had 19 of the 30 turnovers in 2014. Adrian McDonald (5 Int), Trevon Stewart (3 Int), Howard Wilson (3 Int), William Jackson III (2 Int), Lee Hightower (1 Int), and Earl Foster (1 Int). Last weekend Adrian McDonald led the defense with an interception. Linebacker Elandon Roberts led the team with 8 tackles. This is a very formidable defense.

Lamar Jackson said this week after practice that he wanted to showcase his passing game more on Saturday. I think he’ll get his chance as his scrambling ability along with Brandon Radcliff and Jeremy Smith running down hill will draw the secondary in and allow him to throw over it to the Cardinal receivers. Devonte Peete led the team with 3 receptions for 60 yards against Auburn and I look for him to have another great game this week. I look for JaQuay Savage to have a good game this week also.

This Houston team won’t be a push over as they have a very good coaching staff and some solid athletes. I just think our guys will keep building off of that strong second half showing in the Georgia Dome last weekend. I really think we have found something special with Lamar and our defense is going to be one of the best units in college football. Look for a big win Saturday.

The Beak Prediction:

Louisville 37 Houston 13

As I grow older I have come to realize that life is a series of beginnings and endings. I believe that much of this is to prepare us for some of life’s greatest challenges. We tasted the bitterness that came along with saying good-bye to some great players last season and getting our butts whipped in the Bowl Game. But on Saturday September 5th Cardinal fans will get to taste the sweetness of new beginnings. That Saturday afternoon starts a new era of Louisville football, and one that will surely be full of success.

This is the first game of all first games as our Cardinals travel down into SEC country to face the #6 Auburn Tigers. I don’t know about you folks but I love getting another chance at the SEC this fast. I’ve been looking forward to this one since walking out of a bitter cold Bank of America Stadium back in December. This game like that one will be a stiff test. Much of what these teams do or how these teams will perform on Saturday is up in the air as are most of the first games of the college football season, but I will give you an assessment based on my research and observations.

Coach Petrino Auburn pre-game:

(Video Courtesy TheCrunchZone.com)

The Head Coaches: Bobby Petrino and Gus Malzahn are two of the best offensive minds in college football. It is going to be great watching these two great minds at work in the Georgia Dome on Saturday. Both coaches design their offenses with an up tempo pace in mind. Petrino has a tendency to be more vertical than Malzahn but both of these guys love to attack and attack some more. Both have a knack for getting the most out of their quarterbacks and keeping defenses on their heels. I doubt we’ll see a very complex play book from these coaches on Saturday and both will make things as simple as they can for their teams in the opening game. I do expect fireworks from both sides and a bit of trickery wouldn’t surprise me either. This will be one of the best coaching battles of week one.

The Auburn offense lost a lot of talent including their starting QB and their top three rushers a whopping 85% of their rushing yards is gone. They do bring back a lot of talent on this side of the ball and it all starts with the dual threat quarterback Jeremy Johnson. Johnson’s snaps have been limited but he did have 436 yards with 3 touchdowns in 7 games last season with a 75.7 completion percentage. This kid is a freak athlete with size and ability who can run it; sling it down the field, and with great intermediate accuracy. He has 3 of Auburn’s top 5 receivers from last season to pass it to. D’haquille Williams 730 yards, 5 touchdowns last season, Ricardo Louis with 261 yards and 3 touchdowns last season and Melvin Ray with 182 yards and a touchdown last season. They are also expecting big things out of Jason Smith and he could be the X-factor in this group. I expect the passing game to be a huge part of this Auburn offense in the game on Saturday.

Running Back Roc Thomas who had 43 carries, for 214 yards with 2 touchdowns last season and Jovon Robinson juco back who was #1 in the country will power what has been a powerful ground attack for the Tigers that always produces under Gus Malzahn. Auburn is known for having 1200 yard rushers every season and this group won’t be any different. Most expect this Gus Malzahn offense to look like his 2009 season where they are throwing it around a lot more. This offense will look at what the defense gives them and not so much going to try and dictate. Most expect this Auburn offense to be more reactionary. Take away the pass and these guys will try to run it down your throat and stack the box they’ll try to throw it over your head. Much like our Cardinals they have a lot of important parts to replace at the skill positions including an offensive line that is still in doubt. They will replace a starting center and have two guys in Austin Golson and Alex Kozan along the line who didn’t see the field once in 2014.

Task with stopping this Auburn offensive attack is year two of Todd Grantham’s defense. Our Cardinals secondary was gutted but we have one of the best returning defensive fronts in college football this season. Five of the Cardinals front seven returns and I’m expecting a lot out of defensive end Sheldon Rankins who had 13.5 tackles for loss last season with 8 sacks, Keith Kelsey who had 87 tackles last season and James Burgess who had 10 tackles for loss last season. Joining Burgess and Kelsey at Line-backer is the former Big 12 defensive player of the year Devonte Fields. By all accounts he has looked really good during camp and should be ready to plug some of those holes on Saturday.

The key to stopping the Auburn attack will be to get quick stops for losses on first and second downs. Get off the field on third downs and don’t let the Auburn offense gain any momentum. I really like our defense against an offense that has a lot of new parts.

The Cardinal offense remains shrouded in mystery as far as the starting quarterback is concerned, but I have said all along that it will be Reggie. I really think his ability to run or pass will be a bigger asset in this game than any other on the schedule. I watched Reggie first hand in the spring and in camp and he has become a more accurate passer while appearing to be stronger and faster. I have also said all along that we could see either Will Gardner or Kyle Bolin in some form or fashion early in the season but if I had to guess it would be Will Gardner in this game. All of these guys have big game experience and could handle the environment that day in the Georgia Dome. There has also been a lot of buzz coming out of camp about Lamar Jackson. Don’t be surprised to see him lined up in some type of Wildcat formation with Reggie. I think this kid is a super athlete and I think Bobby has already figured out a way to use him in game one.

Running back Brandon Radcliff is the most physically transformed athlete on the Louisville roster. This young man is dedicated to perfection and he will be the lead back on Saturday. I also expect to see Jeremy Smith and LJ Scott in some capacity. Radcliff could be the ultimate key as we’ll have to get our running game going to open up things for the receiving corps. Speaking of that group that will be led on Saturday by James Quick who had 36 catches last season. I think the Louisville wide receivers might be the most underrated in the country. The world will get introduced to this group on Saturday and they will be pleasantly surprised at the length, speed and agility of this bunch. There has been a lot of buzz about transfers Ja’Quay Savage and Jamari Staples during camp and I think they give this group some much needed talent after the loss of Devante. I also expect Paul Harris, and tight Ends Charles Standberry, Keith Towbridge, and Cole Hikutini to have a huge impact in the offensive game-plan Saturday. I think Cole has a huge upside and will really flourish in the Bobby Petrino system.

When talking Louisville offense there is the elephant in the room and that is the offensive line. Coach Petrino says that there are 11 guys that have been rotating on the offensive front during camp. Let’s hope that those guys have had enough reps to develop the continuity they will need on Saturday. Tobijah Hugley and Aaron Epps will anchor the reconstructed line counting on guys like Pedro Sibea, Kelby Johnson, Skylar Lacy, Lukayus McNeil and Khalil Hunter to step up.

Gus Malzahn talks about preparing for Louisville:

Will Muschamp will get his shot at redemption after the Louisville offense dismantled his Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl. And he has a very talented group to do his bidding. It’s questionable how effective his defense can be after losing most of his secondary and other great defensive players to transfer. And really how much of his stuff has he had time to get in with such a short period of time. This is an Auburn defense that gave up 30 points in eight of their last 9 games.

The main piece of Muschamp’s attack will be a guy returning from injury last season Carl Lawson. This young man is a monster who is disruptive, very agile and plays with an incredible motor and toughness. He will be a nightmare for the budding Louisville offensive front. Coach Petrino will game-plan to try and get this guy double teamed while Muschamp will feature him by trying to get him in one-on-one situations. Muschamp is the kind of defensive coach known for getting his best defensive players in opportunities to succeed. Like our Cardinals he also has a very talented front group anchored by guys like Cassanova McKinzy, Kris Frost, Jonathan Ford, DaVonte Lambert, Montravious Adams and Dontavius Russell. I expect the Tigers to be tough up front with solid recruits also. It’s what’s behind this group that has the Tigers a little concerned. Their secondary lacks experience and includes at least two true freshmen in Byron Cowart and Jeffery Holland. Our Cardinals will have their hands full and I expect this to be a very formidable defense on Saturday.

A lot of the talking heads and folks who know more than I do about college football think that on this day it will be the Auburn Tigers who’ll reign victorious. But you know that’s the thing about days… They tend to have a mind of their own. We’ve all been a part of days that had a mind of their own. Let’s just hope that September 5th is one of those days.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 34 Auburn 31