Today the first AP Poll was released and for the first time since 2010 it didn’t include our Louisville Cardinals. Usually I would let that dig into me a little but this year I get it. We have been on one helluva run and it’s been great, but there comes a time in every basketball program when you are going to have to do a little rebuilding. That time is upon us in Louisville. We have a team full of sophomores and freshman, two fifth year transfers that are new to the surroundings, and an experienced junior.

There is still a lot of mystery as to how this group will come together and evolve over the next five months but I’m very optimistic that we could potentially have a decent run. This appears to be a very close group, we have some great size, length, athleticism and these guys are very versatile. We also have a very good freshmen class that will be able to make a solid contribution this season. I also think Coach Pitino may be as motivated as he’s ever been to get this group to reach their full potential.

You can’t really read that much into the first exhibition game of the season but these guys are going to be fun to watch. On the defensive side of the ball this group is going to give opponents fits this year. Deflections, Defensive rebounding, hustle and shot blocking are abundant. They pretty much limited Bellarmine to one shot and out for the entire game. They didn’t really ever allow them to have a clean look. On the offensive end of the court this group has size and skill everywhere. They all hit the offensive glass, all can play out on the perimeter and all of these guys are very good passers. I think you’ll see a lot of activity and movement this year. Get ready for the pick and roll and the give and go.

As far as players:

I was the most impressed with Jaylen Johnson. He is a guy that really didn’t show me much during the Puerto Rico trip but on Sunday looked like a man on a mission. I do think he has made the most progress from seeing him this summer. The kid has cut his weight and body fat and that has resulted in a faster more versatile player on the floor. He was much more active around the basket and has developed into a player that can score facing the basket or with his back to the basket. And he can create his own scoring opportunities. If he continues down this improvement path he will be a beast this season.

I’ve always been a big Quentin Snider fan, and he made his impact felt immediately on Sunday when he hit the floor. His ability to run smooth offensive sets is unmatched by any guard on the team. The offense started off shaky but he was able to get them into a good rhythm by finding open guys for open shots. The kid is a silent general on the basketball court. That experience he had in the Tourney last year has carried over and he is going to be big for us. He led the team with 8 assist.

Damion Lee will be the foundation of this group off of the court and he will keep them focused on their task ahead, and he is another smooth operator when he gets on the floor. He is a very good ball handler that has the ability to blow past his guy on the perimeter or to stop and pop on a dime for the bucket. He can also get hit the three point shot with consistency. I think he will give us our most consistent three point threat we’ve had in a while.

Trey Lewis is another guy much like Quentin Snider who has that great court awareness and can find the open man. He threaded the needle many times on Sunday. He is also a great stop and pop shooter who really doesn’t have to have his set shot for it to go down with consistency. Once he fully feels at home he will be a solid floor general for this group.

The guy who will keep this team loose and not taking themselves too seriously is Mango. A long with that he will also be a big part of everything the team does on the offensive and defensive side of the floor. When he played in the World Games this summer he rebounded the ball very well. That has carried over and he has rebounded well both on the Puerto Rico trip, the scrimmages and led the team with 10 boards on Sunday. Mango has improved every year and this season will be big for him.

Not impressed with his granny shot at the free-throw line but Nanu Onuaku can shoot them any way he likes if he continues to defend the basket like he did on Sunday. He led the team with 2 blocked shots and two steals and was very active. He was also very active around the basket on the offensive side of the ball. He is another very important part of this team. I think he’ll have a big season with hopes of getting to the next level after it’s over.

Guys typically see their biggest jump from their freshman to sophomore years under a Coach Pitino system. That is really evident in Matz Stockman and Anas Mahmoud. These guys are more confident and have also transformed themselves physically. Anas showed off his athleticism and ability to make big plays again on Sunday. Matz attempted a dunk from the free-throw line over three Bellarmine players. Talk about confidence. Looking forward to seeing these guys continue to improve and I think they’ll help out a lot this season.

I really like our entire freshman class and think that Deng Adel along with Ray Spalding and Donovan Mitchell will end up getting a lot minutes this season. Donovan was the third leading scorer with 9 points Sunday, and really has improved his jump shot. He hit two back to back threes. Deng Adel is a match-up nightmare and can score in a lot of ways. He had 7 points and can come at you off of the dribble or take it to the rack with power. I’m going to call him Ray “skyscraper’ Spalding. He has an unbelievable wing span and showed off his shot blocking ability with a big time slap away on Sunday. Very excited to see how these young fellas evolve over the season.

We might not contend for a title and I’m not ready to even think about that at this point. I do think this group could be top 10ish and make a deep tourney run. We have one of the tallest and athletic teams in school history it just all has to come together. I know I’m really excited and ready for the season to start. GO CARDS!

Here are some photos and video from the first exhibition:

[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”filmstrip” title=”true” desc=”false” img_in_row=”3″ display=”all” sort_by=”random” animation_effect=”bounce” image_width=”600″ album_title=”true” album_id=”8″]

I’ve had a few days to think about the Louisville football season and to ponder the 0-3 start. Watching the other college football games over the weekend I can say with extreme confidence that there are a lot of schools who would have started the season 0-3 with Louisville’s schedule. But I digress… Even though our Cardinals are 0-3 we have had moments against both Auburn and Clemson that could be considered somewhat of a moral victory and things that the team could actually build upon.

The Cardinals total margin of defeat in the past three games is 13 points and that is lower than any three game losing streaks in school history. We have not been blown out and have been in every game with a chance to win. We’ve got an exceptional group of freshman and they are the foundation of what will eventually be a good football team. The freshmen have accounted for over 60% of total yardage for this team up to this point in the season. Freshmen WR Jaylen Smith (11 Rec, 171 yards), TE Micky Crum (12 Rec, 158 yards, 1 TD), WR Traveon Samuel (12 Rec, 118 yards), and WR Devonte Peete (5 Rec, 101 yards) are all ranked in the top 40 of receiving leaders in the ACC. Smith #12, Crum #15, Samuel #27 and Peete #33. Freshman QB Lamar Jackson is #10 in the ACC in total offensive plays with 130 rushing yards and 283 passing yards.

On Saturday the Cardinals will play the Samford Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are a very good FCS football program and this will provide the Cardinals the opportunity to get an important Morale victory. This Samford football team will be no push over. They are very well coached by a familiar face. Chris Hatcher comes to Samford after serving as the head coach at Murray State University since 2010. In five seasons as the head coach of the Racers, his teams employed a high-powered “Hatch Attack” offense to top the Division I-FCS football charts. In 2014, the Racers ranked second in the nation in passing offense, averaging 327.2 yards per game. The team also ranked 15th in total offense at 468.3 yards per contest. Hatcher boasts a career record of 121-57 in 15 years as a college head coach at Murray State, Georgia Southern and Valdosta State.

Leading the Samford offense is QB Michael Eubank who is completing 68.6 percent of his passes for 907 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. We may also see QB Devlin Hodges. He and Eubank have combined for combined for 1,054 passing yards this season. They have three very solid players in their wide receiving corps. WR’s Karel Hamilton and Emmanuel Obajimi have combined for 438 receiving yards and two touchdowns. WR Kelvin McKnight has 11 receptions on the season. Leading their rushing attack is Junior Denzel Williams who has 219 yards and two touchdowns on the season. They are averaging 182 yards on the ground per game this season. The Bulldogs have scored over 40 points in two of its first three games and are averaging 45 points. Defensively, Samford is allowing 22.7 points and 438 yards per game. The stud of their defense is SR Line Backer Justin Cooper who leads the Bulldogs with 25 tackles. Leading their defensive front is Jared Holloway who has two sacks on the season and leading their secondary is James Bradberry with four pass deflections.

I do expect Coach Grantham’s defense to win the day here. Shadowed by the fact that they have played some very good teams with some very good athletes at the skill positions is that this Louisville defense has the chance to be really good. They have a lot of new parts that have had to come together and some players that had to find their football feet again but it’s coming along. Defensively, Louisville is allowing 28.3 points and 396.7 yards per game. The obvious issue for this defense is getting off of the field on 3rd downs. They have allowed 20 third down conversions this season allowing teams to convert 44% of the time. I think this is a big part of those growing pains. There are a lot of moving parts and a lot of communication gaps that still need time to gel.

This Cardinal defense does have the top tackling duo in the ACC. Keith Kelsey and Josh Harvey-Clemons both have 33 tackles on the season and that is good for #1 in the ACC and #12 in the nation. Clemons is 2nd in the ACC and 16th in the country in interceptions with two on the season. And he is just getting started folks. This Cardinals defense also boast several other players in the top 25 of tacklers in the ACC. #6 James Burgess with 26, #11 Sheldon Rankins with 23, #18 Keith Brown with 18, and #22 Devonte’ Fields with 17. Fields is getting more and more back to his old self every week, and I expect full beast mode by the middle of the season. This Louisville defense is just like a pot of chili, and the more it cooks the better it will get.

The Louisville offense is ranked in the bottom or near the bottom of every category, and it can all be directly related some way or another to poor production on the offensive front. We all knew that it could be bad but didn’t expect it to be this bad. The rushing game is one of the worst in the country through three games and the Louisville QBs are running for their lives. I still have faith that Coach Klenakis will get this issue resolved. He has proven time and time again that he can develop talent. The guy has coached 21 offensive linemen who have advanced to the NFL. Before coming to Louisville Klenakis was at Iowa State and in 2013 he had six different starters miss at least one game. He was forced to use nine different combinations that season. They ended up having two consecutive 500 yard games of total offense and the Cyclones finished the season with the 10th most points in school history. He has built offensive fronts at every coaching stop in his career and he will figure this out.

It has been a youth movement for this Louisville offense. It looks like Lamar Jackson may take back the QB duties on Saturday and there is no doubt that Jaylen Smith and Micky Crum who have combined for 329 receiving yards and one touchdown along with Traveon Samuel who has 12 receptions will continue to play an important role. We may get to see James Quick return to the line-up as well. In order to get things really moving for this group we have to get some production in the running game. Brandon Radcliff has done his best with little or no help from that offensive line and leads the way with 164 yards and two touchdowns. The Cardinals Rank 14th in the ACC and 115th in the country in rushing offense averaging a whopping 3.2 yards a carry, 109 yards a game and 6 touchdowns. I still have high expectations out of this group and Coach Petrino is one of the best offensive minds in the game.

As I said in my opening the Cardinals have played a very tough schedule, and one that has kept them winless through the first three weeks of the college football season. We have had some moral victories, but on Saturday I do believe that both the defense and offense will get a much needed Morale boost from this game. They are playing a team that they should beat but it will still take a good effort from both units to get the win. This game couldn’t have come at a better time for our Cardinals. This season will be defined by how this group overcomes adversity and this weekend will be the start of positive things ahead.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 44 Samford 9

Coach Pitino and his staff have started their 2016 recruiting class off with a bang landing the #2 SF in the country today VJ King. King who is ranked #16 by 247Sports, #18 by Scout, #11 by Rivals and #25 by ESPN picked the Cardinals over UCONN and UK. Louisville assistant Kenny Johnson is a former assistant at King’s high school and this is thought to have played a big role in his decision.

The last time the Cardinals and Commodores met was in the opening round of the 2014 College World Series. It was Vandy who walked away with the win in that game 5-3 and eventually went on to win their first National Championship. That is a grand trophy indeed, but when it comes to the Louisville Vs Vanderbilt series there is another trophy that is one of the coolest in all of college baseball “The Barrel”

You can hear the game on FM 93.9 The Ville or tune into ESPN3.

The rosters for the annual spring basketball classic were reveled today and as expected 2015 signees Raymond Spalding, Donovan Mitchell, Deng Adel and commit Ryan McMahon will play in the event.

First held in 1973, the Classic is the oldest high school all-star game in the nation and is known for showcasing players who’ve moved on to stardom at the collegiate and professional levels. Former players include Jamal Mashburn, Moses Malone, Rex Chapman, Pervis Ellison, Isiah Thomas, Dominique Wilkins, Darrell Griffith, Derek Anderson, Anfernee Hardaway and Michael Beasley.

Grab a ticket and get out to this event next month to support the Cards…

We are just a few weeks removed from the Cats and Cards doing battle on the gridiron to end the regular season of college football. On Saturday they will take the battle to the basketball court.
This week we have flown our flags a little higher and wore our gear with that little extra boost of pride. This is the Cards and the Cats and it just doesn’t get any bigger in college basketball.

This will be the most anticipated Battle of the Bluegrass in years as it’s the first time ever these teams have played while both being undefeated. It has been the Cats who have won the last 9 out of eleven in this battle head-to-head, but when looking at their entire body of work these teams have had similar success in the last 30 years. A series that started in 1913 these old rivals will meet for the 48th time on Saturday afternoon. Kentucky holds the all-time lead in this series 32-15.

This game was named the #1 OOC game by Sports Illustrated. Here’s what they said:

The Cardinals will be facing one of the best Kentucky teams they’ve ever played. They are only one of two teams in the history of college basketball to feature 9 McDonald’s All-Americans and could end up being one of the best defensive teams rivaling the 2011-2012 Cats. This UK squad has been stopping and blocking every team that’s been put before them this season. They are currently 1st in the country averaging 9 blocks per game and 2nd in the nation in points allowed at a 47.7 average per game.

Kentucky is led in scoring by Aaron Harrison (10.6PPG), Willie Cauley-Stein (10.5PPG, 6.7RPG), Devin Booker (10.0PPG), Dakari Johnson (8.8PPG, 5.8RPG), Karl-Anthony Towns (8.1PPG, 6.6RPG), Trey Lyles (7.9PPG, 5.5RPG), and Andrew Harrison (7.7PPG, 4.2APG). Tyler Ulis is shooting 53% from the three. As a team Kentucky is shooting 47% from the field, 31% from three, and 65% from the free throw line. They are averaging 17 assist, 11 turnovers and 9 steals per game. One chink in the armor is their defensive rebounding. Despite being the tallest team in college basketball they are only averaging 26.6 defensive boards a game that ranks 55th in the country. And only have a +8 rebounding margin.

Kentucky’s 2014-15 OVERALL RANKINGS

2014-15 Kenpom Rankings
Overall- #1
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
-82.7 ranks 1st
Offense Adjustment Efficiency
-114.7 ranks 5th
-Per Kenpom game prediction he has Kentucky winning the game 64-62 based on his indexes.

If there’s one team left on the schedule that could solve the riddle to beating this UK team it’s the Cardinals. Our Cards are also on the verge of having one of the best defenses in their history. They currently rank in the top ten nationally in four key defensive categories POINTS ALLOWED 54.4 per game 8th overall, D REBOUNDS 28.9 per game 9th overall, BLOCKS 7.2 per game 6th overall, and STEALS 10.7 per game good for 4th overall. They are second in defensive efficiency behind Kentucky in Kenpom’s rankings. I think the Louisville defense will have to force this Kentucky team to beat them from deep and force them into taking quick jump shots. I know that this was the way that UNC tried to beat them and they failed miserably because Kentucky hit those shots, but it was the first time UNC had ever played zone. Our Cardinals will be much more effective using the zone to man switches along with better rotation. If the Cardinals can force Kentucky into some bad shots and rebound well defensively it will be half the battle won.

Our Cardinals big four Wayne, Montrezl, Terry, and Chris are going to need their best efforts of the season. And I think we’ll need a surprise game from Mango, Nanu or one of the other freshman off the bench. I have seen a player come out of nowhere to star in these games before and I hope that player is wearing a Cardinal uniform Saturday. Our Cardinals have been really good on the OFFENSIVE BOARDS 44.8 per game good for 3rd overall, and above average in POINTS scoring 77.3 per game good for 34th overall. Of course those things will be crucial Saturday but they will have to improve their efforts in ASSIST currently ranked 149th overall, and FIELD GOAL % currently 151st overall.

Most people think that the key to winning the game on Saturday is for the Cardinals to hit the three point shot and while they will have to hit a few to keep the UK defense honest it is not the be all end all. UK wants teams to jack up the three point shot so they can grab those long rebounds and get out on those fast breaks with their speed and length. For the Louisville offense to be most effective they must attack the UK defense forcing help side and kicking it out to the open man. Attack… Pass… We should be able to get our fair share of offensive rebounds and should get second or third opportunities.

This will be the biggest test of the year for both of these teams. Each has to play to their strengths and attack the others weakness, but as I mentioned above with the player always coming out of nowhere there will be a scenario play out that nobody expected. These rivalry games are packed with emotion and that along with the home crowd will also factor in. I’m looking forward to a great game and a opportunity to knock off a great team. To keep their hopes of a perfect season from happening would go a long way to make up for those heart breaking losses to them recently. And the Cardinals have the chance to keep the home court record in the recent series to 2-1 and on the plus side of things. You must win these games on your home court. I think our guys will be ready. Should be another great one in the series… Go Cards!

The Beak Prediction
Louisville 80
Kentucky 77

Tomorrow in the KFC Yum Center the Cardinals will face UNC Wilmington. It will be a homecoming for the Seahawks head coach who is former Louisville assistant coach Kevin Keatts. Keatts is in his first season at UNC Wilmington and he has them off to a solid start. This will be the first meeting between these teams and the Cardinals will have a chance to win their 34th straight game against a non-conference opponent at home. This streak is the 5th largest in the country. This game will be part of the 13th Annual Billy Minardi Classic. Every season the Cardinals Basketball Program uses this special event to honor the memory of Billy Minardi, brother-in-law of Coach Rick Pitino who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Coach Pitino will be going for his 350th win as the Cardinals head man. He has won half of his college basketball games while in Louisville.

The Seahawks are 3-2 and coming off of a 105-47 manhandling of the St Andrews Knights. They have been scoring at a frantic pace this season, and have posted at least 80 points in every game. They are shooting 52.3% from the field (ranked 8th in nation), 43.2 from the 3 point line (ranked 8th in the nation), and are averaging 80.8 points a game. Their opponents are shooting 40.4% from the field, 33.9% from three and averaging 72 points a game. The Seahawks are led by top scorer Freddie Jackson who is averaging a very efficient 18 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2 assist a game. He is followed by Addison Spruill (14 PPG, 5.2RPG & 2.4APG), Craig Ponder (12.0PPG, 2.6RPG & 4.0APG), Cedrick Williams (11.4PPG, 8.8RPG & 1.2APG), and Dylan Sherwood (10.0PPG, & 2.7RPG). They have five guys who are averaging double figures. Coach Keatts has employed his own brand of offense at UNC Wilmington, but the defense will look very familiar on Sunday afternoon. They will use different presses to speed up the Cards and then drop back into match up zones. They are averaging 9.6 steals a game good for 17th in the nation.

UNC- Wilmington 2014-15 OVERALL RANKINGS
Offense
-POINTS PER GAME
80.8
22nd
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
37.6
85th
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
16.0
35th
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.523
8th
OVERALL

This Louisville basketball team has established an identity of playing well rounded basketball. They play imposing team defense ranked nationally 4th in FG%, 7th scoring defense, 4th in steals, and 8th 3pt defense. And they are making the most out of their scoring opportunities currently 33rd in the country in scoring offense. This Louisville team has been glass cleaners and are second in the nation in rebounding per game.

Montrezl is playing like an all-American, Terry and Chris are playing like the best back-court in the nation, Wayne is playing like a battle tested senior, and Mango is coming around the same way Gorgui did for this UofL team. We have a solid group of freshman that are finding their way. Nanu has been a solid contributor, while Quentin, Jaylen and Anas are getting more confident every game. The game on Sunday afternoon will be a good chance for these guys to continue to gel and work on their offense and defense in preparation for the tough months of January and February.

I have no doubt in my mind that coach Keatts will have UNC Wilmington on the road to success in no time, but Sunday will not be their day. These Cards are rolling right now and they will continue to handle their business.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 87 UNC-Wilmington 58

An old rivalry will be renewed when Louisville makes its return to MSG for the Jimmy V Classic. The Cards and Hoosiers will do battle for the first time since playing a game on February 1st 2003. It was the Cards that came out victorious in that game 95-76. This game will mark the 17th meeting between the two schools in history with IU holding a 10-6 advantage. The teams have met three times since 1990 with IU holding a 3-1 edge in those games. The game is not part of an ongoing series but is instead a one-game contract between the two schools. Coach Pitino has been working hard to get a home and home series with the Hoosiers but that hasn’t came about yet. Let’s all hope that the game on Tuesday night will spark up the old feud enough to make this a annual meeting. This will be assistant coach Kenny Johnson’s first time meeting his former team since leaving the Hoosiers for the Cardinals.

This will be the 19th meeting against Louisville for head coach Tom Crean, who has eight wins against the Cardinals. The Hoosiers will bring one of the nations best offensive teams to the floor on Tuesday night. They are averaging 88.4 points on 52.4 percent shooting from the field, shooting 74.7 percent from the line and 43.9 percent from beyond the arc. The Hoosiers have won three straight and looking for their second win over a ranked team. They beat then ranked #22 SMU back on November 20th. They have also beaten fellow ACC member Pittsburgh on December 2nd 81-69.

Leading the way for the Hoosiers is a very talented group of players. James Blackmon Jr. leads Indiana with 19.5 points and 5.1 rebounds while Yogi Ferrell is averaging 17.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. Troy Williams is averaging 12.2 points while shooting 61.2 percent from the field and 5.3 rebounds. Robert Johnson is averaging 11.1 points, 3.9 assists per game, and 4.5 rebounds a game. Their bench is averaging 29.9 points a game.

Since 2011-12, Indiana leads all major conference teams in field goal percentage (47.9), three-point field goal percentage (39.8) and free throw percentage (74.6). IU also is fourth nationally in scoring (77.1), and second in free throws made (2,051). The Hoosiers 38.6% 3-point field goal percentage since the start of the 2010-11 season is the highest among major college conference schools in that time frame. They leads the Big Ten in scoring, field goal percentage and three-pointers made per game (9.7). IU is second in the league in three point field goal percentage and fourth in free throw percentage.

For all of the good things they do on the offensive end of the floor Indiana’s defense could use some work. They are forcing just 13.5 turnovers per contest and have allowed 70-plus points in three of their last five games. They are allowing 69.2 points on 43.7 percent shooting from the field, and 32.7% from the 3-pt line wile giving up 6.5 makes from there a game.

2014-15 OVERALL RANKINGS
Offense
-POINTS PER GAME
88.4
4th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
37.4
98th
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
16.5
27th
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.524
9th
OVERALL

2014-15 Kenpom Rankings
Overall- #50
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
-99.1 ranks 156th
Offense Adjustment Efficiency
-110.9 ranks 12th
-Per Kenpom game prediction he has the Cardinals winning the game 78-68 based on his indexes.

Our Cardinals will look to remain undefeated on Tuesday night and will have to rely heavily on a defense that is forcing 19 turnovers per game and holding teams to 22.8 percent shooting from deep. Louisville is also the second-best rebounding team in the country with 46.3 boards per game. They must win the battle of the boards against the Hoosiers and not allow their great offensive guys to get second or third opportunities. They will also need to speed the Hoosiers up and make them take quick shots with a hand in their face.

Montrezl Harrell leads the Cardinals with 16.1 points and 9.4 rebounds while Terry Rozier is averaging 13 points and 5.7 rebounds. Chris Jones is averaging 3.3 assists and Wayne Blackshear is shooting 39.4 percent from the field. These guys have been leading the way all season and will have to step up big again on Tuesday night. Montrezl and Wayne are the only guys on the current roster that have ever played at the Garden, so nerves could play a roll early on for Terry and Chris. We will need Nanu to have a big game and hopefully Anton Gill’s hot shooting streak from last Friday night will carry over in this game. Coach Pitino was very concerned about his teams ability to find the open man and the passing game. He said that was something they were going to work on in preparation for this one.

This will be another great chance at another quality non-conference win on a neutral court, and will take the best defensive and offensive effort of the season to get it. This should be a great game in a great venue and it is a very special event. This one makes me nervous and it is going to be gut check time. Cards will squeak out a close one.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 80 Indiana 77

Doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that we were all gathered down at 4th Street Live celebrating the Cardinals official move into the ACC. Now we are almost halfway through a sports season and are down to only one ACC Football game left. Louisville will be traveling up to Chestnut Hill Massachusetts this weekend and will close out the ACC portion of their schedule against the Boston College Eagles. The Cardinals and Eagles have played six times on the gridiron and the series is tied 3-3. It was the Cardinals who won the last meeting 52-28 back in 1998. BC is in the Atlantic Division and they are currently in 3rd at 3-2. The Cardinals are 4th at 4-3.

Boston College improved to 6-3 on the season after beating Virginia Tech 33-31 last Saturday. The Eagles have won two straight games and they have wins over UMass, USC, Maine, NC State, and Wake Forest this season. They have lost to Pittsburgh, Colorado State, and Clemson. On the year, the Eagles rank 19th in points against, allowing an average of 20.1 points per game. Boston College’s offense is averaging 27.4 points per game, which ranks 80th in the country. The Cardinals have recently faced the Eagles head man Steve Addazio when he was Temple’s head coach. He’s a very good coach who is affectionately referred to as “Vitamin A” because of his high-energy nature on the practice field, on game days and on the recruiting trail. He has the Eagles playing well and will have them ready on Saturday night.

Leading Addazio’s offense on Saturday night is dual-threat quarterback Tyler Murphy, who is a transfer from Florida. While his passing has been far from great this season (55.6% completion rate, 8 touchdowns, 6 interceptions), he has been unstoppable on the ground. Murphy has 965 rushing yards is averaging 7.4 yards/carry this season and has 9 rushing touchdowns.
The Boston College rushing attack does not stop with Tyler Murphy. BC is 9th nationally in Rushing. They have four running backs who have at least 100 yards. Leading this unit is Jon Hilliman who has 578 yards with 9 touchdowns. He is followed by Myles Willis who has 399 yards with 2 touchdowns, Tyler Rouse who has 144 yards with 2 touchdowns, and Marcus Outlow who has 137 yards.
Their passing attack isn’t very formidable, but they do have some guys who are very capable if Murphy is forced to throw it. Leading their wide receiving corps is Josh Bordner who has 289 yards with 3 touchdowns, Dan Crimmins who has 225 yards, Charlie Callinan who has 127 yards with 1 touchdown and Sherman Alston who has 109 yards with 1 touchdown.

On the year, the Cardinals are allowing only 17.7 points per game on average, which ranks 8th in the country. They are ranked 3rd in the country in rushing defense giving up 78.7 yards per game and have only allowed 4 rushing touchdowns on the season. They will have to maintain this effort against BC to give the Cardinals a chance on Saturday night. They will have to do so without one of their leaders Lorenzo Maulding who will be out with a hamstring injury. I’d say that coach Grantham will load the box and force Murphy and this BC offense to use something they really don’t like and that’s their passing game. The Cardinals defense has faced some decent rushing attacks this season including Winston and company last week so they should be ready.

Boston College has a pretty good defense themselves. Their unit is ranked 11th in total defense and just behind the Cardinals ranked 4th in rushing defense. They have a very good defensive line that is stocked with some very big guys. Leading this unit is Defensive end Brian Mihalik 6-9, 295 pounds with 22 tackles, defensive tackle Truman Gutapfel 6-3, 289 pounds with 18 tackles, and defensive tackle Connor Wujciak 6-3, 304 pounds with 22 tackles. These guys are veterans and they will be ready to try and stop the Cardinals attack.

Louisville’s offense is averaging 30.9 points per game, which ranks 57th in the country. The Cardinals gained 488 total yards against Florida State last week and turned the ball over twice. The offensive line did a great job last week and will have their hands full again this week with this very good BC defensive front. They will have to block well to give Dyer and Radcliff some room to run the ball. They will have to excel in their pass blocking to give Will Gardner time to throw the ball down field to Parker and Quick. This is one of the best defenses that the Cardinal offense has faced this season. They will have to have one of their best efforts to give the Cardinals a chance to win.

The Cardinals much like the fans were very dejected after last weeks heart breaking loss to Florida State. A game like that can really zap the energy and the drive out of a football team. It is very hard to regroup after coming up short like that after a very good effort. I think that’s why a lot of folks are looking at the game Saturday night against Boston College as one of those trap games. The outcome of this game will be determined by how these Cardinals come out of the locker room. Will they still have a hangover from a tough loss? I have total and complete confidence in our coaching staff and it is their job to make sure that doesn’t happen. I do think our guys will come out very focused as they are still playing for a bowl upgrade and still have a chance at finishing the season very strongly. A top 25 ranking is still very possible especially with a shot at knocking off Notre Dame after the bye week. This game will be a defensive slug-fest with our Cardinals winning a close one.

Louisville 13 Boston College 10

Our Cardinals have a quick turnaround this week as they will take to the road to play Syracuse on Friday night. Yes we will be heading into the the Carrier Dome. Every Cardinal fan remembers the last time our Cardinals played Syracuse there. We had a perfect 9-0 season going in 2012 and they crushed our hopes of going undefeated winning that game 45-26. The Cardinals are 3-3 at the Carrier Dome and 6-6 all-time against the Orange. This will be their first ACC game of the season. Friday will be the Cardinals fourth conference game, and in all four games they will have faced a team playing its ACC opener.

Syracuse dropped to 2-2 on the year after losing to Notre Dame last weekend, 31-15. The Orange won their first two games of the season over Villanova and Central Michigan, before losing to Maryland. Against Notre Dame, the Orange gained 429 total yards while giving up 523 total yards to the Fighting Irish. The Orange run a hurry-up no huddle, run-first spread offense, and have adapted triple option principles for one of their primary offensive plays. This is a team that favors the run but they have a pretty balanced offensive attack with 930 yards on the ground and 872 through the air. They are 48th in the nation in total offense.

We learned on Wednesday that Reggie Bonnafon will get the start again on Friday. Will Gardner may be available if needed. The word coming out of the offensive side this week is consistency. Coach Petrino wants his guys to establish more of a rhythm this week and also do a better job at execution. Penalties and turnovers have killed the offense this year and it won’t be pretty Friday night if our guys make mental mistakes and turn the ball over. Wide receiver Eli Rodgers played well in that last game at the Carrier Dome and he will need to step up again this week. He and James Quick will have to play well. I really like our running game in this match-up. We got 4 guys that can go at their defense all night long. With the way they come at you fatigue will start to be a factor if we pound it down their throats all night. Our offensive line has acknowledged their need to get better. I think we’ll see that this week. Our offense has caught a bad wrap this season and it’s justified to some extent but we have played some solid defenses and this group for Cuse is also pretty good. Hope our guys answer the call.

I think we’ll see another good ballgame early on Friday night. If our offense struggles it could be another very close game. They will be hype wanting to win their first ACC game of the season and will have a great home crowd behind them. I really think our defense along with a solid running attack will be the difference and our Cards will roll to their 5th win of the season.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 34 Syracuse 17