Louisville football vs. Florida State: Betting line, 3 things to know to make your pick
Louisville avoided an early season slide by escaping Orlando with a 20-14 win over Central Florida in Week 2. The Cardinals (1-1) return home for their season opener against Florida State with restored confidence and hopes of stringing wins together.
The Seminoles, however, come into Cardinal Stadium on the heels of an off week after beating LSU 24-23 on a missed extra point.
The game will be a Red Out with Louisville set to honor former running back Michael Bush’s No. 19 jersey.
Before you make your pick for this game, here are three things to know about the ACC clash and our prediction:
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Where Louisville’s running back room stands
U of L head coach Scott Satterfield announced Tuesday afternoon that running back Jalen Mitchell suffered a lower leg injury after recording 26 yards on three carries against UCF. His status is questionable for Friday night’s game. The Cardinals still have Tiyon Evans leading the way, but depth behind him might be thinner. The Tennessee transfer hasn’t had a problem adjusting to his new team and has totaled 164 yards on 32 touches in his first two games as a Cardinal. He scored the team’s only touchdown against Syracuse then added the first TD of the night against UCF.
“Tiyon, he's a workhorse. To be able to witness the things he does on the field is unbelievable,” fellow Cardinals running back Jawhar Jordan said. “It pushes me and other guys even harder, because when we see him making great plays, we want to make great plays, too. As far as coming in behind Tiyon, you just got to be ready. Everybody got to go and when your name's called, you just gotta go.”
That could happen sooner than later, according to Satterfield. Both Jordan and Trevion Cooley are expected to be featured more this week. Jordan had 10 yards on three totes in Week 2, while Cooley didn’t play against the Golden Knights and played but didn’t log any carries against Syracuse.
“I think we'll probably see Cooley this week,” Satterfield said. “He practiced well yesterday, practiced hard. I think he'll be there. I think you'll see probably more (Jawhar) Jordan as well. ... We’re trying to get him a few more carries as well. So, I do think Cooley will get an opportunity, which he hadn't really (had) in the first couple of games."
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Keys to FSU’s defense
For a second straight week, Louisville will go against a team with an experienced secondary. All of Florida State’s starters from the backfield return, including safety Jammie Robinson, who was an All-ACC first team member and led the Seminoles in tackles and interceptions with 84 and 4, respectively, in 2021. On top of that, FSU’s defensive front is the biggest the Cardinals have faced so far this season, U of L offensive coordinator Lance Taylor said.
While defensive tackle Fabien Lovett’s status is uncertain after he went down with an injury in Florida State’s final drive against LSU two weeks ago, end Jared Verse, listed as 6-foot-4, 248 pounds, will be a force for the Cardinals’ offensive line to have to contend. Per Pro Football Focus, the Albany transfer has the best pass-rush grade of 91.1 among Power 5 players and already has three sacks in the first two games of the year.
This adds to the challenge of the Cardinals wanting to improve upon quarterback Malik Cunningham’s passing performance from against UCF. He dipped below 50% completion, which Taylor said falls on the whole offense and not just Cunningham. The key will be to get more players involved. So far, Tyler Hudson, who has a team-high 169 receiving yards on the year, and Ahmari Huggins-Bruce (104 yards) have led the charge among the team’s pass catchers. But more playmakers need to step up.
“Ahmari played more last week than he played in Week 1,” Taylor said. “Every time he's touched the ball, he's been really explosive and think he's got over 20 yards average per catch. So, just gonna have to mix some of those other guys (in).”
The team took a step in that process last week with tight end Marshon Ford, who was the team’s leading receiver last year, getting more looks and totaling three catches for 38 yards.
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Tracking Jordan Travis
Louisville’s defense against mobile quarterbacks so far this year was 50/50. The Cardinals struggled against Syracuse’s Garrett Shrader but managed to keep UCF signal caller John Rhys Plumlee somewhat contained. The next challenge is Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis, a former Cardinal, who threw for 1,539 yards and ran for 530 more with the Seminoles last season.
“You can tell he's grown a lot, he's matured a good bit, to where he keeps his eyes downfield, making plays with his legs,” U of L defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. “His throwing mechanics, as well as his placement of the balls, have been really good these first couple of games.”
Travis is averaging 233.5 passing yards per game, fifth-most in the ACC, completing 64.6% of his passes to go along with 42 rushing yards on 12 carries so far this year in wins over Duquesne and LSU. He’s had a hand in three touchdowns with FSU averaging 35.5 points and 515 yards of total offense per outing.
Betting line
Florida State is 2 ½-point favorite over Louisville on the road.
Prediction: Louisville 35, Florida State 24
The Cardinals had a full week to recover from a two-week road trip for their home opener. While Florida State has shown improvements from 2021, the Cardinals have also made adjustments and have what it takes to increase their winning streak over FSU to three games.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville vs. FSU football: 3 things to know, betting line
