Louisville football vs. James Madison: Betting line, 3 things you should know

Louisville football is riding high after a big win over No. 21 Wake Forest.

At the same time, the Cardinals aren’t getting too caught up in the victory with four crucial games ahead of them.

“You've got to have the 24-hour rule in your head and just move on from it,” Cardinals safety Josh Minkins said. “It was a great game, eight turnovers for us on defense. To put up that many points on a team, to do what we do, it's a surreal feeling, but you’ve got to put it behind you and just move on.”

Louisville (5-3, 3-3 ACC) faces its first-ever meeting with James Madison, which just moved up to the FBS level, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Cardinal Stadium. Should the Cardinals win, it’ll be the first time they’ve won four consecutive games since a 4-0 start in 2016.

“I hope they've found joy in going out and playing the way they've been playing in the last few weeks,” Louisville coach Scott Satterfield said of his players. “I think if you ask our players, they're gonna tell you because of the prep that they put in throughout the week. … The focus that we've had at practice is why we've performed that way.”

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Here are three things to know about the Cardinals’ Week 10 matchup:

Reaching bowl eligibility

Louisville’s loss to Boston College became a turning point in the team’s season, and it showed. With the Cardinals were on the brink of a collapse, the group rebounded with three straight wins.

Minkins said the Sunday after the BC game, the Cardinals had an hour-long, players-only meeting where they discussed what they needed to do to get back on track. Everyone had a voice with even some of those who hadn’t talked as much giving their perspective on the team’s situation. The meeting unified the group more than anything else had this season.

“We've all been bought into playing as one,” Minkins said. “Sometimes it'd be offense here, defense there, but as you've seen in the past few games, it has been all of us playing as one. The outcome's really shown that.”

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In its three most recent wins, the Cardinals have outscored their opponents 106-48. Should they beat a tough James Madison on Saturday, they’ll reach bowl eligibility for the third time under Satterfield. Reaching six wins serves as motivation for Louisville after a dreary first half of the season.

“We all want to go to a bowl game,” Louisville defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. “We're not overlooking this game at all. (The Dukes) have a really good football team on both sides of the ball. It's a motivation, no doubt, to be able to go to a bowl game, but also, just to try to win against a quality opponent in JMU.”

Growth of the secondary

One of the biggest questions marks coming into the season was Louisville’s secondary. The group was welcoming in several transfers and had little starting experience from those returning to the roster. After having given up big plays particularly against Florida State and Boston College, the Cardinals’ defensive backs showed growth Saturday against Wake’s receivers, who are considered some of the best in the ACC. Brown credited co-defensive coordinator Wes McGriff for helping get the unit to this point.

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Quincy Riley, who had two interceptions and was named the ACC defensive back of the week, and Kei’Trel Clark highlighted the outing with a pick-six each. Clark also had his first career sack with the Cardinals getting to Demon Deacons quarterback Sam Hartman eight times while helping to limit wide receiver A.T. Perry to only three catches for 28 yards. The yardage was Perry’s lowest output since being held to 19 yards and two catches against Norfolk State on Sept. 11, 2021.

“They're just playing for each other,” Brown said. “They don't care who gets the credit. They just want to win and want to be one of the best secondaries in the country.”

JMU’s offense — ranked 14^th in scoring, 18^th in total offense, 25^th in the country in passing and 31^st in rushing — will be another test for both the Cardinals’ whole defense. The Dukes average 480.7 yards per game, 6.2 yards per play and 28.7 points per game. Much of that production depends on quarterback Todd Centeio, whose status is uncertain after he suffered a pulled oblique muscle and missed the team’s game against Marshall, a 26-12 loss, on Oct. 22.

“When things break down, he's able to go get first downs,” Satterfield said of Centeio. “He's a tremendous player. I think you can see what they did — they didn't play as well offensively against Marshall. He was not played. That's a big difference right there when he's in the football game.”

Louisville still looking to score

The high Satterfield felt after beating then-No. 10 Wake receded after watching film of the game. One of the biggest negatives that stood out to him was Louisville’s lack of ability to reach the end zone on the first two series of the game. Despite getting in the red zone on the first drive, the Cardinals had to settle for 29- and 39-yard field goals from James Turner. Louisville is 54^th in the country in total offense and 28^th in rushing offense, but ranks 87^th in the red zone.

“I've mentioned it a bunch this year, we haven't been a big-play offense,” Satterfield said. “We have some (big plays) here and there and those types of things, but we have to do a better job of trying to find ways to get in the end zone. That's going to be big these next four games. We have to find ways to score touchdowns.”

One of the biggest things Satterfield wants to see from the offensive unit is a stronger passing game, especially in the red zone. Of Louisville’s 26 offensive touchdowns, 19 have been rushing scores, which makes its offense predictable. To keep opposing defenses off balanced, the Cardinals must do a better job of becoming a passing threat.

Given his size at 6-foot-2 and basketball background, Cardinals wide receiver Tyler Hudson can be that reliable target when the Cardinals need to throw the ball up and get into the end zone, though he’s yet to catch a TD pass this season. Louisville offensive coordinator Lance Taylor has praised Hudson for maximizing his opportunities but would like to see him improve on creating separation down the field.

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“He had one opportunity on third down, where it was a bang, bang, play,” Taylor said. “When we throw it, we call a stop route on third and I think eight or nine. … It's one of those catches that he normally makes, and I expect him to make it, he expects himself to make it. Continuing to make those plays continues to give not only (quarterback Malik Cunningham) confidence to throw him the ball, but also us confidence to put him in those situations and then call plays to get him the ball when the game's on the line or in those critical situations.”

Much like its offense, JMU’s defense is ranked nationally in several categories, including rushing defense (first), tackles for loss (third), total defense (10^th), fumbles recovered (T-23^rd), scoring defense (25^th), team sacks (T-16^th) and turnovers gained (T-29^th).

“It's a tremendous job what they do defensively,” Satterfield said. “They're not really that big, but they really can run. The guys are where they're supposed to be, so we've got our work cut out for us."

Betting line

As of Friday morning, Louisville was a 7 ½-point favorite over James Madison, according to Vegas Insider.

Prediction: Louisville 45, James Madison 27

Even though the offense has struggled at times, the Cardinals have demonstrated the ability to score in different ways. Over the last three games they’re averaging 35.3 points, which includes a season-high 48 points last week. If Louisville continues its defensive dominance and gets the offense going, it shouldn’t have a problem putting the Dukes away handily before going on the road to No. 4 Clemson next week.

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 football vs. James Madison: 3 things to know about matchup