Louisville football: Big Red Louie Predictions vs. Kentucky

Louisville football will take the field for the final time this season against arch-nemesis Kentucky. Do the Cards have a chance to pull the upset? Our Big Red Louie writers provide their prediction.

Well here we are. It’s week 13 of the 2018-19 football season and that means that Louisville football will take the field for the final time this year, against Rival Kentucky.

Back in September when Louisville was preparing to go on the road for the first time to face Virginia, a team that was viewed as being one of the “easier” games left on the schedule at the time, I wrote the following:

"How did we get here? The team is 2-1, as we all expected, yet the sky seems to be falling. The guy Petrino called “the guy” at Quarterback for Louisville football is no longer the starter. Star wide receivers, Dez Fitzpatrick and Jaylen Smith – two guys who many had pegged as All-ACC players, have combined for just 11 receptions, 159 yards, and 1 touchdown through three games compared to their 32 receptions, 590 yards, and 6 touchdowns this time last season.The defense, which had plenty of question marks has barely answered any of them, instead has given up almost 600 yards rushing through three games, most of which came against measly opponents Western Kentucky and Indiana State and has allowed Tua and some backup QB’s to pass at a 65%+ rating thus far. The play calling has been suspect, the team has struggled mightily on third down – simply stated this squad is failing the eye test miserably. But there’s still hope for optimism, or so we think."

If only naive me knew how to prepare for what was coming over the weeks and months ahead.

Today the Louisville Cardinals team that we thought would “exceed expectations,” is a team that is 2-9, 0-8 in the ACC, ranks near the bottom in almost every statistic across the board both offensively and defensively, and is now heading into a home matchup with rival Kentucky as a 17.5 point underdog.

Yikes.

Nothing the Cards have shown us over the last few weeks should give us any glimer of hope that the upset can be pulled off today, but once again, because of the dominance of the Cards over the Cats, mixed with Kentucky’s ability to always find a way to lose – Cardnation has hope.

With that in mind and knowing that this is the last game for seniors such as Micky Crum, Jaylen Smith, Linwood Foy, Lukayus McNeil, and Dee Smith the energy in Cardinal Stadium should be enough to get these guys up like they haven’t been throughout the season.

The Big Red Louie team is back to make their final predictions of the 2018-19 football season. Can the Cards pull it off? Some of us believe the answer is yes. 

Check it out!

Nick Conner:

Begging for the ‘Cats to jump on the bird and for desire to burn within the Cardinals like we haven’t seen yet. If the birds are gonna show up this is the time. Play with heart. Multiple scuffles, multiple weird plays, and the Cards win! UK overlooks the Cards, and whoever plays QB for the Cards (or both) makes enough plays and ends the season on a bright note. Louisville 24-21.

Andy Harrell:

My prediction? It’s not going to be pretty. Kentucky is offensively mediocre with an excellent defense. Louisville’s offense makes UK look like the “The Greatest Show On Turf” and our defense, it seems, is the collective human embodiment of a moving sidewalk.

The Cards have played 3 other defenses of this caliber this year and averaged 11 points per game in those outings.(See Clemson, Alabama, Virginia). The Spread is 17.5 and Vegas is about their money. With that said: 31-14 UK over Louisville.

Jacob Lane:

I think I have predicted Louisville to win every game this season except for one – yes I am the overly optimistic fan. This team is not good and they often play with minimal effort, so why should I believe they’ll win? Today’s different. “The records are out.” I feel an energy that is leading to the upset victory. If this team can get something even loosely resembling an offense and put 10 in the box and make Terry Wilson beat them, I think they can keep things close enough to eek out a win. And how sweet would it be the to pull off the victory at 2-9 over an 8-3 Kentucky team in the midst of their best season in recent memory? It happens today. Louisville 24 – Kentucky 16.

Presley Meyer:

As much as it pains every fiber of my being to say, I have no idea how Louisville can beat Kentucky this year. The cards are historically bad at the areas where the cats excel. This Kentucky defense is awesome. They have a fantastic rush defense, and will get into the Louisville backfield at-will. Meanwhile, Louisville’s defensive line is as porous as they come, and Benny Snell is primed for a 200+ yard day. UofL’s only hope is to play a ball control offense and turn UK over in their own territory on multiple occasions. If they can turn this into a boring, low-scoring affair, then maybe Louisville keeps it within a touchdown. Kentucky 16 Louisville 9.

Ross Prophater:

UK might be a pretty one dimensional offense, but UofL’s defense has been incapable of stopping anyone this season. To cast further doubt, UofL ranks near the bottom in almost every relevant offensive statistical category while UK has a Top 30 Total Defense that is Top 15 in Scoring.

I wish I could say it’s a bad matchup, but the fact is every team has been a bad matchup for our Cards this season. I think the Cards are careless with the football, turn the ball over multiple times and give Benny Snell plenty of opportunities to run roughshod on the Cards. Final Score: Cards- 17  Cayuts- 41

As always, GO CARDS!

Good Time Charlie:

I don’t know if you folks are aware but records are out the window in a rivalry game. Louisville has to stop the run to have a chance to retain the governors cup. The defense is going to have to play with a fire they have not all season, this one will be won in trenches and I’m feeling Cards 38-31 to close out football season.