Roundtable: Previewing the 2019 Louisville football season

Be honest, does Louisville really have a chance at winning enough games to get bowl eligible?

Tanner Hickman: It’s just hard for me to see this year. The schedule isn’t necessarily loaded like an SEC west schedule but you play two teams that were in the playoff last year with Notre Dame and National Champion Clemson, Florida State in Tallahassee (which I think is still a winnable game), Virginia who is the preseason favorite to win the Coastal, Miami at Miami (we’ll see what they look like this weekend against Florida), Pre-season top 25 Syracuse, and Kentucky in Lexington. That’s a tall order to get to 6 wins coming off 2-10. In short, I can’t see them making a bowl.

Presley Meyer: Yes! The Cards have yet to play a game this season and we are already writing it off as a rebuild. There is talent on this team. Is it likely? Given the mess, culturally, that the new staff inherited, probably not. Culture rebuilds are much more time-consuming than installing new plays and snagging new talent. Is 5-7 wins attainable, though? Absolutely. Let’s not forget where this team was just two years ago. There are still plenty of guys that have the skillset to compete and get this squad to the postseason.

Ethan Sprowles: Yes they do. There are far too many 50/50 games on this schedule to completely rule out the possibility. WKU and EKU should be wins. Boston College and Wake Forest are the most winnable conference games, both should be down this season. After that, Louisville would just need to find 2 wins in the group of NC State, Syracuse, Florida State, Virginia, and UK. That’s doable. Is it likely? Probably not considering last year, but it’s possible.

Jacob Lane: The fan in me tells me that Louisville could go bowling, but if we’re going off true eligibility for a bowl, which is six games, then I don’t see it.

I predicted the Cards to win five this year (you can check out my game-by-game predictions here) and I am sticking with that and there’s nothing wrong with it – at all.

There are too many questions at the quarterback position, the team is lacking true depth at this point, and there’s just so much change that it’ll take weeks to get it figured out. Not to mention they have one of the toughest schedules in the ACC in 2019.

Alan Thomas: As I’ve said before, I think 4-5 wins is all the way on the table with both elbows. Is it possible to sneak an upset somewhere? Absolutely. We have an entirely fresh start with a new coaching staff, so nothing is off-limits. It’s entirely possible to steal a bowl bid, though not likely.

Alex Stengel: Please don’t ask me this. If there’s one guy at BRL who can jump down the rabbit hole of concern and come out explaining how Louisville finishes at .500 or better – it’s me.

I’ve explained the scenario on the BRL podcast, but the optimist in me can potentially fathom a bowl game in year one of Coach Satterfield: EKU, WKU, (then it gets fun) FSU, WF, BC, NC State.

I know – that basically means IF Louisville gels together early and becomes road juggernauts, there might be a chance. I mean, it’s not IMPOSSIBLE – just improbable. Here’s to hoping.