Louisville football: 5 important things to watch for in December
By Jacob Lane
Where will Louisville play in a bowl game?
The predictions for the last few weeks have been all over the place, thanks to the ACC having multiple tie-ins across the college football bowl slate and Louisville finishing inconsistently down the stretch.
When looking at projections I’ve seen anything and everything, from the Quick Lane Bowl, Military Bowl, Orange Bowl (obviously that’s now dead), Sun Bowl, Music City Bowl, and plenty of others. All of which feature one last challenging matchup for Louisville to finish the 2019 season.
With Louisville now 100 owning the second-place finish in the ACC Atlantic Division it looks like the options should be shrinking down to just a handful of potential placements.
- Pinstripe Bowl vs. Illinois
- Music City Bowl vs. Mississippi State
- Music City Bowl vs. Tennessee
- Music City Bowl vs. UAB
The most likely destinations for Louisville at this point seem to be the Music City Bowl, which could produce a rather large turnout thanks to the game being played in Nashville, as well as the Pinstripe Bowl in New York City and the Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX.
If you’re anything like me, you are probably hoping that Louisville winds up playing in Nashville in the Music City Bowl so that a trip down is possible. In today’s world bowl games mean absolutely and have become more of a glorified exhibition than they have a postseason reward for a nice season. That is why playing in a location where a large number of fans are able to make the trip can be a difference-maker.
A lot of the times we see programs show up at bowl games with the mentality and body language that they really don’t want to be there. That oftentimes leads to uninspired, sloppy football that ultimately means nothing, but limits the growth potential of certain teams. For both the short-term and long-term outlook, Louisville needs a win. Much like in 2015 against Texas A&M, a win in a bowl game against a quality P5 opponent can mean all the difference in the next season.
After dominating Texas A&M behind the breakout play of Lamar Jackson, Louisville announced themselves as a major player in the SEC – setting up what would be a major breakthrough season in 2016. While I don’t think this year’s team is quite ready to compete for the number one spot in the ACC, I do believe that a big performance could help with building confidence heading into Spring Camp in February as well as helping Louisville stay at the top of the ACC rankings.
We’ll know for sure where Louisville will play this coming Sunday after the completion of all Conference Championships. For most programs, a bowl is just another game, but for Louisville, sending their seniors out with a bang and preparing their younger players will be crucial.