Ranking Louisville football’s 2020 schedule by match-up intrigue
8. at Virginia
November 7th
Bronco Mendenhall’s squad ended 2019 on a sour note after getting shellacked by Clemson and taking one on the chin against Florida in the Orange Bowl.
Still, the Cavaliers are coming off of one of their better seasons in school history and feel like a program on the rise.
They will have to continue their ascension, however, without Bryce Perkins and his two stud receivers Joe Reed and Hasise Dubois.
While the offense is rebuilding, the UVA defense projects to be one of the best in the ACC. They return the bulk of their starters from last season, and they will likely lean heavily on the ground game to try to shorten things up.
Mendenhall doesn’t mind winning ugly, and the Cavs are likely to try and go that route in this one. Louisville will have to avoid turnovers if it wants to escape Charlottesville with a win.
7. NC State
September 3rd
Louisville opens the season hosting NC State for an important Thursday night primetime conference showdown.
The Cardinals used a strong third quarter to put away the Wolfpack in 2019, and like all but one ACC team, ran through and past the Pack for a pretty easy victory.
Like Syracuse, State got rid of its offensive and defensive coordinators in the offseason, but unlike the Orange, the Wolfpack return almost everyone from a season ago.
Dave Doeren is on the hot seat entering the season, and a team projected to finish in the top half of the conference in Louisville would be the perfect opportunity to set the tone.
However, Louisville is a solid team at home, especially in home openers, and particularly on Thursday night games. The crowd figures to be rocking and Louisville will have a real opportunity to win its season opener for the first time since Lamar Jackson left the program.
6. Wake Forest
November 14th
A turning point in the 2019 season for the Cardinals was their shootout victory over Wake Forest. The Cardinals offense was electric from start to finish and they saw contributions from nearly every offensive starter.
Entering 2020, Wake has a ton of question marks. The Demon Deacons lose quarterback Jamie Newman as well as dynamic receivers Scotty Washington and Kendall Hinton.
They lose significant role players as well at linebacker, corner, tight end, offensive line, and running back as well.
Still, Wake back up Sam Hartman will step into the presumed starter role, and he is just as dynamic as Newman. The Deacons also return electric receiver Sage Surratt, who shocked the college football landscape when he opted to return to school and running back Kenneth Walker III figures to thrive in an increased role.
Head coach Dave Clawson has changed the Culture at Wake, and though the Deacs will feature a ton of fresh faces in the starting lineup, this game won’t be a cakewalk.
Wake is Louisville’s final conference game, which means the Cardinals will have a chance to set the tone early and perhaps apply some pressure on other teams at the top.
5. Kentucky
November 28th
Coming off of back-to-back losses in the Governor’s Cup for the first time in a decade, one would think that Kentucky would be higher up on a list of significant games.
While the Cardinals’ hosting of the Wildcats on Thanksgiving weekend is almost certain to be a contentious one, there are simply too many great games on the back end of this schedule to put this game any higher.
Louisville went into Kroger Field and took it’s most embarrassing L of the season as Lynn Bowden rushed for nearly 300 yards and four touchdowns.
Bowden is gone, but Kentucky returns a triumvirate of terrific running backs, one of the best offensive lines in the country, and quarterback Terry Wilson looks like he will finally be healthy. They have a ton of massive depth on the defensive line, and bring in one of their best recruiting classes ever.
Kentucky wasn’t special last year given its talent level, but it continues to build depth, and its style of play will continue to pose a threat to Louisville.
Among ACC teams, Louisville is about mid-tier in size and athleticism, and that works. Against Kentucky’s massive offensive and defensive linemen, however, the Cardinals have some things to work on.
Satterfield and company will have a lot more depth to work with this season, and with another year to learn and prepare, Louisville definitely stands a chance to make this a better game and potentially end the season on a high note.