Louisville football: Ranking the last four opponents

3 of 5

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – OCTOBER 26: C.J. Avery #9 and Boosie Whitlow #49 of the Louisville Cardinals combine to force a fumble by Joe Reed #2 of the Virginia Cavaliers on October 26, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Virginia Cavaliers

Record: 2-4

Date of game: 11/14/20

This is Louisville’s next matchup on their schedule. They were supposed to play on November 7th. However, Covid struck the Cardinals prior to the game causing it to be postponed for this upcoming Saturday.

It is not really known at this time what Louisville’s roster will look like at this point for the game. However, as previously mentioned, it is a good sign that Louisville was able to practice Sunday with no new positives (as mentioned previous).

What is not clear is which Louisville players are currently quarantining in isolation and have not been tested due to this protocol. We may not know for sure until this weekend before the game is played which players Louisville could be without.

Let’s get to the Cavaliers. They have had one interesting year so far. They beat North Carolina in their last matchup (October 31st) by a score of 44-41. They lit it up against the Tar Heels in addition to giving Miami a scare losing by just five points. However, Virginia was beaten handily by the likes of NC State and Wake Forest.

A big reason for that obscurity could be attributed to starting quarterback Brennan Armstrong being sidelined due to a concussion that caused him to miss most of the NC State game and the entirety of Wake Forest.

Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall has the Cavaliers running 80 plays per game to this point (which is a ton). To give you an idea, Louisville is only running 65 plays per game.

Virginia’s biggest threat on offense is Billy Kemp IV. Despite being listed as a halfback by Virginia, Kemp has 45 receptions on the year to just four rushes. He basically plays wide receiver.

The biggest threats on defense are a future NFL Draft pick in massive 6’7″ outside linebacker Charles Snowden and corner Nick Grant.

This is not a pushover team. Louisville has had issues with Virginia in the past. However, they will have a good chance to be favored in the game and win. Louisville has the bodies on a normal day to go toe-to-toe with Virginia.

The biggest question mark remains: will the Cards be Covid-healthy?

Home/Louisville Football