Louisville Cardinals are c..."/> Louisville Cardinals are c..."/>

Louisville Starts As Betting Favorites Over Virginia Tech

U of L head football coach Jeff Brohm watched action during their game against Duke at the L&N Stadium in Louisville, Ky. on Oct. 28, 2023.
U of L head football coach Jeff Brohm watched action during their game against Duke at the L&N Stadium in Louisville, Ky. on Oct. 28, 2023. /
facebooktwitterreddit
Oct 7, 2023; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals defensive lineman Ramon Puryear (41) celebrates after a defensive stop against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Louisville defeated Notre Dame 33-20. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 7, 2023; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals defensive lineman Ramon Puryear (41) celebrates after a defensive stop against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Louisville defeated Notre Dame 33-20. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports /

Louisville starts as big favorites over surging Virginia Tech

The #18 Louisville Cardinals are coming off a huge win over the Duke Blue Devils, where they improved to 7-1 and 4-1 in the ACC to jump into 2nd place. Virginia Tech is 4-4 but 3-1 in the ACC, which ties the Cardinals for 2nd place. The matchup this weekend will put the winner of this game in sole possession of 2nd place in the ACC and will boost the winners chances of playing for the ACC championship.

The Cardinals started as a double digit favorite over Virginia Tech, but has since fallen to Louisville -9.5. Virginia Tech has won 3 of their last 4 games, and that loss came against the #3 Florida State Seminoles. The Hokies are surging, and not only have they beat their opponents, but they have blown them out badly. They beat Pitt and Wake Forest by 17 points, and beat Syracuse by 28 points last thursday night. While those aren’t quality teams, it is still impressive. Especially when you see that the Cardinals lost to Pitt by 17 just a few weeks ago.

While the Cardinals are favored, this is not a game they can afford to lose if they want to make the ACC championship down the line. A conference championship hangs in the balance on this game, and if Louisville wants any shot at making the college football playoff (which is still a possibility) they need to beat the Hokies on saturday.

Louisville is currently a -9.5 point favorite, while the ESPN FPI gives the Cardinals a 78.2% chance to win this game as well. It will be interesting to see how this line moves throughout the week. All eyes will be on L&N Stadium on saturday at 3:30.