Louisville football is riding a four-game win streak, as the Cardinals sit in third place in the ACC and face maybe their toughest ACC opponent during this streak. The Cardinals travel to a gritty North Carolina squad, which sits 5-4 on the season, including 2-3 in conference play.
Louisville football vs. North Carolina early odds and a prediction
However, the record doesn’t tell the full story about this UNC season, as Bill Belichick and his Tar Heels have played much better football this year. They played Notre Dame and Miami very closely earlier this season, and their two ACC wins are over 6-3 Pitt and 7-2 Duke.
With Louisville trying to punch their ticket to the ACC Championship Game, the Cardinals' showdown against the Tar Heels this weekend is massive. So, with the weekend quickly approaching, we wanted to make some bold predictions for this crucial ACC matchup.
Isaac Brown bounces back with 100+ rushing yards
We predict Isaac Brown will have another breakout performance. The star running back had just 38 rushing yards on seven carries in the Cardinals' win, but if Louisville wants to win on the road, Brown must have one of his dominant performances.
In three of the Tar Heel’s four losses, an opposing running back rushed for 120 yards or more, including two games where the opposing running back earned at least 130 rushing yards. Brown as had a dominant second half of the season, rushing for 100 yards or more in three of his last five games, and we think a recipe to defeat UNC is through their star running back.
We predict Isaac Brown will score at least one touchdown and rush for at least 100 yards for the fourth time this season.
Louisvilles sacks the QB at least three times
A major key to winning this matchup on Saturday is Louisville getting to the Tar Heels' quarterback, Billy Edwards. The Tar Heels have struggled to protect their QB at times this season, giving up three sacks to TCU, Pitt, and Clemson; two sacks to Duke and Syracuse; and a whopping four sacks to Miami.
Louisville’s defensive line must put pressure on Edwards, and we think they will. We predict Clev Lubin and this defensive line will get to the quarterback for at least three sacks. The Cards are coming off a dominant performance against Georgia Tech, where they sacked the QB four times, and have sacked the QB at least twice in seven of their nine games and have sacked the QB at least three times in five games, including three of the last four.
Lincoln Kienholz throws for 275+
Lincoln Kienholz has been one of the Cardinals' best players this year, and he continues that on Saturday. The 4-star transfer has thrown for 2,276 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, and on Saturday, we expect Kienholz to post at least 300 total yards again.
Kienholz is one of the best dual-threat QBs in college football, and he showed that last week. Kienholz led the Cards to their fourth straight win, rushing for 81 yards and throwing for 182. He has thrown just three interceptions this season, and in a crucial road matchup, we think he will lead the Cards to a victory.
We predict Kienholz to throw for at least 275 yards and rush for at least 50 yards.
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