Rivalry week is here, and the Louisville football team is taking on the Kentucky Wildcats from L&N Stadium. The Cardinals are currently on a three-game losing streak after falling 38-6 to SMU, while Kentucky just lost to Vanderbilt 45-17.
The Cards enter this game 7-4, while Kentucky is 5-6. Louisville has a 16-20 record against Kentucky all-time, following its dominant 41-17 win last year. The Cards will try to secure their first back-to-back win over Kentucky since the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The Cardinals' season has taken quite a drastic turn, but a win over the Wildcats and eight regular-season wins would end the season on a positive note.
The spread is changing fast after Louisville's recent injuries and Saturday's performance, so let's break down the spread and make a prediction.
Louisville vs Kentucky odds
The line opened with Louisville favored by 6.5, but since the Cardinals' 32-point loss to SMU, it has changed drastically to Louisville favored by just 3.5. There are still a lot of questions this morning about whether Isaac Brown, Keyjuan Brown, or Miller Moss will play, causing the spread to shift and get closer and closer to a pick 'em. Louisville has a 52.9 percent chance of winning, according to ESPN Analytics.
Odds courtesy of FanDuel, and as of 6 am ET on Monday, Nov. 24.
Spread: Louisville -3.5
Moneyline: Louisville -156 Clemson +130
Over/Under: 47.5
Prediction
The Cardinals haven't had the month of November they were hoping for, but a win over Kentucky will make this season a whole lot better if they can keep the Governor's Cup in Louisville. The Cards are in dire need of ending this season on a positive note after this brutal three-game losing streak. It is unknown at the time who is available, but if Louisville can get just one running back for this game, it would be a massive boost.
The Cards' offense with one of the Brown's would make this game favor Louisville a whole lot more. However, if Louisville is without its star tailbacks and Miller Moss, this offense didn't show much fight last week, and it is hard to imagine it will be much better this weekend either.
The Wildcats don't have a win over a Power Four team this season, and with this game at home, we're predicting Louisville to win as of Monday. But depending on the health of the Cards' stars, that all can change.
Prediction: Louisville 31 Kentucky 27