Louisville football has another huge game coming up as the 1-1 Cardinals will take on the 2-0 SMU Mustangs. Louisville is coming off a 59-13 win over Villanova, marking as their first win of the season, while SMU is coming off a 56-10 win over UC Davis.
Now, the stage is set as the two will square off this Saturday at L&N Stadium at 3:30 p.m. local time on ESPN 2. The Cardinals have never defeated SMU in the programs history, sitting 0-3 all-time and 0-2 since SMU joined the ACC.
Louisville will look to earn that first win over SMU in program history this Saturday, which would be massive for the Cardinals ACC Championship hopes. Louisville showed in Week 1 they can compete with elite teams when they took Ole Miss to the final seconds, but now they will look to prove they can beat these top teams.
Louisville vs. SMU Odds
As of Monday morning, Louisville opens up as a slight favorite over the SMU Mustangs. The Cardinals are sitting 2.5 point favorite in this massive Week 3 showdown, according to FanDuel. Right now, the oddsmakers have Louisville’s moneyline odds to win at -126, which means if someone bets $10 on Louisville to win, they would win $7.94 from that bet. ESPN Analytics also rates this as a coin toss, giving the Cardinals a slight edge at 52%.8 percent chance.
Odds courtesy of FanDuel, and as of 6am ET on Monday, September 14th.
Spread: Louisville -2.5
Over/Under: 59.5
Moneyline: Louisville -126
Big Red Louie Predictions
Watching this offense get more reps together and really show how explosive it can be, it is going to be tough to slow down. The Cardinals have scored 38 points or more in its first two games and are averaging 48.5 points per game. Lincoln Kienholz has been an absolute star for Jeff Brohm through two games, completing 68 percent of his passes, throwing for 300 yards or more in both games, and throwing for seven touchdowns.
This game will come down to Louisville’s defense and their secondary. The Cardinals will have to do their best to slow down Kevin Jennings and company, as last year they won 38-6, and Jennings scored a combined four touchdowns, including three from the air, with 303 passing yards.
This game has huge ACC Championship implications, as many analysts said before the season that the winner of this game is their prediction to face Miami in Charlotte. Both teams have already been battle-tested this season, but with the Cardinals dropping Week 1, we think Brohm and Kienholz will come out firing Saturday and lead the Cardinals to a gritty conference victory.
Prediction: Louisville 31 SMU 27
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