Louisville football is 1-1, and the Cardinals have a chance to send a message this weekend. The Cardinals will face No. 16 SMU in a crucial Week 3 conference matchup, as both teams have ACC Championship aspirations and are aiming to make the College Football Playoffs.
Louisville football has already answered one of its biggest offseason questions
Right now, Louisville is ranked No. 23 in the nation, and while that certainly sounds good for a 1-1 UofL, one team ahead of the Cardinals shouldn’t be. College football has already been crazy and has seen one upset no one saw coming.
That upset was, of course, last weekend when Oklahoma State stunned the Oregon Ducks. While Louisville has a chance this weekend to pass the Ducks and climb into the top 20, Oregon being ranked No. 21 and Louisville only moving up one spot to No. 23 seems questionable, to say the least.
Louisville should be ranked ahead of No. 21 Oregon
When looking at Louisville and Oregon, it certainly feels like the Cardinals look like the better team after two weeks. Louisville faced No. 8 Ole Miss on a neutral field and took the Rebels down to the final second of the game, where the Cardinals lost by three points after a 48-yard field goal.
As for Oregon, well, they just got embarrassed by Oklahoma State, who lost to Tulsa the week prior by 14 points. Oregon entered the game as 24.5-point favorites, and for a team with title expectations, they certainly didn’t look like it.
The Ducks were dominated by the Pokes in every aspect of the game and lost by only eight because their defense returned an interception to the end zone and returned another interception to the two-yard line, which they punched into the end zone for another seven points.
Oregon was dominated in yardage, as Oklahoma State earned 554 total yards and Oregon had just 281, being outgained by 273 yards overall. It wasn’t just yards, though: Oklahoma State earned 25 first downs to Oregon’s 12, and the Pokes controlled the time of possession.
This was a dominant performance by Oklahoma State, and it feels like Louisville has a case to be ranked ahead of the Ducks. The Ducks have the better win by beating Boise State, but even then, Oregon trailed in the second half and was tied in the fourth quarter.
As for Louisville, they look like a legit threat in the ACC. The Cardinals impressed the nation against Ole Miss, and Lincoln Kienholz took over Week 2 after contributing four touchdowns and throwing for 332 yards.
Rankings will play themselves out this weekend with the Cardinals' massive game against No. 16 SMU. However, Louisville being ranked behind Oregon and getting ESPN 2 and not ESPN certainly shows this Cardinals team still isn’t getting the national respect it deserves.
Add us as a preferred source on Google