Louisville at Kentucky Line

Written by Steve Janus

This Saturday bragging rights in the state of Kentucky we be on the line when the Kentucky Wildcats host the Louisville Cardinals. The Wildcats improved t0 2-0 with a 27-13 come-from-behind win over Central Michigan, while the Cardinals dropped to 1-1 with a disappointing 24-17 loss at home to Florida International. Kentucky’s 23-16 win at Louisville was their fourth straight win in this in-state rivalry.

Taking a look at the week 3 college football odds, oddsmakers have Kentucky favored by 6.5-points over Louisville.

Louisville Cardinals:

The Cardinals have to feel like they let one get away last week against FIU. Louisville outgained the Golden Panthers 446 to 293 in total yards, but three big plays cost the the game. FIU returned an interception for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. After Louisville closed the gap to 7-3, Wesley Carrol hit T.Y. Hilton on a 74 yard touchdown pass and then followed that up with an 84-yard touchdown pass to Hilton on the next series.

Offensively the Cardinals racked up 24 first downs but just couldn’t make the big play when it needed to in the second half. Will Stein finished the game with 349 yards and two touchdowns on 30 of 43 passing. Tight end Josh Chichester caught six passes for 11 yards , while Michaelee Harris had six catches for 79 yards and score. Stein could be in for a big week against the Wildcats, as Kentucky allowed 295 passing yards last week to Central Michigan.

Neither team could do much of anything running the football. Louisville managed just 83 yards on the ground. Senior running back Victor Anderson had just 29 yards on 13 attempts, while sophomore Jeremy Wright led the way with 54 yards on 15 attempts. On the other side of the ball, Louisville held FIU to just 45 rushing yards on 26 attempts.

Kentucky Wildcats:

Things didn’t look good for the Wildcats early against Central Michigan. Kentucky fell behind 13-3 to start the game and were down 13-6 at half. They would go on to dominate the second half 21-0 for a comfortable win.

Kentucky was outgained 227-94 in the first half of play, but would rack up 250 yards to the Chippewas 156 in the final two quarters. The Wildcats did most of their damage on the ground, as they finished with 230 yards rushing. Josh Clemons led the way with 126 yards thanks to a nice 82-yard touchdown run. Raymond Sanders added 62 yards and quarterback Morgan Newton chipped in 43 yards and score.

It was a good thing the running game was working, as Newton completed just 9 of 18 for 114 yards. He did connect with La’Rod King five times for 100 yards, but also threw his fourth interception in just two games.

The Wildcats were also very strong against the run in this game, holding Central Michigan to just 88 yards on 32 attempts. The team that has finished the game with the most rushing yards has won each of the last 15 years in this series.

Betting Trends:

Louisville is 31-12 ATS in their last 43 non-conference games, but are just 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0.

Kentucky is 13-5-1 ATS in their last 19 non-conference games, but are only 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite of 3.5-10.0.

Be sure to take a look at who Steve Janus has picked to win this week in college football.

Comments

Got something to say?