The Louisville Cardinals will play host to their arch rivals on Sunday, August 31st. The Kentucky Wildcats are set to pay a visit to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and it is safe to assume thay are not coming for the pizza. The game begins at 3:30 ET and will be shown on ESPN. College football pick odds at Bodoglife.com have Louisville as a -3.5 home favorite.
Last year Steve Kragthorpe took over for Bobby Petrino at Louisville after Petrino decided to take the head coaching job with the Atlanta Falcons. Kragthorpe's first go round was not an overwhelming success as the team finished at 6-6 and failed to earn a bowl birth. The Cardinals were ranked entering the season, and more was expected from them. This year the team returns four offensive starters and five defensive first teamers. The team now has a year of experience working under Kragthorpe, but it is doubtful that they can quickly replace the 342 passing yards per game that quarterback Brian Brohm helped put up last year.
Kentucky is in a little bit of a rebuilding mode this season. After going 8-5 last year, Rich Brook's team returns only four offensive starters and more importantly, they lose quarterback Andre' Woodson. The Wildcats put up 288 yards passing per game with Woodson in charge last year, and they will have a difficult time replacing that. On defense they return eight starters, but they yielded 29.6 points per game to the opposition in 2007 and 191 yards rushing per game. They should be improved but they had some big improving to do.
The key match up here will be the Louisville defensive line versus the offensive line of the Wildcats. Both units return three starters and have good experience. It will be critical for the Wildcats to protect new quarterback Curtis Pulley and it will be imperative for the Cardinals that they slow down what could be a good UK rushing attack.
Bodoglife.com's college football pick odds for the Wildcats vs Cardinals:
Kentucky +3.5
Louisville -3.5
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