Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-1 SU, 5-1 ATS) at Louisville Cardinals (2-4 SU, 3-3 ATS), Friday October 21st, 8:00PM EST, College Football Week 8
Papa Johns Cardinals Stadium Louisville, Kentucky
By Jay Horne, Collegiate Football Handicapper of Predictem.com
Point Spread: Rutgers -1.5/Louisville +1.5
Over/Under Total: OFF
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Big East Football will take center stage this Friday night with two different conference match-ups on the venue. While West Virginia and Syracuse will headline the night, there will also be a very entertaining match-up on ESPN2 when the Louisville Cardinals host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights inside Papa Johns Cardinals Stadium. Surprisingly, the visiting Scarlet Knights are just a field goal away from being a perfect 6-0 this season, but still remain an undefeated (2-0) in conference play. This Friday night the Scarlet Knights will put their talent on display in front of the entire nation as they look to remain unbeaten and remain a surprise contender in Big East play.
The Cardinals have limped to a 2-4 record through the first half of the season. After their last win against rival Kentucky, Louisville has lost 3 straight games and are desperate to score another victory. So far this season, the Cardinals have really struggled on the offensive side of the football. Louisville has failed to score more than 17 points in any of their 4 losses this season and rank near dead last out of all teams in the country averaging a measly 16.33 points per game. Fortunately, the Cardinals defense have played strong giving up just 303 yards per game (17th in NCAA) despite the offense's struggles. Therefore if the Cardinals offense finds a spark, they may turn around their season.
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On offense, one of the main concerns all season has been the rushing attack. The Cardinals rushing game ranks a disappointing 102nd in the country averaging just 108 yards per game. Out of all Cardinals running backs, sophomore tailback Jeremy Wright leads all rushers with just 176 yards through the first 6 games of the year. The Cardinals offense has just failed to establish any type of running game which makes it very difficult to overcome in low scoring defensive ball games that Louisville has been involved in this season.
In the passing game, freshman QB Teddy Bridgewater has thrown just 4 touchdown passes compared to 5 interceptions this season. Bridgewater is completing a solid 64% passing for 709 yards, but has simply made too many mistakes to get the offense in gear. Bridgewater took over for junior QB Will Stein who started the season at the helm and tossed 5 scores with just 1 pick. However, Stein suffered a shoulder injury that has kept him sidelined for the last few weeks. Stein was able to take a few snaps in last week's 25-16 loss to Cincinnati and is hopeful to be back under center this Friday night. If Stein is able to go, he should present better consistency for the passing attack and perhaps a boost for the entire offense.
On the other side of the field, the Scarlet Knight offense has not been overpowering by any stretch of the imagination. The Rutgers offense ranks 97th overall in total yards averaging 332 yards per game. Similar to Louisville, Rutgers has been horrible on the ground ranking 111th in rushing averaging just 91 yards per game on the ground. However, the Scarlet Knight's passing offense has been respectable averaging 241 yards per game despite juggling two different quarterbacks through the majority of the season. Emerging from that battle at the quarterback position has been freshman Gary Nova.
Nova rallied the Scarlet Knights offense in a comeback against Syracuse and has not looked back since. Despite some inconsistency, Nova appears to be the guy with the most upside and he is coming off a solid outing last week completing 75% passing for 271 yards with 2 scores along with 2 picks. Nova will indeed get the start again this week in attempt to build off that momentum. However if things go south with Nova, QB Chas Dodd (54% passing for 754 yards with 6 touchdowns and 3 picks) may get the opportunity behind center as well after being replaced from the start role after inconsistency issues.
Jay's Pick to Cover the Point Spread: I expect Louisville to come out here with a huge effort and win this game convincingly. This is one of my strongest bet recommendations of the year.
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