On Saturday, the Louisville Cardinals look to bounce back at home against the Kent State Golden Flashes. After last week’s throttling by Clemson, the Cardinals hope to rebound and get back on the winning track. Kickoff inside Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium is at 12 P.M. ET.
Louisville had a chance to take an early control of the ACC conference last week, but was dominated by Clemson instead. Now, the Cardinals (2-1) will have to recover from a demoralizing defeat and get back on the winning track. This week, Louisville should easily dispatch of the Golden Flashes and get that winning mojo back again.
The 2 games that Kent (1-2) has played against reputable opponents (Clemson and Marshall) they have been blown out 77-3. Their only win on the season came against Howard and they barely won – 38 to 31. The Golden Flashes are severely outmatched in this game, and the spread shows it.
Currently, the spread sits at the Cardinals being favored by 44 points and the Over/Under at 55.5 total points.
There’s no question that Louisville will win this game. The only concern is whether or not they will win by 44 points. It’s possible that Kent scores a few garbage time points to cover the spread. More than likely, Louisville will route the Golden Flashes and cover the Over by themselves.
I expect the Cardinals to bounce back in a big way as quarterback Lamar Jackson will continue his Heisman campaign by throwing for at least 250 yards and possibly rushing for nearly 100 in this one. I see Jackson combining for at least 350 total yards and 5+ touchdowns in this game. His leadership will get the Cardinals back on track and rebuild their confidence ahead of the rest of their ACC conference games. On the season, Jackson has 1088 yards passing and 303 yards rushing. He’s totaled 11 touchdowns with one turnover.
Defensively, Louisville has given up 36 points per game and a staggering 452 yards per game. Even against an inferior opponent like Kent State, the Cardinals could get sloppy in the second half and allow some garbage time points to the Golden Flashes. Despite Kent’s offense being non-existent for the most part, a blowout game could provide late scoring chances for them. That’s another reason why we like the Over in this game.
This game will be an utter domination by Louisville and just what the doctor ordered for treatment of the Clemson beatdown from last week. Looking ahead, Louisville can cruise over the next month before facing Florida State on the road. Until then, the Cardinals will put up impressive numbers each week and Jackson’s Heisman campaign will soar.
The Over is 14-7 in Louisville’s last 21 games. It’s also 4-0 when over the last 4 home games where the Cardinals have played against teams with a losing record.
Kent’s defense is giving up 492 yards per game and I definitely expect Louisville to surpass the 550 yard mark in this one. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cardinals eclipse the 600 total yard mark. In their game against Clemson, Kent gave up 665 total yards. Look for a score of 57-7 or 63-10, as the two teams easily hit the Over.