Next 3 games

[Louisvillian]

are against 3 of the nastiest defenses in the country. Our Offensive Line and young offense in general better grow up fast.

Our next 3 opponents national rankings on defense:
Points per game
#2- Boston College
#10- Florida St.
#20- Wake Forest

Yards per game
#1- Boston College
#15- Wake Forest
#22- Florida St.

 

[FlamingSpear]

FSU D held Miami to 20 yards total rushing last night. Just sayin.

 

[American Male]

Just like NC State...MOST of those numbers came against an EASIER Schedule...I give The Cards a 40% shot against FSU...60% shot against BC, and 80% shot against Wake to win those games...So if we go 2-1 in those games, we sit at 4-4 for the season...NOT great, BUUUUUUT...After starting 0-3...I'll take it!

Still LOTS to play for...For the team (Young guys getting MORE Experience)...And the fans (Finish this season on a HIGH Note...Look forward to NEXT Season with a MORE Experienced Team)!!!

 

[Strongtino]

This team is so unbelievably young that all we need to focus on is making a bowl game. Added practice time and experience of a bowl game will provide massive benefits for this team moving into next year.

 

[beasleythecard]

are against 3 of the nastiest defenses in the country. Our Offensive Line and young offense in general better grow up fast.

Our next 3 opponents national rankings on defense:
Points per game
#2- Boston College
#10- Florida St.
#20- Wake Forest

Yards per game
#1- Boston College
#15- Wake Forest
#22- Florida St.

I believe we will win all three

 

[TheRealVille]

are against 3 of the nastiest defenses in the country. Our Offensive Line and young offense in general better grow up fast.

Our next 3 opponents national rankings on defense:
Points per game
#2- Boston College
#10- Florida St.
#20- Wake Forest

Yards per game
#1- Boston College
#15- Wake Forest
#22- Florida St.

Now calling BC and Wake nasty defenses is a bit much considering who they have played. BC is a little better holding FSU to 14 and Duke to 9. But they also have played Maine, Howard and N.Illinois.

Wake however gave up 24 to FSU and 30 to IU and the 'Cuse. But they did shut down Elon and Army.

Oh and these teams played each other with Wake winning 3-0.

I think these squads offenses are not very good. If the Cards don't beat these teams down handily then there's a lot more issues than we have seen so far. And FSU hasn't exactly seen the best of offenses either having played both Wake and BC, along with USF and Texas State. Their win last week over Miami is their best win on the season and although they didn't give up much in the running game, the 'Canes threw for over 400 yards.

I think it's pretty clear that Louisville will be the most talented team they have seen so far and with the Cards sitting at 2-3 and getting little respect, I think the 'Noles are going to be a little overconfident and a little unprepared for what they're going to see come high noon on Saturday. This is a cardinal team who has played a tough schedule with three point losses to undefeated and ranked teams Clemson and Houston. I know Auburn is struggling but they are still better than anybody FSU has seen.

It's close to a perfect situation for an upset if the Cards can avoid bad mistakes at key times in the game. That's why we've lost the three games. A 88 yard fumble TD, a missed sack and key holding call, and a missed FG and bad snap is why the Cards are not 5-0 even with all the OL issues and freshmen playing the skill positions.

What if Jackson would have played the entire game against Clemson? Hell, what if he had started the Auburn game?(at QB)

I watched the FSU/Miami game and the key is containing Cook and putting up TD's so FSU has to throw more. There's no Winston this year to save them.

Louisville 27
Florida State 23

 

[Louisvillian]

Now calling BC and Wake nasty defenses is a bit much considering who they have played. BC is a little better holding FSU to 14 and Duke to 9. But they also have played Maine, Howard and N.Illinois.

Wake however gave up 24 to FSU and 30 to IU and the 'Cuse. But they did shut down Elon and Army.

Oh and these teams played each other with Wake winning 3-0.

I think these squads offenses are not very good. If the Cards don't beat these teams down handily then there's a lot more issues than we have seen so far. And FSU hasn't exactly seen the best of offenses either having played both Wake and BC, along with USF and Texas State. Their win last week over Miami is their best win on the season and although they didn't give up much in the running game, the 'Canes threw for over 400 yards.

I think it's pretty clear that Louisville will be the most talented team they have seen so far and with the Cards sitting at 2-3 and getting little respect, I think the 'Noles are going to be a little overconfident and a little unprepared for what they're going to see come high noon on Saturday. This is a cardinal team who has played a tough schedule with three point losses to undefeated and ranked teams Clemson and Houston. I know Auburn is struggling but they are still better than anybody FSU has seen.

It's close to a perfect situation for an upset if the Cards can avoid bad mistakes at key times in the game. That's why we've lost the three games. A 88 yard fumble TD, a missed sack and key holding call, and a missed FG and bad snap is why the Cards are not 5-0 even with all the OL issues and freshmen playing the skill positions.

What if Jackson would have played the entire game against Clemson? Hell, what if he had started the Auburn game?(at QB)

I watched the FSU/Miami game and the key is containing Cook and putting up TD's so FSU has to throw more. There's no Winston this year to save them.

Louisville 27
Florida State 23

Go watch Boston College play once and you might see it differently. They are nasty.

Against #11 FSU they allowed only 14 points and 217 total yards.
Against #25 Duke they only allowed 9 points and 228 total yards.

Wake's defense is probably over ranked but still good and FSU has quickness and talent all over the field in defense.

I sure hope we steamroll all 3 of them.

 

[SWFNole9]

If you're going to beat FSU you're going to have to execute a gameplan that takes advantage of our weaknesses. Miami beat FSU using the inside receiver as the first read against overmatched safeties who couldn't keep up with them. Throwing outside against the boundary and field corner hasn't been a consistent opening for opponents. Although Jackson might be the fastest QB FSU has played this year, they got a good look at a similar one with Flowers from USF. Unfortunately for UL, FSU has only played one pocket passer this year, which means that we're familiar with proper alignments to limit scrambling and designed QB runs. I doubt overconfidence is an issue for the team this week, maybe the fanbase. The team has a ton of young guys who haven't experienced any true success to use as a recipe for overconfidence. And the OL keeps improving each week meaning that we have more of our playbook at our disposal. I don't expect that you've watched our offense from week to week, but there are many new plays and wrinkles used this week that indicate that we didn't attack our first four opponents the way we did Miami. Hoping for a good game where no one experiences any injuries, good luck

 

[TheRealVille]

Overconfidence doesn't usually manifest itself openly with obvious signs like bragging and goofing off during the week. It's more of a attitude like you know this upcoming game is not a big time game to get overly excited about.

Even though the coaches will tell the players Louisville is good enough to beat them they hear that about every opponent. FSU has won 27 ACC games in a roll so I think they are expecting another win against a non ranked team with a losing record.

 

[wilkie01]

Just like NC State...MOST of those numbers came against an EASIER Schedule...I give The Cards a 40% shot against FSU...60% shot against BC, and 80% shot against Wake to win those games...So if we go 2-1 in those games, we sit at 4-4 for the season...NOT great, BUUUUUUT...After starting 0-3...I'll take it!

Still LOTS to play for...For the team (Young guys getting MORE Experience)...And the fans (Finish this season on a HIGH Note...Look forward to NEXT Season with a MORE Experienced Team)!!!

At best we go to 5-3, but most likely we will be 4-4. We should be 7-4 going into the Kentucky game, so 9-4 year for 2015 is still possible.

 

[SWFNole9]

Overconfidence doesn't usually manifest itself openly with obvious signs like bragging and goofing off during the week. It's more of a attitude like you know this upcoming game is not a big time game to get overly excited about.

Even though the coaches will tell the players Louisville is good enough to beat them they hear that about every opponent. FSU has won 27 ACC games in a roll so I think they are expecting another win against a non ranked team with a losing record.

If that makes you feel better about the possible outcome that is fine but nothing about this team so far indicates that will be the case. Many of the contributors have openly admitted that last year's team had an issue with that, and that they made a concerted effort to make sure that doesn't happen. Could they have a hangover from a game against an arch rival? Sure. But it won't be an issue with dismissing the opponent as not worthy of effort, it is learning to build on success. They haven't demonstrated that yet, but that's mostly due to youth in key areas. Teams also play up to FSU, that's the drawback of being a big name. We always have a target on our back, even when we don't have a very good team like it was for much of the 2000s. I know that the win over FSU in 2002 was a big win for the UL program, but in truth it was already a sign that the program was in decline when you consider the players who started for that team.

 

[TheRealVille]

It's not about me feeling better. I could be totally wrong and FSU could be psyched to play the Cards. I'm not there to know for sure but going by recent results, my confidence I believe holds water.

FSU didn't perform their best against BC and I'm sure they never felt they would lose that game. This despite BC playing them tough the past few years.

One thing I know for sure is Louisville has the kind of talent to beat FSU. Now if they have the poise to actually do it, well, that's the question right now concerning this team. If we play mistake free football I think we get the win regardless of what the 'Noles attitude is about this game.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

It's not about me feeling better. I could be totally wrong and FSU could be psyched to play the Cards. I'm not there to know for sure but going by recent results, my confidence I believe holds water.

FSU didn't perform their best against BC and I'm sure they never felt they would lose that game. This despite BC playing them tough the past few years.

One thing I know for sure is Louisville has the kind of talent to beat FSU. Now if they have the poise to actually do it, well, that's the question right now concerning this team. If we play mistake free football I think we get the win regardless of what the 'Noles attitude is about this game.

FSU has a lot of respect for Louisville so if you are looking for an overconfident FSU that won't happen. Louisville is a good team. That said, Louisville's strengths and weakness are totally the opposite of Miami. Louisville is better on defense than Miami was and especially against the run. Dalvin Cook will have a tougher time finding holes on Louisville than he did on Miami. But where Miami exploited us is with their super fast receivers especially Stacey Coley. Not sure Louisville can exploit those one on one matchups on the outside like Miami did. Louisville has some good receivers but not as good as Miami and Brad Kaaya is a better passing QB than Lamar Jackson. At the same time Jackson is way more mobile than Kaaya. There really isn't any way to truly know how this game is going to match up because FSU hasn't played a team similar to Louisville and the only team Louisville has played that is similar to FSU is Clemson but that game was a home game for them.

I look for a close game that is low scoring. By that I mean 17-14 or 20-17.

 

[cardstud1]

FSU has a lot of respect for Louisville so if you are looking for an overconfident FSU that won't happen. Louisville is a good team. That said, Louisville's strengths and weakness are totally the opposite of Miami. Louisville is better on defense than Miami was and especially against the run. Dalvin Cook will have a tougher time finding holes on Louisville than he did on Miami. But where Miami exploited us is with their super fast receivers especially Stacey Coley. Not sure Louisville can exploit those one on one matchups on the outside like Miami did. Louisville has some good receivers but not as good as Miami and Brad Kaaya is a better passing QB than Lamar Jackson. At the same time Jackson is way more mobile than Kaaya. There really isn't any way to truly know how this game is going to match up because FSU hasn't played a team similar to Louisville and the only team Louisville has played that is similar to FSU is Clemson but that game was a home game for them.

I look for a close game that is low scoring. By that I mean 17-14 or 20-17.

SchmidtyNole, I think you're right about low scoring! Great post!

 

[TheRealVille]

I agree with a lot of what you said but not Miami's receivers are better than Louisville's. They are older but not better. The Cards are stacked at receiver. The true freshmen Peete, Smith and Samuel have already shown what the next few years are going to be like for future opponents. Then there's the more experienced guys like Quick, Savage, and Staples. Staples saw his first action last game after a summer injury. The UAB transfer won the starting job in the spring.

Other than the speedster Samuel, all of these guys are 6'3 and taller. The skies the limit on how good the Cards receiving corps is going to be. It's the deepest and most talented position on the team.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

I agree with a lot of what you said but not Miami's receivers are better than Louisville's. They are older but not better. The Cards are stacked at receiver. The true freshmen Peete, Smith and Samuel have already shown what the next few years are going to be like for future opponents. Then there's the more experienced guys like Quick, Savage, and Staples. Staples saw his first action last game after a summer injury. The UAB transfer won the starting job in the spring.

Other than the speedster Samuel, all of these guys are 6'3 and taller. The skies the limit on how good the Cards receiving corps is going to be. It's the deepest and most talented position on the team.

Overall as a group that may be the case. But Stacey Coley is mainly the guy I am talking about. He's a legit 4.3 guy. We thought we had him on Signing Day in 2013 but he announced for the U which shocked all of the experts. He was a matchup nightmare for us especially after Trey Marshall got ejected for targeting. Coley had 7 catches for 140 yards and a touchdown against us. As a group Louisville probably has got as good or better receivers than Miami but Coley is the biggest matchup nightmare for us among the receivers for Louisville and Miami due to his world class speed.

 

[beantowncard]

Dalvin Cook is a real problem for us. I'm just hoping our old buddy Everett throws us a couple just like he did last year. I know he is turnover-free this season but believe me it's the calm before the storm. At some point this season he will revert to form.

Our best shot is to be able to somewhat contain DC with our safeties back, making it difficult for EG to find open passing lanes. Then win the turnover and penalty battle. It's a tall order, but this team can do it. Go Cards!

 

[Louisvillian]

I know that the win over FSU in 2002 was a big win for the UL program, but in truth it was already a sign that the program was in decline when you consider the players who started for that team.

You mean that 2002 FSU team that included big time stars such as:
WR Anquan Boldin
DT Darnell Dockett
RB Greg Jones
DE Kamerion Wimbley
RB Leon Washington
CB Bryant McFadden
WR P.K. Sam
LB Kendyll Pope

All of these guys were studs. Hardly a bare cupboard. All 8 were NFL draft picks and almost all of them have had successful pro careers.

 

[L1c4tillidie]

I dont know if we win it but id be surprised if we dont make the ACC championship game. Looked great against NC St. and we are only going to get better.

 

[SWFNole9]

You mean that 2002 FSU team that included big time stars such as:
WR Anquan Boldin
DT Darnell Dockett
RB Greg Jones
DE Kamerion Wimbley
RB Leon Washington
CB Bryant McFadden
WR P.K. Sam
LB Kendyll Pope

All of these guys were studs. Hardly a bare cupboard. All 8 were NFL draft picks and almost all of them have had successful pro careers.

You're right that there were some very, very talented guys on that that team, but for every all-star type there was a dud. We weren't coached very well, either, which meant that many of those players were not maximized to their full potential. I still give you credit for the win, but that wasn't a vintage FSU squad, not even close