Louisville’s trip to Syracuse now has a kickoff time.
The Cardinals will face the Orange on October 17 at 7:30 p.m. on the ACC Network inside the JMA Wireless Dome. The game comes 12 days before Louisville’s road date in Syracuse, and it gives fans the full picture for what’s ahead after a rough start to the season.
Louisville enters the week at 2-3 after a three-point loss at NC State over the weekend. The Cardinals will stay home this Friday for a matchup with Florida State at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, with that game set for 7:00 p.m. on ESPN.
The Syracuse meeting will be the first time Louisville and Jeff Brohm face the Orange in his four-year tenure. Louisville is 13-8 all-time against Syracuse, but the most recent matchup went to the Orange in 2022.
That game was part of a strange recent run for the Cardinals in the Dome, where they also dropped a 2018 visit that was so one-sided the broadcast was cut away because Louisville was playing so poorly. The 2022 game was also the last opener at Louisville for Scott Satterfield.
There have been plenty of painful nights in that building for the Cardinals. One of the most memorable came in 2012, when Louisville arrived at 9-0 on Teddy Bridgewater’s birthday and left with its first loss of the season, 45-26.
Still, the Dome has not been all bad news for Louisville. Lamar Jackson’s leap in 2016 stands as the high point, and the Cardinals also handled Syracuse in 2014 during Bobby Petrino’s first year back for his second stint.
Florida State arrives first, though, and that one carries its own history. Louisville is 6-18 all-time against the Seminoles and has not beaten them since 2021. The most recent meeting came in the 2023 ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, where the Cardinals fell 16-6.
In Other News...
Louisville Suddenly Has No Margin For Error Against Florida State
The trip to NC State left Louisville with another close loss and a little less room to breathe, as the Cardinals fell 31-28 and dropped their second straight game. It was the kind of result that stings because it was there to be taken, and it now leaves Jeff Brohms team trying to steady itself before the next ACC test.
ESPNs updated Football Power Index reflected the slide, pushing Louisville down five spots to No. 36. The numbers still lean slightly in the Cardinals favor for Florida State, but not by much, which is a reminder that this is turning into the kind of stretch where every possession matters and every misstep gets magnified. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Keeps Losing Games The Same Painful Way
Louisville keeps finding new ways to make the same old mistakes feel fresh, and the latest loss followed a frustrating script. Turnovers put the Cardinals behind the eight ball, and even as the offensive line showed some improvement in front of Isaac Brown, the overall operation never quite steadied itself enough to take control of the game.
The defense was the more alarming problem, with coverage breakdowns creating too many easy openings for big gains and leaving the secondary exposed for much of the day. Louisville did flash some pass-rush pressure and had chances to get off the field, but third-down struggles and the blown assignments in the back end kept undercutting any momentum the Cardinals tried to build. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Faces A Chance To Make An ACC Statement At Louisville
Saturdays ACC meeting in Louisville brings together two teams trying to firm up their standing, with Florida State walking in after a recent stretch that has kept its name in the conference conversation. The Seminoles have leaned on a balanced offense and enough efficiency in key spots to stay dangerous, while Louisville is looking to use home field and a bounce-back performance to make the kind of league statement that changes how the rest of the schedule feels.
What makes this one especially interesting is the contrast in styles and the way Florida State has been able to stress defenses with its quarterback run game and money-down execution. Louisville will need to be sharper than it has been in recent conference tests, because the Seminoles have shown they can keep drives alive and make opponents pay when the game tightens late. [Read more 🡒]
