Louisville’s trip to face North Carolina comes with a few clear pressure points, and the biggest one starts at quarterback. Lincoln Keinholz has been a major win for Louisville’s transfer portal gamble, but this matchup asks for his best version yet. UNC doesn’t bring a dominant defense, but it does have quick defensive linemen and linebackers who can attack downhill, the kind of look Louisville struggled with against Syracuse when negative plays started piling up.
That means Keinholz may have to win this one through the air. The running game could have a hard time getting going, and he’ll also be dealing with the best pass rush he’s seen in a few weeks. His growth as a pocket passer is about to get a real test.
The other side of the ball brings its own challenge. North Carolina is expected to come out fast, and Bobby Petrino’s opening scripts are still a problem for opposing defenses.
Louisville has already seen how sharp he can be when he’s setting the tone early, and Wake Forest is the only team the Cardinals have faced that scores more points in the first quarter. Falling behind early has been a recurring issue for Louisville, and that’s exactly the kind of script it can’t afford here.
Petrino’s motivation won’t be hard to find, either. There’s a good chance the storyline around this game gets tied to his return and the way things ended here, and the source material makes clear he’ll be plenty driven to put points on the board. He is, after all, an insanely competitive person who may not sleep this week if it means he can get an edge to win this game.
For Louisville, the defensive front has to show up. Billy Edwards has not handled pressure well, and when it gets to him, he has either been careless with the football or turned skittish in the pocket.
The Cardinals have generated pressure this season, but the sacks have not always followed. Ideally, they get home with four.
If that doesn’t happen, they’ll need to bring extra heat, because Petrino won’t wait around for halftime to make adjustments.
That sets up the kind of game that could turn into a track meet. Louisville just turned in its best defensive performance of the season last week, but there’s little reason to expect a repeat.
UNC has been better over the last two weeks, yet its defense still hasn’t looked strong. Put those together, and a shootout feels like the most likely outcome.
A few other notes frame the matchup. Bobby Petrino sucks.
Per multiple reports, Vince Marrow is now the highest-paid general manager in the country after UNC’s Michael Lombardi resigned. UNC tight end Jelani Thurman was a teammate of Lincoln Keinholz until this season, when he transferred.
The Tar Heels are also one of the best teams in the country when it comes to penalties, sitting fifth. And Greg Smith has been graded by PFF as essentially the second-best defensive player in the country, with the UNC safety posting an 85.2 mark that ranks second among players who have played 80% of the maximum snaps this year.
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North Carolina, meanwhile, comes in after finally snapping its losing streak, and the matchup adds another layer with Bobby Petrino on the Tar Heels staff as offensive coordinator after his previous run in Louisville. For the Cardinals, the bigger concern may be on the other side of the ball, where a shaky secondary has lingered as a weakness and now gets a stern test in a setting that could expose whether the recent success is as complete as it looks. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville May Have A Freshman Big Man NBA Teams Covet Already
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Pat Kelsey Just Added To Louisville's Huge Weekend Buzz
Pat Kelsey stepped to the microphone Friday with the basketball program already riding a wave of attention, and he made sure to widen the lens beyond Sundays matchup with Memphis. The Louisville coach used his pregame press conference to talk up the football program as well, pointing to Jeff Brohms team and the offense that has kept the Cardinals in the conversation during a busy stretch on campus.
With Louisville basketball set to face Memphis on Sunday and the football team heading into Saturdays game against North Carolina, it is one of those weekends when the whole athletic department feels connected. Kelseys comments added to the buzz by underscoring how much momentum Louisville has built across both sidelines, with one marquee game waiting in each sport and plenty of eyes on how the Cardinals handle the spotlight. [Read more 🡒]