Florida State vs. Louisville Live Stream, Game Preview, Prediction
No. 2 Florida State Seminoles at No. 2 Louisville Cardinals
Here comes the Thursday night showdown we all have been waiting for. With No. 2 ranked Florida State still undefeated and traveling to No. 25 ranked Louisville, we have a match-up reminiscent of 2002 on our hands, when the Cardinals upset the Seminoles in another Thursday night showdown.
But these are different teams with different coaches and different players. All of those factors are better for each team this time around.
The Seminoles have struggled to put away teams but are consistently being saved by Jameis Winston and Rashad Greene. Now, as if the Winston distraction isn’t enough, the investigation of Karlos Williams is the last thing they need in a crazy Thursday night road environment. All of those signs point to a Louisville upset. To avoid that, the Seminoles need to stiffen up on defense and play consistent for four quarters, and the offense needs to dial up lots of Winston to Greene plays. That saved them against Oklahoma State, and Greene saved them against Clemson. They should go to him again.
Louisville, meanwhile, is obviously extremely well-coached offensively under Bobby Petrino, but it’s the defense that has this team looking good right now. It’s also a defense that will look to slow down the Seminoles offense. If they can do that at home, this will be a huge upset win for the Cardinals. But they also have to make sure they avoid turning the ball over, which has been a huge issue at times for this team. They also need Will Gardner to continue returning to form at quarterback, and perhaps they’ll then have a chance to exploit a suspect Seminoles defense.
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To us, though, none of this matters.
We are calling for a Florida State victory, as all of the talk surrounding them will refocus them, and they’ll pull out a solid road victory to shut the skeptics up. Winston will go back to looking like a Heisman candidate. And the defense will finally show that it can play. Although Petrino is a great coach and will have his guys ready to play, they will make a few too many mistakes to win this game.
Florida State: 45 Louisville: 31
WHO: Florida State vs. Louisville
WHEN: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. E.T.
WHERE: Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, Ky.
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: Watch ESPN
Line: Florida State -3.5
Over/Under: 52