Louisville Football: 5 reasons the Cardinals will beat North Carolina

2. Louisville has the edge with defensive experience

The Louisville Cardinals defense holds an edge in the experience department over the Tar Heels this week.

Led by linebacker Stacy Thomas, the Cardinals defense is primed for a big performance in their first ACC game of the season. They had four sacks and four turnovers in the game. Three different Cardinals players finished with an interception.

Thomas had six tackles, a fumble recovery and a 61-yard interception return for a touchdown in Louisville’s 35-28 victory over Purdue. It was the second interception of Thomas’ career. He wasn’t the only who played well, either.

Cornerback Zykiesis Cannon led the team with nine tackles. Linebacker Trevon Young finished with three tackles, two pass breakups and 1.5 sacks.

Gutsy is the operative word when describing the performance of the Louisville defense in their close game against the Boilermakers. They allowed 51 rushing yards and 293 passing yards. Although Purdue was able to throw four touchdown passes, the Louisville defense was still able to get stops when it counted.

It was a late interception by safety Chucky Williams that stopped the Boilermakers’ from scoring on a drive with 2:22 remaining in the game.

The Cardinals offense had three turnovers of their own that put the defense in tough positions, but they responded well to keep Purdue out of the endzone at key moments.