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Louisville Football: Preview, prediction, live stream vs. Virginia in Week 11

By Connor Muldowney

TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 21: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals warms up prior to their game against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 21: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals warms up prior to their game against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images) /
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Louisville football will host Virginia in Week 11 and the Cardinals are hoping to get back on track. Here’s everything you need to know.

What happened to Louisville? In all seriousness, the Cardinals have gone from ACC contender to bottom-dweller in the span of a couple of months. They have the talent, but the Cardinals’ defense seems to be struggling far more than expected to this point.

Despite being just 5-4 on the season and 2-4 in conference play, the Cardinals can rest easy knowing that Lamar Jackson is continuing to improve as a passer and overall player. He has passed for 2,808 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for another 1,029 yards and 14 more scores. If the Cardinals were a contender, he’d be a Heisman contender once again.

On the other hand, Virginia has been a bit of a surprise. The Cavaliers are 6-3 and former BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall has this program making some noise in the ACC again. After going just 2-10 last season, the Cavaliers have tripled their wins with three games remaining. This is their best chance to record a seventh win with that remaining schedule, though.

The Cavaliers are led by surprising senior quarterback Kurt Benkert who has passed for 2,278 yards and 20 touchdowns on the year with just six picks. He’s on pace to surpass his numbers from a season ago. Junior running back/wide out hybrid Olamide Zaccheaus has led the receiving game with 683 yards and four touchdowns with 66 catches.

Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s Louisville vs. Virginia game:

Date: Saturday, Nov. 11
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium
TV: ESPNU
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

The Cardinals need to step up on the defensive side of the ball. This team was supposed to have one of the top defenses in the ACC this season, but it has produced anything but. Jackson can only do so much on offense, he is going to need some help. Virginia doesn’t exactly have an explosive offense, so Louisville needs to take advantage and have a shutdown game.

Virginia needs to keep Jackson in check. He’s the top offensive weapon for the Cardinals and the offense goes as he goes. If he’s stymied, the offense will be stymied. Virginia has a plan to keep him in check, but it’ll be interesting to see if it works. If the Cavaliers can hold Jackson to under 300 total yards, this game could be quite manageable.

Next: NFL Mock Draft 2018: Post-Week 10 edition

Prediction

Before the season, I would have said this one wouldn’t be all that close, but with the way each team has been playing, I’m going to give a slight — extremely slight — edge to Louisville, only because Lamar Jackson is borderline unstoppable and home-field advantage should play a role. Coming off a loss to Wake Forest and sitting in last place in the ACC Atlantic, the Cardinals are going to play angry and pick up just their third conference win of the year.

Final Score: Virginia 24, Louisville 30

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