Louisville Football: Ranking Cardinals’ 2020 opponents by toughness

I’m not very high on NC State heading into the 2020 season and, in my opinion, the Wolfpack are one of those teams that could finish at the bottom of the ACC.

Devin Leary should be the starter at quarterback with Matthew McKay gone but he’ll be pushed by freshman Ty Evans. The offense was an issue last season and the defense wasn’t much better. The Wolfpack return 12 starters to a team that finished 4-8 and that could mean another disaster of a season approaching for Dave Doeren and Co.

Boston College is just ahead of NC State in these rankings because the Cardinals will be facing the Eagles away from home. However, away games are losing some luster this offseason because of COVID-19 and there’s talk about capacity be limited to anywhere between 20 and 50 percent.

However, the Eagles should be just as easy of a win for Louisville because they’re undergoing a big coaching change, moving on from Steve Addazio, and they’re also losing all-everything running back AJ Dillon. David Bailey could be a solid replacement and Jeff Hafley’s coaching staff should bring positive change.

Year one may be rough.