Tale of the Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Virginia Tech

Take a look at how the Cardinals stack up against the Hokies for their Saturday matchup, and who the statistical models favor:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville (7-1, 4-1 ACC) is set to face Virginia Tech (4-4, 3-1 ACC) on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 3:30 p.m. EST at L&N Stadium in Louisville, Ky. Here's how the Cardinals stack up against the Hokies:

- Rankings:

	Virginia Tech	Louisville
AP/USA TODAY/CFP	NR/NR/NR	15th/15th/14th
SOS	58th	81st
SP+	59th	24th
FPI	52nd	21st
Sagarin	57th	22nd

- Offensive Statistics:

	Virginia Tech	Louisville
Total Offense	72nd (380.9)	25th (447.0)
Yards Per Play	80th (5.49)	20th (6.59)
Scoring Offense	75th (26.1)	36th (32.8)
Passing Yards	81st (218.4)	43rd (264.6)
Yards Per Completion	43rd (12.85)	21st (13.93)
Rushing Yards	59th (162.5)	32nd (182.4)
Yards Per Rush Attempt	82nd (4.10)	34th (4.77)
First Downs Gained	70th (164)	54th (175)
3rd Down Con. %	111th (33.6%)	85th (37.5%)
4th Down Con. %	40th (61.1%)	54th (54.5%)
Red Zone Con. %	45th (87.9%)	73rd (83.3%)
Turnovers Lost	24th (8)	62nd (11)
Interceptions Thrown	6th (3)	85th (8)
Fumbles Lost	75th (5)	26th (3)
Tackles for Loss Allowed	73rd (5.88)	25th (4.50)
Sacks Allowed	72nd (2.12)	72nd (2.12)
Avg. Time of Possession	13th (32:31)	28th (31:47)

Key: National Rank out of 133 FBS Teams (Value)

- Defensive Statistics:

	Virginia Tech	Louisville
Total Defense	21st (316.0)	15th (303.4)
Yards Allowed Per Play	39th (5.17)	25th (4.98)
Scoring Defense	48th (22.9)	19th (18.0)
Passing Yards Allowed	7th (165.4)	44th (212.0)
Rushing Yards Allowed	80th (150.6)	9th (91.4)
First Downs Allowed	15th (132)	8th (121)
3rd Down Defensive %	36th (35.0%)	9th (29.2%)
4th Down Defensive %	6th (25.0%)	26th (37.5%)
Red Zone Defensive %	130th (100.0%)	3rd (64.3%)
Turnover Gained	91st (9)	18th (15)
Interceptions Caught	109th (4)	24th (9)
Fumbles Recovered	39th (5)	26th (6)
TFL Per Game	11th (7.6)	70th (5.6)
Sacks Per Game	4th (3.75)	45th (2.38)

Key: National Rank out of 133 FBS Teams (Value)

- Special Teams Statistics:

	Virginia Tech	Louisville
Net Punting	44th (40.28)	90th (37.41)
Avg. Kickoff Return	12th (24.80)	111th (16.80)
Avg. Kickoff Return Def.	128th (27.50)	68th (20.00)
Avg. Punt Return	13th (16.33)	103rd (4.60)
Avg. Punt Return Def.	87th (9.50)	49th (5.83)
Field Goal Attempts	15-17	13-17
PAT	22-22	31-31

Key: National Rank out of 133 FBS Teams (Value)

- FPI Prediction: Per ESPN's Football Power Index, the Cardinals have an 78.1 percent chance to win against the Hokies. Louisville has an FPI rating of 11.7 (21st overall), whereas Virginia Tech has an FPI rating of 2.6 (52nd overall).

- SP+ Prediction:

Per Bill Connelly's SP+ model, the Cardinals have a 77.60 percent chance to take down the Hokies. Louisville has an SP+ rating of 12.0 (24th overall), whereas Virginia Tech has an SP+ rating of 1.6 (59th overall).

- Personal Prediction: Louisville 31, Virginia Tech 17.

(Photo of Ramon Puryear: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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