Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Virginia Cavaliers

The Cardinals conclude their home-stand with a short turnaround against the Cavaliers.

Virginia Cavaliers (2-7, 1-4 ACC) at No. 11 Louisville Cardinals (8-1, 5-1 ACC)

- Kickoff: Thursday, November 9 at 7:30 p.m. EST
- Location: L&N Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
- Weather Conditions: Cloudy. Low 48F. Winds light and variable.
- How To Watch: ESPN
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -20.5
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 6-5
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 24-17 on Oct. 8, 2022 (Scott Stadium - Charlottesville, Va.)

Game Notes

Louisville

• The Cardinals look for their 11th-straight home when it hosts Virginia on Thursday night. The win streak would be its second-longest streak in school history. Louisville’s home winning streak stretched to ten games with the 34-3 win over Virginia Tech, tied for third longest in program history and longest since 2003-07.
• Running back Isaac Guerendo scored a career high three times, scoring on runs of 39, 12 and 36 yards to finish with a career high 146 yards on only 11 carries. The native of Clayton, Ind., is the first Louisville running back to rush for three touchdowns in a game since Javian Hawkins did it in a 48-16 win vs. Florida State on Oct. 24, 2020. Guerendo recorded the first 100-yard rushing game of his Louisville career.
• In the 34-3 win over Virginia Tech, Louisville held back-to-back opponents without a touchdown for the first time since beating Cincinnati 20-0 and Southern Miss 6-3 in Nov. 1980. Louisville holds Virginia Tech to 140 yards of total offense and 68 yards rushing. It marked five straight opponent to be held under 300 yards of total offense and also limited five straight opponents under 100 rushing yards. Louisville is holding the opposition to 285.2 yards of total offense and 88.8 yards on the ground.
• With a win over Virginia on Thursday night, the Cardinals would secure its first nine-win season since the 2016 campaign when it finished the year at 9-4 and a loss in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. Louisville opened the year at 9-1 before losing the last three games of the season.
• In notching a pair of ACC wins, quarterback Jack Plummer hasn’t put up huge numbers but has been extremely efficient. The senior is 22-of-27 for 258 yards and one score. Plummer tied the single game school record for completion percentage, a record not matched since Jim Wagoner set it vs. Drake on Oct. 19, 1974 (minimum 10 completions).
• The Cards have dominated in the first quarter this season, outlasting its opponents 69-7 in the first frame. Louisville improved to 18-0 over the past five seasons when shutting out its opponent in the first quarter.
• The Louisville defense held an opponent without a touchdown in consecutive games for the first time when they beat Cincinnati 20-0 and Southern Mississippi 6-3. The Cardinals are ranked 13th in the country in scoring defense, allowing 16.3 points per game. The Cardinals have held six opponents to less than 20 points this season.
• Louisville ranks seventh nationally in allowing first downs after yielding just 12 against Virginia Tech on Saturday. Louisville has allowed just 133 first downs in nine games, an average of just 14.7 per game. Louisville has held three opponents to less than 10 first downs in a game.
• Quarterback Jack Plummer has thrown for only 258 yards in the last two wins, but he’s completing passes at a remarkable percentage. The fifth-year senior has completed 78.5 percent of his throws and hasn’t tossed an interception in two games after throwing two against Pitt. Plummer is completing 65.3 percent of his passes, which ranks third in the ACC.
• With 8.5 sacks on the season, defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte ranks seventh in the country in sacks at 0.94 per game. The junior has had two games with multiple sacks this season and needs just 2.5 to crack the school’s top-10 single-season sacks list. The Boca Raton, Fla. native has been credited with 18.5 sacks, which ranks 11th in school history.
• The Cardinals moved up to 12th nationally in total defense at 285.5 yards per game after allowing 140 yards in the win over Virginia Tech — the lowest total since yielding only 138 in the bowl win over Cincinnati last season. In the last two wins where the Cards have allowed 342 total yards, Louisville has allowed just one play of over 20 yards, a 47-yard pass play late in the game versus Duke. The longest play allowed in the win over Virginia Tech was a 16-yard rushing play.
• The Cards have held five straight opponents under 100 rushing yards for the first time since 2016. Louisville ranks seventh in rushing defense allowing 88.8 rushing yards per game and are ranked 10th in the country in yards per carry at 2.97 yards per attempt. Louisville has allowed an average of 68.0 yards on the ground over the last five games and yielded just three rushing scores over that span.
• The Cardinals have been explosive at home this season, averaging 40.3 points per game — scoring over 30 points in four of the first five games.

Virginia

• Malik Washington leads the ACC in receiving yards (1,044) and receptions (79) and ranks third and second in FBS, respectively in these categories. He has caught a pass in 34-straight games and recorded 100-yard receiving efforts in four consecutive games, the first UVA wide receiver to accomplish the feat. He currently ranks sixth all-time on UVA's single-season receiving yards list and needs just 18 yards to vault up to third.
• 11 of Virginia 12 opponents this season currently possess a .500 record or above. Virginia Tech, UVA's final game of the season, is the only team below .500 at 4-5.
• Thursday's game could feature two of the top big-play quarterbacks in the ACC. Jack Plummer averages an ACC-best 14.02 yards per completion. UVA true freshman Anthony Colandrea averages 13.37 yards completion and is responsible for six of UVA's eight plays this season over 40 yards.
• Virginia has owned double-digit leads in six of its nine games this season. The Cavaliers have been on the wrong end of four games decided by three points or less this season. In the first 19 games of Tony Elliott’s tenure, the Cavaliers have been a part of eight games decided by a field goal or less and are 1-7 in those contests.
• Six true freshmen, CB Dre Walker, WR Jaden Gibson, QB Anthony Colandrea, WR Suderian Harrison, LB Kam Robinson and S Caleb Hardy, have started games for Virginia this season. A total of 10 true freshmen have seen action this year and 25 Cavaliers have made their collegiate debuts.
• Against Georgia Tech, Virginia recorded a season-high, eight tackles for loss. It was the most since compiling 10 against the Yellow Jackets last season.
• Tony Muskett and Anthony Colandrea have each gone over 1,000 yards passing this season. It marks the fourth time in program history UVA has had two 1,000 yard passers and the first time since 2014.
• Jonas Sanker has 55 solo tackles, the most in the ACC and are tied for the second most by any defender in the FBS. His 8.8 total tackles per game are the third-most in the league.

Depth Charts

Here are the depth charts for both teams ahead of their matchup: Louisville vs. Virginia

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Cavaliers, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of the Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Virginia

Uniform Report

Louisville will be wearing their glow-in-the-dark "Ghost Stories" uniforms (all black with glowing white trim), while Virginia has yet to announce their uniform combination.

Our @adidasfballUS Ghost Stories uniform is making its debut. #GoCards x #ForTheVille pic.twitter.com/zAdhC7aIUU

— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) November 6, 2023

Additional Coverage

• Final Thoughts and Observations on Louisville vs. Virginia Tech
• Jeff Brohm, Brian Brohm and Louisville Players Recap VT, Preview Virginia
• Behind Enemy Lines: Five Questions for Cavaliers Now's Matt Newton
• Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Virginia
• From The Pink Seats: Episode 119 - VT Recap, Virginia Preview

(Photo via Geoff Burke - USA TODAY Sports)

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